Keep Marcelo in His Home by August 1!

Hello everyone, my name is Marcelo Moraes and I’m currently at risk for eviction on August 1.

I’m a Brazilian immigrant living in Westlake Village apartments in Daly City with my son, where I have been living for 2.5, almost 3 years.

Right before the pandemic started, I spent New Years Eve with someone that ended up giving me a very bad sickness that I think was COVID. I was staying in a hotel and I got so, so sick, I thought I was dying. I couldn’t get out of bed to leave the hotel for three days and had to pay extra to stay. Because I was bedridden I was unable to make it back to my job, which caused them to fire me.

I drove 15 hours back home while I was incredibly sick, after losing my job, and had to stay in my home in bed for another week after that.

Because of this sickness and losing my job, I was unable to pay my rent for the first time in the 2 years I had lived at Westlake Village. My son had also just left Daly City to stay with his mother in Miami, so I also did not have his support at the time.

Even though I had always paid my rent on time until this point, and I only lost my job because I was the sickest I’ve ever been, Westlake served me an eviction notice.

This notice was served in February and it was an incredibly scary, isolating experience. I had to go to court on the day I was supposed to be evicted to request a stay on the eviction. The night before I packed up all of my things and loaded them up into a truck just in case the judge did not grant my case. The Sheriff showed up the day I was going to court to evict me and I had to insist that I was on my way to court to file for the extension.

I didn’t know if when I came back I would still have a home or not.

Right after this, the Pandemic started and the federal eviction moratorium was created, which paused my eviction for some time. Unfortunately I have been served two more eviction notices with the ends of the federal and state eviction moratoriums and I am still scared that I will no longer have a home after this.

Westlake Apartments has not been kind to me during this process either. At first they said they would drop my eviction case as long as I applied to the state rental assistance program but they’ve changed their minds. They are still trying to evict me over only one month plus utilities of over due rent. If I am unable to pay for the $3,883  by August 1 they will be evicting me and I will have no home to stay in anymore. I am not covered by the state moratorium now because this rent is from before the pandemic “started.” Thankfully at least my son has moved back with me again so I am not alone.

I don’t want to be scared anymore, I just want a home for my son and I. I will continue to work and pay future rent but any help to raise this money so that they do not evict me will do so much. Thank you everyone, I appreciate you.