Help Anina Find Peace and Safety After Years on the Streets

My name is Joseph, and my friend Anara and I are starting this fundraiser for Anina, an elderly woman in her 70s who has been living on the streets of Brookline for the past four years — enduring harsh winters, isolation, and the daily struggle to survive with no place to call home.

Anina emigrated from Ukraine in the 1970s and has spent most of her life in the U.S. She is a Jewish immigrant, soft-spoken, intelligent, and full of memories from a life that once had family, stability, and dignity.

But over time, those she loved passed away, and she slowly lost everything — her housing, her belongings, and her support system. Today, she lives among paper bags and cardboard boxes, which she clings to not out of madness, but because they are all she has left.

When she was young, she used to help many people — immigrants just like her — by providing resources and support. She gave freely when she had something to give. Now, it’s our turn to give back to her.

She suffers from trauma and deep psychiatric wounds, including hoarding tendencies and a fear of institutions after a devastating experience she believes led to her aunt’s mistreatment and death in a nursing facility. Because of that, she refuses shelters and is terrified of being placed into a system that she sees as cold and dehumanizing.

Despite all of this, she has recently begun to trust again. She allowed me to help her clean out some of the belongings that burden her. It was painful for her — she wept — but she did it. That one small step means the world.

Now, we want to take the next step with her.

We are currently working to help her recover documentation, including ID and a Social Security card, so she can access benefits and healthcare. But in the meantime, she urgently needs stable housing, support, and care that respects her fears and honors her humanity.

We have reached out to countless nonprofits, social service agencies, and housing programs — but no one has helped. Each organization passes us to another, and months go by with no results. We can no longer afford to wait.

Anina can barely see, and she is so sleep-deprived that she sometimes wanders into the middle of the road, unaware of traffic. She has nearly been hit multiple times. She is exhausted — physically and mentally. She urgently needs a safe, private place to sleep, to gather her strength, and to stay alive.

No one knows how we will age. Any one of us could find ourselves in her position one day — alone, unseen, and vulnerable. Please help restore Anina’s dignity and give her a chance to live her final years in peace.

All funds will go toward:

Safe, private transitional housing

Medical and psychiatric evaluations (outside of institutional settings)

Assistance recovering her documentation

Daily needs: food, clean clothes, hygiene supplies

Eventually — a long-term, dignified living solution

Anina is not just a statistic. She’s someone’s grandmother. Someone who survived war, migration, loss, and poverty. Someone who, with a little support, could live out her final years in peace.

Please help me give Anina a second chance — not just at survival, but at dignity.

Even $10 goes a long way. And if you can't donate, please share.

With gratitude,

Joseph and Anara

(Because Anina does not have ID and cannot create her own banking or online fundraising account, I have created this campaign on her behalf. Every dollar raised will go directly to meeting her needs — including ID recovery, housing, food, and medical care. I am working with her daily and keeping detailed records of how the funds are spent, which I will update here regularly. If you’d like to ask any questions or see proof of progress, please feel free to message me. I want this process to be fully transparent.)