WHAT HAPPENED?

So where do I start? Me and my mom are in a tough spot, and we currently owe about $6,000+ in unpaid rent to our landlord. We’re trying our best — truly — but things just haven’t been going our way. You might be wondering how we ended up here, and honestly, it’s a bit of a long read. I’ve always been the type of person who helps others. I helped my mom fix her car twice after two accidents, helped my brother with his rent and bills, bought baby clothes, and even helped my mom with her credit card payments. I like helping people, even when I know nothing is guaranteed to come back to me.

The two accidents my mom had were both body damage — deep dents and scratches down to the bare metal. Insurance covered the repairs, but she still had to pay $750 each time ($1,500 total). After that, I helped her with her credit card payments, which had climbed to $400 per month. Then I started helping my brother with his rent, bills, and baby supplies. His credit card was nearly maxed out, and both he and his wife were on leave after their child was born. They didn’t have enough money at the time, so I stepped in. My brother eventually started working virtually, but his wife didn’t. She was getting paid leave, but not her full paycheck — and neither of them knew why. With him not getting paid for a bit and her pay being short, they turned to us for help.

OUR TRACK RECORD

We’ve lived in this apartment complex since 2019, and we’ve never had major issues. Everything was always paid on time — sometimes even early. But around mid‑2025, things became difficult. Between helping with my brother’s rent, their bills, baby clothes, our own rent, our own rising bills (more on that in a moment), and credit card debt, we started running out of money. We began paying rent later than the 1st of the month, and our electric bill jumped from its usual $130–$160 to an unbelievable $240. I can’t tell you why — our usage never changed. Some people say it’s because of AI data centers, others say our usage might be bundled with another tenant’s. I honestly don’t know, and attempts to get answers haven’t helped.

By late November, everything became too expensive. We fell behind on the electric bill, fell behind on rent, and things just kept getting worse. Is it my fault for letting it get this far? Yeah. I took on more than I could handle, and things spiraled. I kept hoping things would improve, but life didn’t let that happen. Instead, it pushed us into the situation we’re in now.

I don’t expect anyone to just take my word for it — that’s why I’m working on uploading documentation and proof of everything for full transparency. I just wanted to share the real timeline of how things fell apart. If anyone does donate, it will mean more than you know. It will help us pay our past due rent, and give us much needed closure.

Every donation, even $5, genuinely helps us move closer to staying housed. Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Keep in mind I am working with AEP currently and we are trying to reach an agreement. We originally had set on a $93 a month plan and though we have stuck with it, it would appear that they have either not applied it to the account correctly or they simply did not honor it. I am going to contact them this coming monday to solve this issue.