Hi, this is Avi Tepfer. We created this fundraiser to support my lifelong friend, Lauri, and her mom during an incredibly difficult time coinciding with the recent loss of Lauri’s father. It is a sad time for me as well, as I was also a very good friend of Gerry.

I’ve been helping as much as I can for a while, but they need support from others now.

I’ve watched Lauri fight through one challenge after another with strength and determination, and I’m super proud of her. The situation is urgent right now, and so I’m reaching out for help.

Below she shares more about what’s been happening in her words. Any support would mean a great deal to them and to me personally.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly:

917-846-9622

I’m beyond embarrassed and fragile about sharing all of this. But since I don’t even have gas money to get back to NYC, I guess it’s time to be honest about the pile of problems I’ve been dealing with.

My dad passed away last week. I’m so grateful we spoke several times a day for the past 10 months and were able to spend meaningful time together in person. While home visiting him in hospice, I found out my mom (Karen) had been falling even further behind financially while he was in care. She was so behind that she couldn’t afford the (small) life insurance payment, so they lost all those years of contributions and will receive nothing now.

Currently, she has no working stove, dishwasher, or dryer - which was an awkward discovery! However, the worst problem is a shower that does not turn off downstairs, unless the entire house’s water is turned off. Turning this water off involves navigating stairs she should not be maneuvering, and this issue is wreaking moldy havoc on our downstairs. At this point, it sounds more like a bad country song than real life. Things were crumbling around her, and she didn’t talk about it because there were no solutions; as the “income” was far less than the bills. She's a tough cookie, though! She has been going to the laundry mat and cooking on two portable burners, etc. She has had a litany of recent injuries: a broken scapula, a broken rib, a fall in the shower on her head (still dented), and even had someone run over her foot! All at different times.

At the same time, my life has been reduced to basic survival.

I’m working beneath my skill sets in real minimum wage remote jobs because of my back injury, and a new surprise discovery, which has made it impossible for me to function the way I once attempted.

The last three years have honestly taken everything out of me:

1. My roommate died in my apartment → completely destabilized my housing and finances

2. I had to leave school while working toward becoming a teacher

3. Diagnosed with autism in 2024

→ Unmasking 50 years: 0/10 DO NOT recommend having to reconsider your whole life. The physical and mental changes make you wish you had not been diagnosed

→ I didn’t believe it either! But I was tested three times professionally

→ People from childhood: “ahhh… we should have known”

→ I am still the same person, I just know my triggers and limitations. I’m grieving my entire life, but trying to move forward with a better “tool kit.”

4. Major back injury → I struggle to walk some days → surgery planned post-summer. The injury is bad enough that the city pays someone to assist me 12 hours a week after assessing me in my apartment.

5. Working low-paying remote jobs just to stay alive

6. And now, losing my dad :(

Where I’m at right now:

• I am short on rent arrears (from 2024 after my roommate’s death) + now memorial costs

(the city — HRA — is helping with some arrears! But I still owe a steep portion)

• I missed weeks of work, being with my dad in hospice, and also after he passed

→ I don’t even have basic money (like gas) to get back to New York, or feed my cats

What this fund is for:

• Catching up on old rent arrears from 2024 that have me in eviction proceedings (please note my rent has been paid on time for quite some time now - this is in regards to arrears acquired in 2024)

• Help covering my dad’s memorials

• Helping my mom (Karen) fix basic plumbing and appliances, and get back on her feet

• Helping me get back to a place where I can function better and support myself again

Real talk:

Since my diagnosis and everything that’s happened, I barely even leave the house anymore. No fun or celebrating anymore here…just trying to survive, rebuild, and help my mom. However, I do have a new sense of hope for the future, which I never actually had, as everything was just pretending and masking.

Why I’m asking:

I am exhausted.

I am grieving my dad, trying to help my mom, dealing with daily back and leg pain, and trying to rebuild a life that has been knocked down a bunch, but this time, I may finally have the right mindset and guidance from professionals. I was building something before, with a different career, as another attempt at a stable life. Right now, I just need help getting through this moment so I can have a chance of getting back...anywhere.

Thank you for reading this. Truly.

{Go Fund Me karma Gods and Goddesses, please forgive me for ever being at all curious about anyone's needs}