Help House An Autistic Black Woman

Hello, my name is Tasia Smallwood and on September 1st 2023 I will be homeless without public support.

I was told by my mother in no uncertain terms I need to be out of my childhood home this fall. I am unable to work due to my autism in addition to disabling depression and anxiety. My plan always had been to stay at home while getting psychological treatment for my mental illness and trying to earn even a high school diploma, let alone a college degree. I dropped out of school in 10th grade due to lack of support and that hasn’t gotten better the years since I left, schools are more poorly funded than ever and I have no idea if I will ever be able to complete my education. Knowing that, however, I also knew I’d never be able to afford to live on my own, I’d have difficulty affording a place with roommates on disability income. A single rent increase could ruin everything because our assistance is not tied to anything. We get $1335 a month, $300 of that is earmarked on our forms for housing, so long as you don’t need it for anything else(and with everything being so affordable how could you?)but of course if you can find $300 housing you either have to have roommates, which I can’t find, or be willing to live in one of those disgusting, unkept, pest infested SROs.

I’d rather die.

I’ve applied to every available option for assisted housing I was sent by my mother, but she has stated that it doesn’t matter if I’m accepted or not, by September I need to be out of my childhood home. I feel sick just thinking about it. I don’t have some secret stash of money, I can’t work, and no one I know needs a roommate. I don’t even own a car I could sleep in. I’m lost, I’m scared, and I’m totally and completely out of options. I have to appeal to the public, it’s my only hope.

I spend more than 100% of my monthly disability income on mandatory expenses. I have to take out payday loans each and every month just to have enough to cover them all, I typically have less than $70 for food per month, certainly nothing left over for transit, personal care items, clothing, or even a new pair of glasses would be impossible. I have nothing, and I’m on a timeline.

It would be insane of me to suggest that $16000 is a small, achievable amount to ask for, it is quite literally a year of my disability income, but if I can’t get ahead on rent and bills there’s no chance I’d be able to make it on my own. $70 a month, that’s all I have for rent, food, transit, education, everything. NO CLUE where a what- 3 or 6-month deposit is going to come from. I can’t survive. I’ve tried to explain this to my family but it’s just not working. I am going to be homeless, I am going to be sleeping on the street.

Unless I get your help.

If this fundraiser reaches its goal I could easily rent, eat, and live without worrying. I can’t even do that now. I don’t have a lot of time, my parents are asking me to leave by the first of September. I’ve never been on my own I know nothing about being independent I just know I can’t afford it to save my life.

Please, no matter how small, no matter what it is PLEASE donate to this go fund me. Save it and remind yourself on payday to throw me $5 please you are my only hope. I’ve contacted my elected officials, I’ve asked my friends, and I’ve applied for loans I had no business applying for. I’m out of options, there’s only crowdfunding.

UPDATE MAY 06

Hello everyone!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has donated to this fundraiser, to get me to the incredible goal of $1,000 raised. That's amazing and I didn't expect to reach such an amount quickly, if at all. Thank you, everyone.

Second, I wanted to say that I've been trying to calculate exactly how much debt I have. This has been a difficult process for me because I struggle with even basic math and it shows because trying to do these calculations at first put me at $4200 in debt, but recalculating I've found the number is much higher. The money from this campaign is to be divided as such: $7200 for debt repayments, leaving $8000 for a lease payment and one, maybe two month's rent, while feeding myself, paying my phone bill, transit costs, and saving money for the upcoming month's rent. I will include screenshots related to my debt expenses. Again I am disabled and unable to work, provincial disability simply does not provide enough for me to avoid taking on these debts, let alone pay them promptly and save for housing. I've redacted information I believe to be private but hopefully, they are elucidating enough.

I'm still waiting to hear about any of the subsidized housing I applied for and I'm trying my hardest to navigate the complex housing application system but it's a doozy. Recently, a local advocacy group that provides free therapy for Black people in Vancouver began accepting applications and I have applied in hopes I can access professional support to guide me through all of this. I don't have a hope of doing it on my own. If anyone reading this personally has or is familiar with disability/low-income housing applications in Vancouver and the lower mainland, or disability services here in general, please get in touch with me via email: [email redacted]. If I am accepted into subsidized housing the money will be put towards low cost therapy, dental work, driving lessons, and the eventual purchase of a car as well as the subsequent related costs, so I can, ideally, work delivery driving.

Thank you

[alt text: May 3, 2023

Tasia-Soleil Smallwood File #

Vancouver, BC,

This is a statement of your payments made to Consumer Credit Counselling which includes the approximate

balances owing for each Creditor. Please note the balances owing are just estimates and may not reflect accrued

interest for the month (if applicable). If you have any questions, please contact our office anytime.

