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Help us out of homelessness and this hotel

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Yall... I literally took 5 hours to write this all the way through and it disappeared when I tried to go to the next step... hang in there with me because now I'm feeling super emotional and quickly trying to type all of what I remember. There is a lot here, but a lot left out. Here's a bit of insight on what's going on and why I'm asking for emergency crowd funding.



I am Starr. Two years ago I left an emotionally abusive relationship. I spent some time sleeping in my car before my father reluctantly took me in. I was there for a year, but he and his wife treated me in a similar fashion to the partner I has just left, so it was not a good situation for my bipolar, depression, or anxiety. About 2 months before I left his house, was the start of lockdown. In the midst of the pandemic, I could not physically tour apartments. My hunt was reduced to reviews and virtual tours, which didn't really work for the situation. While I was searching, I was not able to commit to a lease. With my GAD, what I could afford and the reviews on those places, my best temporary  solution was a hotel. I came with the intention of staying for about a month... but some higher power had vastly different veiws, I was in a hit and run accident one night, luckily it hurt my car more than me! It did however cut down my income. I kept working my full time job. Oddly enough, I found a bit of peace in the hotel and I invited my Mother for the weekend because of her uncomfortable living situation. My mother and I are very close.( I remember when she told me about her cancer diagnosis, I was devastated, then to find out it was stage 4... I honestly didn't know what I was gonna do, thank God, she's a fighter.) What started as a weekend, has now been a full year. I gladly took on taking care of my Mom, though things were not easy, I couldn't imagine her continuing to be mistreated. Meanwhile I was experiencing problems with my full-time job at Wawa. My hours were immediately cut in half when I got a new GM. Despite my asking him why, reminding him of policy; I was supposed to be scheduled 40 hours a week, or explaining my situation, my hours remained reduced. I did everything I could to get out of this environment, even found myself another store that said I would be a welcomed addition, and was denied a transfer without a reason. Escalating this did nothing. The new GM was not kind, a number of the aasociates working with me, made complaints about him to me, along with a large number of my regulars, specificallyto me because I had been at my store for so long. While I was falling apart mentally I was being told things like; one person reporting a hostile work environment doesn't make it a problem, they have bipolar overnight managers (a direct reference to my ADA accommodations), and being asked to have my doctor adjust my accommodation and they would help me along my career path. That second one, might I add, was asked more than once. Sadly that isn't everything that was happening at that time, but I don't want to drag that part of the story, just know, it was definitely a shit show. it was also just a small part of what was going on in my world. The stress of our circumstances triggers massive episodes of my stomach issues. I was spending days at a time vomiting and unable to work. I had to make such a fuss to get away from that location, but it was too late, the mental damage was done and by the time I made it to the new store, I was struggling harder than ever, mentally and financially. By this time I had my car gotten back and could uber. My doctor put me on FMLA so I wouldn't break down completely, and give the stress time to dissipate so my stomach could recoop. I applied for short term disability. I had to uber in the meantime to keep a roof over our heads. My disability was denied because I was ubering, even though it was out of survival. I actually haven't been able to take the time to heal. Uber can be very lucrative, it can also leave you starving. This only developed another stress factor. Some weeks we could rack up, other weeks left me begging for help, or up all night worried about how I'm going to pay for stuff. At some point my mother stopped going to treatment in an attempt to limit my stress, but it really just stressed me more. Nevertheless we kept chugging along. Unable to make enough money, I eventually ran out of what I had saved to move. Things got tighter as nights in the hotel would increase. Spending increased on food abecause we were spending more time out trying to make money. In February, I applied for disability for my Mother. Metastatic Breast Cancer is on that list of pre-approved conditions hoping if I could get her an income and we would be able to move out of the hotel. She still hasn't received an answer. Sometime in February, on our way to the last chemo treatment my Mom tried to go to, my car broke down. I had to figure out a way to keep making things happen, so I got a rental from uber. I found out too soon that that could only be a short term solution because it cost me $281 a week. But with the income not being consistent, and ubers app constantly failing me over the last few weeks, the car turned into a money drain that I had to have in order to survive but was also killing me. And while that's not everything we've been through, it hasn't been all bad living here. I now know I can handle paying 2500 dollars in rent a month (that's the cost to stay at the hotel for a month), I've met new family that have helped us laugh through the situation. I've found independence and strength I was unaware of. It really has been a journey, though rough, like Proud Mary, we have kept on rolling. But now, now I have the opportunity to really turn things around. While searching for housing in my area, I found Median Income Housing Units. Needless to say they were all full! I was put on several waiting list and pretty much told good luck. But with more digging I found a place that hadn't open yet, that meant I wasn't going to be number 175 to be called when a unit became available, I just had to answer the email in enough time. It was about 4 months between making that call and the day they sent the email. I had turned my email notifications off for some reason, and one day in January decided to turn it back on. I HAD MISSED THE EMAIL BY 3 DAYS! I called the property and sadly, all unit were gone. About a week ago, I answered an unknown number, which like most of us don't... and it was the property manager, a unit became available! Once he figured out I qualified, we got the ball rolling. The only downside, I HAVE TO HAVE AT LEAST 1600 TO MOVE IN ON Friday July 9th 2021, and I don't have any of the funds to do so. And that is why I am here. I am humbly begging you for help. Getting out of the hotel would cut my expenses down by $1000.00 alone. I did seek help from all local housing programs, but have yet to hear back or been told they don't actually help. And with the 9th quickly approaching, I don't want to miss out on this opportunity again! Getting the car would get me out of my financially draining rental, and keep me on the road with uber. I found an affordable car down the street, I was originally approved on a loan for it but once they figured out I deliver for Uber the terms changed. I have to find a co-signer, or put money down. (They don't consider Uber a job or an income just an FYI) I did also try to apply for a personal loan but it has the same stipulations, for many of the same reasons. With not needing to pay for the room daily I could take time to find a job that I can do well in despite my disabilities. The stability that these two things offer is what my mother and I desperately need right now so we can focus on our health and rebuilding our lives in a not so "hand to mouth" way which causes both of us great stress. The money will go directly to moving expenses and obtaining a car. My mother and I have started from nothing before and are definitely not shy of working hard. We just need help over this hurdle. If any you reading this, could help us over this last hurdle, I would be forever grateful. Thank you for reading and sharing. Thank you.



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Donations 

  • Sarah Enders
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
  • krista hart
    • $10 
    • 3 yrs
  • Raymond Neal
    • $20 
    • 3 yrs
  • Luke Cadena
    • $5 
    • 3 yrs
  • Lauren Luzzi
    • $40 
    • 3 yrs
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Organizer

Rochelle Elliott
Organizer
Jessup, MD

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