Help Ilona Keep Her Family Home
Donation protected
Ilona is a charismatic, hardworking mother who cares deeply for her family and community; we are raising these funds to keep her, her family, their land, and their place in the greater New Orleans community safe. She has four children and currently shares the property with her dependent ex husband, her youngest daughter Precious, and her son Mack. The only permanent structure there is a small shack Mack built after the family home collapsed. They currently rely on a faulty generator and only recently got running water working again.
They had been living at their home in the upper Ninth Ward since the aftermath of Katrina and were in a rent-to-own agreement with the previous owner. They've been slowly working on maintaining and renovating the property but have come up against numerous tragic and catastrophic difficulties along the way. Within the past few years, their house collapsed due to severe termite damage, Ilona survived a near death experience with cancer, her former husband was paralyzed from the neck down after getting hit by a car, and her eldest son was the victim of a fatal shooting down the street. On top of all these tremendous hardships, the original owner, instead of paying the taxes and other necessary fees associated with keeping the property, pocketed all of their hard earned money. This led to the property being taken by the city. Ilona and her family were completely unaware of this situation until a 'for auction' sign was posted in their front yard one morning.
A group of friends secured the property at auction to ensure that Ilona and her family wouldn't lose what rightly belonged to them to the city or predatory developers. We are now looking to raise that money and more to help with the necessary expenses to make sure that Ilona and her family can continue to live there safely. The money raised will go towards the immediate needs of renovating and weatherproofing her shack, reconnecting the electricity, cutting down a dying tree that is in imminent risk of crushing their neighbor's roof, and putting up a fence around the property for security. Additional funds will go towards the rebuilding of their lost home, which she hopes for her daughter to inherit.
By donating to this fundraiser you will be helping Ilona secure a future for her children and her place in a community she has been an integral part of. If you can’t contribute financially, please consider sharing to further our reach!
Estimated Cost Breakdown:
Property auction: ~$7,500
Tree removal: ~$1,000 (based on the average tree removal cost in New Orleans)
Fence: ~$2,000 for materials
Shack Weatherproofing: ~$3,000
Electricity: ~$1,500
Property lawyer: ~$1,000
Rebuilding: $14,000+
Funds will ultimately be used at Ilona’s discretion
They had been living at their home in the upper Ninth Ward since the aftermath of Katrina and were in a rent-to-own agreement with the previous owner. They've been slowly working on maintaining and renovating the property but have come up against numerous tragic and catastrophic difficulties along the way. Within the past few years, their house collapsed due to severe termite damage, Ilona survived a near death experience with cancer, her former husband was paralyzed from the neck down after getting hit by a car, and her eldest son was the victim of a fatal shooting down the street. On top of all these tremendous hardships, the original owner, instead of paying the taxes and other necessary fees associated with keeping the property, pocketed all of their hard earned money. This led to the property being taken by the city. Ilona and her family were completely unaware of this situation until a 'for auction' sign was posted in their front yard one morning.
A group of friends secured the property at auction to ensure that Ilona and her family wouldn't lose what rightly belonged to them to the city or predatory developers. We are now looking to raise that money and more to help with the necessary expenses to make sure that Ilona and her family can continue to live there safely. The money raised will go towards the immediate needs of renovating and weatherproofing her shack, reconnecting the electricity, cutting down a dying tree that is in imminent risk of crushing their neighbor's roof, and putting up a fence around the property for security. Additional funds will go towards the rebuilding of their lost home, which she hopes for her daughter to inherit.
By donating to this fundraiser you will be helping Ilona secure a future for her children and her place in a community she has been an integral part of. If you can’t contribute financially, please consider sharing to further our reach!
Estimated Cost Breakdown:
Property auction: ~$7,500
Tree removal: ~$1,000 (based on the average tree removal cost in New Orleans)
Fence: ~$2,000 for materials
Shack Weatherproofing: ~$3,000
Electricity: ~$1,500
Property lawyer: ~$1,000
Rebuilding: $14,000+
Funds will ultimately be used at Ilona’s discretion
Fundraising team (3)
Andre Schmidt
Organizer
New Orleans, LA
Hal Baker
Team member
Liaizon Wakest
Team member
