Help Mary Grace and Her Boys Find Stability

My name is Mary Grace and I am 22 years old. I have two little boys, ages almost 2 and a 5-month-old. I had a very complicated pregnancy where I was admitted into the hospital 4 times in my last trimester alone. I had diagnoses ranging from severe tachycardia to sepsis from a mastitis infection to preterm labor twice. I was admitted at 35 weeks, dilated to a 4, and was kept there on continuous monitoring until 37 weeks when I was induced.

Until 2 months postpartum, I was doing it all alone with no physical or financial support, as well as childcare-wise since he was too young to attend daycare, so I was unable to work. I lost my housing and ended up back with my youngest's father, who I hadn’t seen in many months. He spent my pregnancy out of the country. I was working long shifts in fast food as a shift leader while my son attended daycare at his grandma's in-home daycare program (his mom). My checks went right to my overdraft/debt from the travels and move, as well as providing food for myself and completely supporting my oldest son, as well as paying a friend to watch him. I was also paying my half of the bills.

My youngest's father didn’t like the name I chose for him (named after my adoptive dad who passed away), so he used that as his excuse for being unwilling to provide any financial assistance or physical help with our baby. He held him two times in the time we were living together again. Things ended badly in a domestic violence incident, and law enforcement was called, and he was arrested and charged. An NCO was put in place for me and my youngest child. I then dug deeper into debt day by day, Ubering to and from my friend's home while paying her to now watch both boys, as his mother then refused to continue care for our child and wanted nothing to do with him.

When he was arrested, he took my set of keys, so I had no access to the mailbox or my home. I got back from work, and the place was all locked up. I went in the window. The next day after work again, I got home, and now the window was locked as well. I had no access and lost all of my belongings, ranging from my adoptive father's shirts who passed away to all my children’s diapers/toys/bassinet/wipes/clothes/blankets/ALL breastfeeding supplies and bottles, and ALL my 678 ounces of saved breastmilk as my son is exclusively breastfed and won’t take formula of any kind. Many other items were lost as well, like all my groceries, suitcases/diaper bags, etc. I not only lost my housing and belongings/childcare/and my ride to work and ultimately my job, but I lost all of my stability.

Not having access to the mailbox, we were deemed “unreachable” by the state, and all 3 of us lost our insurance and food stamps, which I obviously didn’t know until I never got money reloaded onto my card, and I was unable to even schedule my son's vaccine appointment. I got a write-up at work for being late the day the police were there past the start of my shift. Then I got another write-up for being late to work one day because I had to go all the way back for my breast pump since I was now working overtime in regards to pumping due to losing all my frozen and refrigerated milk for throughout my work shifts when I’m not able to directly breastfeed my son. After that write-up, they let me know I was unfortunately being terminated because of my two tardies; I wasn’t living up to company standards. My supply has tanked due to stress as we are now homeless. Debt has racked up due to motel costs, and my best friend is also taking the brunt of it as well alongside me supporting our motel costs. I used my once every 12 months 5-day motel voucher through the state, so now I have a year before I’m eligible again.

I am working with a case manager who has also been trying tirelessly to help us find a shelter placement or housing. But with it being winter and -15 degrees out, there are not many options. So far, 2 weeks into the search, he only found one place that will only take the kids and not me, so I’d have to stay at a warming station and then bundle up and sleep outside overnight, as well as lose all the items I have dug deeper into debt to purchase for my kids and myself (necessities like clothes, diapers, soap, bottles). And my baby is breastfed, and I only have enough milk pumped now at a time for 7 extra ounces. So one middle-of-the-night feed. He refuses all formula. Keon has horrific separation anxiety from me after experiencing all of this alongside me, and he would absolutely crumble to be away from me when I’m all he knows. So separation really isn’t an option, and I don’t have proper gear to camp outside in negative temps on a ground covered in snow and ice.

We also lost our service dog of almost 7 years through all of this, so my mental health has suffered greatly (he was my service dog who assisted with anxiety and PTSD). I was adopted as a baby and have not had contact with my adoptive mother or sister in over a year, and my adoptive father passed away. They have no intention at this time of rebuilding contact/a relationship. And my only friend able to help is suffering with us financially, taking on the burden of debt too, which is so unfair now. And they are not able to continue to pay the room at the moment, which is completely understandable.

So here I am with my two boys, unable to even find a shelter placement that will take us all. I have one more meeting with my case manager on Tuesday, and then my birthday is Wednesday, and after that, my motel room stay is up. My case manager is at a loss as well. He said we will try to call closer to the city, and I may have to relocate again in a state where I am already unfamiliar if we can find a shelter even for one night in a different part of the state who might take us 3.

So here I am making a GoFundMe, although I don’t have any big platform to post this for support on, anything helps, even a dollar. Please, please, please share this link, repost it, send it to others, and ask them to repost it. The more traction this gets, the more likely we will be to secure some kind of temporary or even maybe long-term housing, as well as afford bus passes to travel to and from job interviews/employment and doctors' appointments, daycare costs, and travel until our assistance is approved. We just were approved for food stamps and WIC, as well as Medicaid, so any other necessities it would go to. I can even make a gift wish list on Amazon and attach that link below if you would feel more comfortable supporting us by directly purchasing items that will be delivered to my friend's house and given to us as needed/requested.

As utterly humiliating as this is to type and imagine others reading and the judgment I ultimately will receive, there is not one thing I wouldn’t do for my boys and their safety and well-being. My two-year-old already won’t get a birthday celebration next month. And my birthday will be spent calling shelters and stressing, trying to see if anyone has a bed available for the next morning after our morning motel check-out, as well as power pumping milk for the baby in case overnight shelter separation is the only way to keep them safe while I would be outside with no way to pump him milk. If you are able to help in any way, even a prayer or words of encouragement, everything is needed and appreciated, especially as someone who already chronically struggles with mental health, also battling postpartum depression. Thank you for reading this if you got this far ❤️

attached below is our link to a wishlist of needed items if that is a way you feel more comfortable supporting us.

help for this family of 3 who are experiencing homelessness - Amazon Gift List - https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1GXM4PU9KOTGK