Help with Rent for Jess B.

EDIT 3 8/10/20 12:08am CST:
Hello everyone, First of all, thank you so much to everyone who was an initial donor to this campaign. Your help has been incredible. I never expected this much help from other people, and I appreciate it. Next, actual updates on the current situation. My partner, our new roommate, and I are mostly moved into the new house, and it is wonderful. The space is lovely, the house is in much better condition than the previous house, and we have enjoyed taking a short break to breathe for the past two days after juggling work and moving. I regret to report that expenses will be more than I initially expected, even with some things not having up-front costs. Part of my concern is I am trying to cover the full utilities due at the previous apartment by myself due to certain circumstances, part of which is needing to switch the utilities at that address out of my name sooner than anticipated. I simply cannot sustain paying more than that beyond the end of this month. For reference, here are the relevant numbers so far: -The campaign has provided for me, after fees, $1,126.41 Costs: -$645 in rent between both my former and current address [covered by the campaign] -Transferring services for electric, water, sewer, and trash through the main utilities company: $265 ($65 application fee plus a $200 deposit) [covered by the campaign] -This month's electric at old address: $186.07 [covered by the campaign] -This month's internet at old address: $55 [all but $24.66 covered by campaign] -This month's gas at old address: Bill not yes posted, but based off of recent averages will be ~$20 Internet installation at the new address (which was necessary for me to continue work for my graduate courses) was thankfully free, so that did not incur an initial fee. There was also no additional fee for transferring gas services into my name at the new address. These were both very pleasant and welcome surprises. For both of those, what will be due next is the first bill for each, but I am unsure when they will be due yet. In the meantime, I am still struggling to a degree. I have continued to deliver for Postmates since beginning this campaign, but income from it is still mostly not sustainable, and what I have made from it has gone to basic needs like food and cat food and litter. I do begin full paid training for my new job on August 17th, which will be a relief. However, with the hours I have been scheduled so far with training, I am estimating that at most my pay from it by the end of the month will be $400, most of which will be used up by the $380 in rent I will owe for September. There will also be additional meter reads and other charges at the old address for utilities after they are changed out of my name on Saturday, August 15th, and I am unsure how much they will total as of now. The total from charges I am aware of at the moment that I have been unable to cover in utilities at the old address as listed above is $44.66. That being said, as much as everyone's generosity has helped so far, if there is anyone willing and able to provide a little more help, it would alleviate a lot of pressure. I'm raising the goal to about $200 what I have been given after fees by the campaign so far, in hopes that it will make it more likely that I can ensure my ability to cover, if nothing else, utilities at the old address. Regardless of whether any additional donations are made, thank you again to everyone who has helped in the meantime, and if you read this far, thank you for that in and of itself. Finally, I want to plug the campaign for my former roommates. They have also struggled with maintaining stable income, and are in need of assistance with the costs of switching the utilities into their name on August 15th. If anyone would rather help them instead, here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/36dtn-help-with-housing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR3hjZztaje61PM_y3iM8ijXqiXOC-rWBZ09f36oT80TB1_GNtWLpIZXCm4

EDIT 2: Thank you all, so, SO very much!! Anything that exceeds my own rent and utilities expenses from here on out, I plan to use to help my current roommates with their expenses when they move as well. Anything beyond our combined total expenses, I will donate to other causes when the time comes, and if anyone would like proof of that donation, please ask. I will update informationon this however I can once we are all moved into our new housing.

EDIT: I am blown away by everyone’s generosity and overwhelmed. Keeping things up front, I’m raising the goal from $700 to $850 in the hopes of being able to stretch the amount to cover utilities costs if possible! This will help me stabilize my finances a littlesooner.

I never expected or wanted to reach out for something like this through crowdfunding, but things have become more uncertain than I had ever planned for.

To explain what I am asking for up front:

I am asking for a total of $645 to cover rent expenses, and the additional $55 above that factored into my goal is to account for transfer fees for donations. Anything in excess of this will go towards costs of transferring utilities.

I will need to pay $265 in rent at my current apartment for one last month of rent in order to provide the property management company 30 days’ notice, and allow my current roommates time to find new housing as well. The other $380 in rent is for first month’s rent at the new home I will be moving to; $350 base and $30 in pet rent for my two cats.

Now, here’s the situation:

My current apartment was acquired by a new management company in October and has become unsafe/unsanitary since then. The sewage line to the house (my apartment is the upstairs of a house) ruptured around two months ago. Leading up to it getting that bad, the plumbing in our apartment started backing up, sewage began backing up into the downstairs apartment, and the cap to the sewage line (which is directly under the entrance to our apartment) came off. Consequently, an open pool of sewage began to collect under our balcony/in front of where we park. We contacted the property management company about this multiple times. After about a month, during which time they sent out multiple cleaning crews that ended up refusing to clean the sewage, they finally sent out plumbers to snake the line. The issue was bad enough a new sewage line needed to be put in. The plumbers left the cap off, and sewage continued to pool around it. A month later (on July 13), our local utilities service and another company finally came out to replace the sewage line after our neighbors called the agency that handles health and safety regulations for housing in our area and complained about the open pool of sewage. The property management company never sent anyone out to fix the sewage line and take care of the stagnant sewage by our balcony. Instead, they contacted the utilities company after they arrived to the house and tried to stop them because they wanted to find someone to replace the line for cheaper. They have made it abundantly clear that they are not concerned about my or my roommates’ health and safety. To this day, there is still dried sewage in four different rooms of the apartment below us that has not been cleaned. This is not the only health and safety issue that has happened at this property that the company has neglected or refused to take care of, it is just the most severe. I need out.

I have been able to afford the deposit for a new house with two different roommates at a house in much better repair with a more conscientious landlord, but it took all of what I had left. I am an unemployed grad student who just lost their job in May. In the spirit of transparency, I do have one job interview coming up and have been working as a delivery driver when able. However, income from working for delivery services in my area is not sustainable, and if I am offered the job after this upcoming interview, I will not be able to make enough from it in time to cover rent at the beginning of August. I believe I will be able to stabilize my income by September, but I have to make it until then first.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for any contribution you provide, whether financial or spreading the word about this fund. I appreciate any help that anyone is able to provide immensely.