I'm creating this GoFundMe to help my sister.  She lives in Seattle on a fixed income.  Her story follows:

A few weeks ago a thief slipped under my 2003 Honda Element and sawed off my catalytic converter. Apparently this is becoming an epidemic due to the precious metals used (platinum, palladium, rhodium).

I'm a 70-year-old woman who lives on a monthly SSI allotment of $877. I saved $6000 in 2015 so I could buy this car. I pulled weeds, sold treasures and painted interiors in order to raise enough money to afford it.


My Element has been faithful to me all these years. I rarely drive and my car is parked close to my bedroom window. Most of my driving is going to the grocery store, doctor or laundromat, and to visit my son.


I live on Genessee Hill, one of the steepest of the seven hills here. Walking is difficult, but I'm lucky to live near two bus stops. 


But lugging clothes and bags of groceries on the bus is incredibly difficult. Even where the bus drops me, I have to push my grocery cart uphill, with additional bags, wearing a backpack. Its like giving someone a piggy-back ride while rolling a boulder up a mountain. Just call me Sisyphus.


Funds raised will help with replacement and installation of the unit, along with an antitheft device and car alarm.  The cost will range from a minimum of $2000 to as high as $6000. 


I know everyone is struggling, and so much more so than I am. But I live frugally because I have no choice. I can't afford to go to a movie or dine out. I've been paying down credit cards for a year and don't want to go backward by running up a new balance of $6000.


Proportionally, this is a big tragedy for me. I have chronic health problems and pay out about $50 for meds and supplements to stay healthy. In general, I'm satisfied with my life. But I have no wiggle room.