Hello everyone,

My name is Jasmin and my family and I have been bombarded with a lot. My mom has raised my disabled sister Angela and I as a single parent. Angela was born at 5 months, suffered two brain hemorrhages, and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. In 2011, there was life-changing event that left my mother physically disabled and amputee, on top of being diabetic, and I became the carer for her and my sister.

Over the last year, our situation has grown worse as we had a dispute with our former landlord. During this dispute, my mother was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure. Because of my mother's increased care needs and being the only able bodied person in our home, we tried repeatedly to negotiate with the landlord to remain in our home until we found a place to move to. Unfortunately, we were unable to come to an agreement and were asked to voluntarily vacate our home on August 8th to avoid things spiraling into court.

Since August 8th, we have been living in a hotel found by the social worker at the dialysis center my mom goes to. We have tried going to the county for help. However, because I am currently out of work, the county stated I was the only one eligible for help. My mother and sister were deemed ineligible due to them receiving SSD and not SSI. We've approached different charities and many are without funding because the homelessness has gotten worse in our area. We've exhausted any help we were able to receive and without the funds, our time in the hotel is running out.

Right now we're paid up until the 14th of this month. But with Mom and Angela's limited income, it is very expensive without help. We're on the waiting list for affordable housing, but as these lists run on a lottery system, we have to wait for the drawings to happen. Many of them after the 14th. We're looking to raise $10,000 to cover extending our stay in the hotel until January. Local shelters aren't an option because we have been asked to separate or the conditions are inadequate to Mom and Angela's care needs, especially as Mom has open wounds on her leg. The hotel is also in close proximity to her dialysis center, so transportation can easily get her.

We believe that extending things to January will give enough time to be selected for one of the homes we applied for or at least give me some more time to find work so we would then be able to qualify for non-income based housing. I was laid off from my job in 2023 and have been struggling to find work since. As seasonal work is beginning to pick up, I have a higher chance of finding something. We just need to have a stable residence for me to work because in some cases, homelessness can disqualify me from being able to work. Even if worst case scenario we don't hit goal, having a job would help with covering the cost of the hotel out of pocket. Again, I need to have the stability to find one.

If we are selected for housing before the January deadline, the funds will be used to help us cover costs relating to moving/security deposit/rent. To be honest, I struggled with a lot of shame that kept me from making this sooner. If it were just me, I would have found a way to figure this out. But because this involves my mom and sister, I feel extremely powerless that I can't do more. I do have hope that by sharing our story that we can get the help we need. I don't want shame or fear to have power over us. I'm a woman of faith so I believe that all things have to work together for my good and that things will turn around soon. On behalf of my family, I thank you in advance for your help. God bless.