Creditor Name

Reliable Speedy Loans

C C C - Fee for Service

CCC-GST

Easy Financial Services

Lend Direct

Canada

Venue Financial

Visa Desjardins

Balance

$121.41

$0.00

$0.00

$79.42

$964.98

$0.00

$902.18]

[alt text: Payday loan is a high-cost loan

Details of Payday Loan Agreement

Principal Borrowed

Term of loan in Days

Amount Advanced to Borrower

Total Cost of Borrowing

Annual percentage rate

Total Amount Due

Payment Due Date

Borrower's Signature

$300.00

16

$300.00

$45.00

342.19%

$345.00

2023-05-17/$345

memorand

To Receive Your Funds, You Must Electronically Sign the Agreement in the Space Indicated Below

S

TS]

[alt text:Tasia-Soleil Smallwood

Vancouver, British Columbia,

Tasia-Soleil Smallwood

Date

06-22-2023

05-22-2023

05-01-2023

Description

Payment Due / Paiement Dû

Next Payment Due / Prochain Paiement Dû

Interest from April 22 2023 to today/Intérêts de May

01 2023 à aujourd'hui

04-22-2023 Interest/Intérêts Capitalized Interest

04-22-2023 Payment Due / Paiement Dû

04-19-2023 Payment/Paiement - ETransfer

03-22-2023 Payment/Paiement - PAD

03-22-2023 Interest / Intérêts Capitalized Interest

03-22-2023

Payment Due / Paiement Do

Loan Agreement Reference:

$ Amount /

Mantant

$99.74

$99.74

$10.89

$45.90

$99.74

-$280.00

-$65.22

$42.27

$99 74

Due / Dû Balance / Solde

-$180.26

-$180.26

-$180.26

-$280.00

05/01/2023

$0.00

$65.22

$6522

$1,083.77

$1,072.88

$1,026.98

$1,026.98

$1,306.98

$1,372.20

$1329 93]

[alt text:Gold Mastercard

ⒸVIEW DETAILS

CURRENT BALANCE

$22051

$7949

AVAILABLE CREDIT

0 CURRENT AMOUNT DUE

PAYMENT DUE DATE

LAST STATEMENT

CREDIT LIMIT

$0.00

MAY 12

$410.51

$300.00]

[alt text:Hi, Tasia-Soleil!

PAYDAY LOAN -

READY TO MAKE A PAYMENT?

Payment Due Date: January 25, 2023

Amount due: $517.74

Make a Payment |

Loan status: Defaulted →

Repayment method: Debit Card

Update Auto Pay]

*Note this is the payment plan for the laptop I purchased last month after my previous one died suddently

[alt text:Order ID

Current Balance1

$2,938.86

Pending Payment(s)

$0.00

Scheduled Payments2 $153.40

Payment Frequency

Monthly

Remaining Payments 32

Scheduled Payments2 05/17/2023

(MM/DD/YYYY)

06/21/2023

07/19/2023

08/23/2023

Additional Payments N/A

Important Information+]

UPDATE: OCTOBER 5

This is been such an exhausting journey. I don’t know how to explain how badly I wish the scroll just be over now I am so close to the finish line. I cannot risk not having this done by the years end. I have two more large payments that I have no way of tackling on my own due to my phone and payday loan payment. If I don’t pay these off before the end of the year, the interest rate will bury me I think with one final push we could have this done by the end of November.

I have asked for so much over the past few months I really want to be able to stand on my own 2 feet but it’s obvious I’ll never be able to not without getting this cleared. I have a $934 payment and a $1530 payment as well as a $78 negative PayPal balance, I do not have a single penny for food this month and when I get my disability check on October 25 it will be automatically deducted for preauthorized debit to money Mart and to a payday loan service called Icash both of which I could only partially pay off with a large donation last month, as well as to my credit card which is about to hit $470 on a $300 limit, and my phone which is going to cost $200 to pay off this month due to $90 not being paid off last month. My disability check for this month is spoken for so I continue to need help with debt.

My housing situation is probably the worst off. Just recently city council of Vancouver voted to change the definition of affordability in regards to housing it was 30% of $45,000, because $45,000/year was the defined amount for low income, It was not the poverty rate most of us were living at, for example, those of us on disability or earning $16,000 annually, but that was what the government ordered landlords to charge low income earners, which worked out to be $945 a month. With this new change the amount would be $1335 a month which is the entire content of my disability check. There is no reality where I will ever be housed unless that policy changes so I’m no longer trying to do that. I accept that I will be homeless, I’m only trying to clear debt so that I have money to spend on essentials like a tent and food and hygiene supplies as well as some sort of portable charging system for my phone. I’d also like to get a storage locker so I can keep my laptop as well as personal documents safe. I should be able to afford these without any assistance if I can clear my debts. I should be able to clear my debts if I can avoid the annual APR.