Hi, my name is Adin, and I am one of Patience's neighbors. Two of Patience's other neighbors, Marielle Briant and Lauren DeVos, started a fundraiser for her last year which raised $20,000 of the $28,000 that Patience needed to avoid having her home foreclosed on and seized by the bank. This fundraiser is to cover the remaining $8000, which is due by the end of this month. We are so close to raising what Patience needs; please, please consider giving and sharing this widely so we can keep Patience and her daughter from becoming homeless.

See below for text from the original fundraiser, written by Lauren and Marielle, with a few updates from me:

Patience immigrated from Nigeria many years ago and has lived in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland for the past 37 years. She is mobility-impaired, has high blood pressure, and lives off of Social Security. She spends her days collecting cans and bottles in our neighborhood to supplement her Social Security income. If you live nearby, you've probably seen her walking by with her shopping cart and her cane (and feeding the neighborhood cats!).

Patience loves to chit-chat and has an impeccable memory. We take a lot of walks, and we've been able to get to know her as we come and go down the street. Patience appreciates every small gesture toward her and has a beautiful, optimistic outlook on life, despite her struggles.

Patience's husband died during the pandemic of COVID, and he didn't have any life insurance. He had taken out a second loan against the house 22 years ago that Patience never knew about, and he hadn't paid it off. He stopped paying when he died last year. Patience is in the process of filing a police report of stolen identity, since the bank is saying she authorized the loan with a signature (forged by her late husband), but we can't imagine that the police department will solve this in time.

The previous fundraiser for patience raised $20,000 of the $28,000 she required to stop Chase from restarting the foreclosure process. In total, she needs $78,000--the remainder of the funds should be covered by a $20,000 loan that her daughter applied for, as well as a $30,000 grant from Alameda County for which she is eligible. Much of her family is still based in Nigeria and can't help her.

We are trying to come up with the difference so that her house doesn't go to auction. If it does, she and her daughter, who lives with her, will likely be forced to live on the streets. Given her medical condition, we can't imagine she'll be able to survive this.

The funds will go directly to Patience. With more time, Patience can work with her advocate and family to apply for grants that could help her cover the full amount. Please share this fundraiser far and wide and feel free to reach out to me with any additional resources that might help her. Patience is so close to being able to stay in her house; please donate whatever you can to keep her there!