Our family and pets are facing a crisis. Our month-to-month lease is ending, and because we asked our landlord for repairs, we’re now at risk of being homeless. The landlord shut off our water without notice, so we have no running water in the house and no flushable toilet. We’ve always been up to date on rent and never late, but we fear talking to the landlord because there is always an issue—they blame us for everything and refuse to fix things. The landlord has also been disrespectful, racist, and not LGBTQ friendly—two of us are LGBTQ. They have even physically hit my husband, making us feel unsafe in our own home.

We’re struggling to find a place to live that will accept our pets, most of whom are rescues and mean the world to us. We don’t want to part with them, as they help keep us sane during this stressful time. Our credit isn’t great, we don’t have references, and we don’t have friends or family nearby to help. We also need to hire a good lawyer because we believe we have a strong case against our landlord, but legal help is expensive. On top of that, we need a vehicle to get around, a safe place to stay for a night or two so we can shower, and help packing and storing our belongings.

I am disabled, which makes everything even more challenging. I’ve spent my life helping others, but now we need help. We’ve reached out to 211 and other resources with no luck. I’ve seen this community and others come together to help, even for people they don’t know. Please share our story, as we don’t have anyone to share it with. Any support would mean the world to us. I will be forever grateful to anyone who can help us get through this. Thank you for considering supporting our family and pets as we try to rebuild and find stability.