Help Foxy & Me ~ We Want To Go Home to Indiana! Aspen Bell

This is a GoFundMe campaign for donations to the moving expenses benefit of Aspen Bell. Aspen is the GFM beneficiary of the campaign. She lives in California, and is stuck in a homeless risk of ever-rising rent. The campaign to extract Aspen from risk is organized by Sean Bell, a friend of Aspen who lives in Indiana.

Aspen can't personally accept large amounts of cash, but she can spend an adequately large amount of moving expenses on a credit card -- if someone else pays the credit card bill. Sean, the GFM Organizer, can accept large donations held in trust to pay Aspen's big credit bill for moving.

Aspen: Who Am I? I am a disabled senior on a fixed income. My time in California began in the fall of 2004 when I formed a co-op living arrangement with my cousin, who has moved back east for similar reasons. Twenty years later, I'm ready to take my heart's companion Foxy The Giant Floof Kitty and return to my Indiana home.

My Story: As with so many others, it's unaffordable housing. In 2019, the rent on my apartment was raised far beyond my means. I drove hundreds of miles around the Inland Empire in search of affordable living space where Foxy and I could live comfortably together.

I tried "affordable housing" or "low income senior housing". On my budget, these are neither affordable nor low-income, especially combined with astronomical utility bills and huge monthly pet charges. Many places required you to show documented proof that your monthly income is three times the rent. This cute little trick lets them claim "affordable housing" for the government, while making sure desperate seniors and disabled folks on government assistance or low-paying jobs have no chance to live at their properties.

Once I understood that Foxy and I would not find an apartment of our own, I spent more months and miles looking for a room in a private home. I found that many Craigslist ads for a room or apartment for rent were disguised promos for third party rental services. Most legit ones were either no-pets, or there were other unlivable problems. I came too close to living in my non-air-conditioned car, with Foxy, in Southern California heat.

Why didn't I go to a shelter? I would never abandon Foxy. Very few homeless shelters allow pets.* I have met homeless people who wouldn't seek help because it meant losing their animal friends. Many of these homeless people (many of them veterans) have jobs -- they just couldn't afford housing.

Luck was with me: I was blessed to find a real homeowner renting out a real bedroom in a rural area with less competition. I have liked living here with Foxy, but over the last four years landlord housing expenses are increasing.

What has changed? For instance, two major insurance companies and four smaller ones are no longer handling homeowners' insurance in California, due to more fires, mud slides, floods, plus inflated building materials and labor. As heat waves increase, the cost of A/C electricity is increasing.

Inevitably, the price of my bedroom will exceed what I can pay on a fixed income; others think the homeowner will feel forced to sell. I now have a too-high risk of living unsheltered, as an aging senior with no family nearby when I need help. It's time to go home where I have a place to live with family. If I can get there...

When do I hope to move? I hope to take Foxy and leave before November 2024.

My health: I am recovering from a common women's stage 3 cancer, surgery, and radiation, but it's all gone for now, and my prognosis is good. I have degenerative spinal disc disease, osteoporosis, scoliosis and severe arthritis, and will soon be having foot surgery. I can still lift a few pounds, but heavy boxes and bins are now beyond me.

My helpers: I'm lucky to have found Joseph, an independent professional mover recommended by a church-related group. I've worked with him before; he is careful and knowledgeable. He will help me pack the truck and be one of my co-drivers to Indiana.

Also with me will be a fellow cat-lover who can help me transport Foxy safely. She knows how to take care of skittish kitties on long trips and is used to driving big moving trucks. Foxy is not a young cat. I want her in extra good health for this trip, so I'm taking her one last time to the vet. This will allow me to get papers proving she's vaccinated and microchipped (she is) that may be required for transporting a cat across state lines.

Money: Inflation has raised prices for moving more than most people are aware. What used to be maybe $8,000 has increased to $12,900 to pay for all moving expenses.

Several people have urged me to start a Gofundme. But for four months, finding an Organizer has been very difficult to arrange. It's too much hassle for family and friends who already have jobs and other responsibilities. Also, the GFM website rules and hints could be better organized - such as having an index. The art is my AI image prompt, to which Sean made additions -- of a cat chasing a butterfly -- using an ancient Adobe PhotoDeluxe 1.1/4.0. (Sean will give up Windows XP when they pry...) But we kept at it, and at last here it is.

I will miss many things about California, But the midwest costs less, and I need my family nearby.

I am deeply grateful for any amount you want to donate. Your kindness is a blessing I will remember always in my prayers.

"Though the world is sleeping, my eyes are open.

Yet it's me that's dreaming that I'm flying over mountaintops.

I am crossing an ocean where at the end I see,

I see a beautiful far away land called home." - Jim White

* If you're in California, please support AB 2216 - which would prohibit landlords from "No Pets" policies, and unreasonable pet deposits, fees & restrictions.