Help Skot get out of his car & into an apartment

So often, houselessness (or homelessness, as we know it more commonly) seems like a hopeless cause. We feel this every day: When we see people living on the street, asking for a few dollars, or struggling to feed themselves. However, we didn't truly understand the depth and complexity of the problem until we met our neighbor and dear friend, Skot.

Skot has been living in his car, on our street, for the last three years with his Chihuahua, Blu—his guardian angel and best friend. He is in a miserable, relentless cycle of poverty, and we are determined to help him. We hope that, after learning more, you will want to help him, too.

Over the years, we have gotten to know Skot well. He is thoughtful and generous: Despite having almost nothing, he gifted our daughter a set of beautiful onesies when she was born. He is trustworthy: Many times, Skot has stayed in our home while we are away, caring for our garden and even planting pumpkins out front (successful harvest pictured above). And most importantly, he is courageous: He survived a stroke in his car and, more recently, an armed robbery in the middle of the night—also in his car. Despite this and more, he has not given up when many of us would have.

Through Skot, we've seen how hard it is to escape houselessness. Taking care of daily expenses (e.g. food and gas) and maintenance expenses (car insurance, car repairs) already maxes out the money Skot makes from food delivery. He is stuck in a heartbreaking cycle: Skot can't leave Blu alone in the car for hours at a time to work (he would likely be reported to Animal Control). Nor can he afford to pay for dog care for Blu, which would allow him to get a higher-paying job. And, though it took us some time to understand this, giving up Blu is not an option: Blu is Skot's primary source of hope and love.

Skot is committed to changing his life: He is actively looking for a caseworker, investigating job training programs, applying for food assistance, getting Blu up to speed on vaccinations so she can go to doggy daycare, and more. But the reality is that Skot still needs more help. And he does not have the deep safety net that we do—friends and family who have the means to help financially should something terrible happen to us. With your help, we would like to create this safety net for Skot.

A good friend once told us that in times of true need, you should give in a way that feels uncomfortable. With that in mind, we set a goal of $25,000—a number that will be difficult to reach, but is essential to getting Skot out of his current situation. To get that number, we worked with Skot to understand his current expenses—and what he would need to create space to 1) get a higher-paying job and 2) save to rent an apartment. Here's a breakdown:

While Skot's hopefulness and determination are impressive, they are not endless. And he simply cannot survive like this forever. To get out of his car, Skot needs a community's support. We believe in him, and we hope that you will too. If you can, please consider joining Skot's community and donating. Together, we can help change Skot's life.

Thank you so much,

Eva & Derya