Help My Best Friend Escape an Unsafe Home & Start Fresh

I’ve known my best friend Kat for nearly 15 years—we met back in middle school, and ever since then, she has been the most kind-hearted, selfless, and generous person I’ve ever had the honor of calling family. She always shows up for others, no matter what she’s going through herself. Now, I’m asking the world to show up for her.

A little under two months ago, she took a brave leap and moved to Washington state, chasing new experiences, independence, and the excitement of a fresh start. But almost immediately, that hope turned into a nightmare.

Just days after moving in, the apartment above hers flooded, sending water down into her unit and leaving it damaged, humid, and unsafe to live in. Appliances were soaked and developing mold, floors and walls were ruined, and the air was barely breathable. Despite all this, the apartment complex denied the severity of the issue and has refused to work with her on rent relief or lease support. It took over a week just to get someone to begin repairs—and even those were poorly done and incomplete.

With nowhere to turn, she and her roommate were forced to live in hotels for almost three weeks—while still paying rent for the uninhabitable apartment. Every dollar of their savings went to temporary shelter, dog care, food (without the ability to cook), and just surviving day to day. And now, because she can’t afford to pay rent for a place she couldn’t safely live in, she’s facing eviction.

As of today, she needs $3,300 by this Friday to avoid eviction and try to break this lease so she can move somewhere safe and start over. That's hopefully going to take most of the funds, and the rest can help her get somewhere safe permanently.

The relationship between her and her roommate has become unstable and unsafe—so much so that we’ve had to involve the police and file reports due to the escalating tensions, threats of assault and the overwhelming amounts emotional distress it’s caused.

She is now working two jobs, isolated with no family in the state, and doing everything she can just to stay afloat. Her support system is slim—just me, her mom, and a coworker doing everything in our power to help—but we can’t raise this amount on our own, especially in such a short amount of time.

What she needs is a way out. A chance to breathe. A chance to live safely, rebuild, and start over. Anything you can give will help us take one step closer to getting her out of this toxic environment and on the path to a new beginning.

Please, help us keep her safe.

Due to the sensitivity of the situation I do not want to post her cashapp and reveal her full name and risk additional legal concerns. If you wish to use that method (cashapp), I can deliver funds to her via my own account. My username is $AlwaysYouIcarus.