Housing Justice Tax: Myriam & Sarha
Donation protected
Meet Myriam and her daughter Sarha, my upstairs neighbors in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Myriam is a brilliant hair stylist, dance instructor and single-mom to Sarha. Sarha will be 10 in a few weeks! She loves dogs and coloring with her friends.
Myriam and Sarha are facing an eviction from our building at the end of this month after years of being harrassed to leave so the management can raise the rent for new tenants. The building has been harassing Myriam to leave for nearly a decade--since she sued the management company after falling down the stairs (wet from being mopped without a sign) during her second trimester of pregnancy. As a result of the building's negligence, Sarha was born 3 months early with cerebral palsy, and life-threatening heart and lung conditions. Myriam's own health has declined because of stress requiring her to undergo chemotherapy and rely on steroids. The building has also prevented her several times from moving to a ground floor unit, even though Myriam has to carry Sarha's wheelchair up 4 flights of stairs while Sarha pulls herself up the banister several times a day. Myriam lost her initial lawsuit, despite supportive depositions from hospital staff and social workers. The building has refused liability and
failed to accommodate Sarha's needs.
Myriam's been making things work against a lot of odds, and has fought the management in court over harassment several times and forced the building to complete repairs. Recently she has been unable to work as frequently because of her own worsening health and because her son--who helped care for Sarha--was arrested. She has fallen behind in rent and the building immediately issued her an eviction notice. After talking with Myriam for a while about how to fight her eviction, we decided to make a GoFundMe page to raise money to get her out of this immediate crisis, while we are also in the process of organizing a tenants' union in our building to prevent further evictions.
Currently Myriam is behind in rent over $2,000 and her son is stuck in Rikers (without charges) on $2650 bail. We are circulating this page to raise enough money to cover these bills and her next month's rent, asking for contributions primarily from newer and white residents in Brooklyn and close friends and family who we know are committed to anti-racist housting justice. For those of us newer to Brooklyn, whose presence is part of the dynamic that raises rents for residents like Myriam, pitching in to prevent evictions should be a part of the rent we pay to our neighbors--a housing justice tax. Please help in any way you can by contributing money (any amount is helpful!) and sharing the page with anyone you know who will support Myriam and Sarha's fight for fair housing.
Myriam and Sarha are facing an eviction from our building at the end of this month after years of being harrassed to leave so the management can raise the rent for new tenants. The building has been harassing Myriam to leave for nearly a decade--since she sued the management company after falling down the stairs (wet from being mopped without a sign) during her second trimester of pregnancy. As a result of the building's negligence, Sarha was born 3 months early with cerebral palsy, and life-threatening heart and lung conditions. Myriam's own health has declined because of stress requiring her to undergo chemotherapy and rely on steroids. The building has also prevented her several times from moving to a ground floor unit, even though Myriam has to carry Sarha's wheelchair up 4 flights of stairs while Sarha pulls herself up the banister several times a day. Myriam lost her initial lawsuit, despite supportive depositions from hospital staff and social workers. The building has refused liability and
failed to accommodate Sarha's needs.
Myriam's been making things work against a lot of odds, and has fought the management in court over harassment several times and forced the building to complete repairs. Recently she has been unable to work as frequently because of her own worsening health and because her son--who helped care for Sarha--was arrested. She has fallen behind in rent and the building immediately issued her an eviction notice. After talking with Myriam for a while about how to fight her eviction, we decided to make a GoFundMe page to raise money to get her out of this immediate crisis, while we are also in the process of organizing a tenants' union in our building to prevent further evictions.
Currently Myriam is behind in rent over $2,000 and her son is stuck in Rikers (without charges) on $2650 bail. We are circulating this page to raise enough money to cover these bills and her next month's rent, asking for contributions primarily from newer and white residents in Brooklyn and close friends and family who we know are committed to anti-racist housting justice. For those of us newer to Brooklyn, whose presence is part of the dynamic that raises rents for residents like Myriam, pitching in to prevent evictions should be a part of the rent we pay to our neighbors--a housing justice tax. Please help in any way you can by contributing money (any amount is helpful!) and sharing the page with anyone you know who will support Myriam and Sarha's fight for fair housing.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kaitlin Noss
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Myriam Policard
Beneficiary