Me, my 14 year old daughter avoid homelessness.

Life has not been easy. It never is for anyone. I feel like I have had a bullseye on me for the last two years.

I'm a 52-year-old single mom of a 14-year-old daughter.

For the last almost 30 years, I worked incredibly hard. I did all of the “right things.” Never shied away from any challenge. I used to think I was someone to be proud of, someone who could be an example.

That all changed in 2022. My long-time business partner (and closest friend) was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, resulting in the sudden and unexpected closing of our business, which up until that date, had been incredibly successful. We were in architectural glass and built a solid reputation. But that all came to a sudden end.

I had applied to every job position possible—73 in the last few months alone—but couldn’t get back to nearly the pay I had. And slowly, everyone I thought were friends were gone.

I struggled to pay my mortgage. I even kept an extremely abusive partner in the home as an attempt to help cover my bills. But that situation grew increasingly unhealthy for me and my daughter, even for my dogs. But he’s now leaving.

The home we are living in—it was my parents' home. My safe space. My parents both have passed away, and this is all I have. It provided shelter for me and for my small Scottie dogs. And now we’re probably going to be homeless.

In October, while driving my daughter to school, a person hit my car while I was stopped. He hit me going about 55 MPH, and now my car was totaled. The insurance paid off most of the loan, but that left me without a vehicle.

I was reaching the bottom quickly.

The seemingly smart thing would be to sell my home—but where will I go? What about my dogs? I don’t even have anyone to help me pack up 50 years' worth of mine and my parents' belongings. And I am terrified. Completely terrified.

I have started questioning my worth as a human. What kind of person can’t care for their child?

I recently started studying to become a realtor while working my regular day job, with a single goal to provide for my daughter.

I don’t have any family nearby or any friends. I know I can get above this, I just need about 6 months to finish school. But I have to try to keep my home. The funds from this fundraiser will 100% go to catching up on my past due mortgage payments and hopefully enable me to get a car. I’m a smart girl, and I’ve always been stronger than anyone should have to be.

When my mom passed away in 2023, my house (which was also in my name) was turned over to my mom's estate; she had a mortgage on the house that no one knew about. And the year before her passing, she had stopped paying the loan (unbeknownst to us), so on top of dealing with the heartbreak of my mom passing, we were also notified of a foreclosure.

I don’t even know if any of this is making sense. I’m writing all of this through tears.

I am begging for help. If I can get on top of this mortgage—just to get current—my plan is to turn my basement and garage into a rental space, to help offset the costs of the mortgage and allow me to keep my family home, keep my daughter and my dogs sheltered—all on my current salary.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have always been there for anyone that needed help of any kind. No judgment. Completely without strings attached.

I am pleading for someone—anyone—to take a chance on me. Life can get scary so fast.

I am alone. And I don’t know what else to do. But I face a real possibility of becoming homeless. And very soon.

Thank you for your consideration.

My 14 year old daughter, Samantha, is a 2nd degree sport martial artist.

My sweet Scottie’s . I may not have been blessed with “true love”, but God sent me my sweet dogs to tend to my heart.

One of the most important things to me was to always allow my daughter take part in simple fun. Here she is this past summer with friends, in our backyard swimming❤️