Nancy DeBoer Emergency Rent Assistance

Hello, everyone! My name is Amber Hegdahl, and I am organizing this for my mom’s cousin, Nancy DeBoer, pictured here with my sister Anna. As a kid, I loved going over to her house. She’s always been a “cool aunt” figure to me. As an adult, I’ve been getting to know her better this past year, and I’ve been amazed at her motivation to take care of herself day by day and push through the incredibly difficult circumstances happening in her life right now.

“Cousin Nancy,” as I call her, has several long term medical issues going on including end stage non-alcohol-related liver cirrhosis and ovarian/abdominal cancer. She has been unable to work as a nurse due to these issues since 2020. She applied to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability money, but was denied the first time around. She applied for disability again in 2022, but the SSA kept her file pending for a year, locked and archived it without her approval, and lost all proof of her application. Thankfully, her social worker found some downloaded proof that she had applied and her third application was submitted this past week. We expect to hear back about whether her disability application process will move forward in about a month. This long term aid will, if approved, give her financial and housing security for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile, the SSA’s unacceptable lack of organization and failure to keep Cousin Nancy and her social worker informed of anything have put her in a very difficult situation. Right now, Cousin Nancy is facing eviction from her home. She received the eviction notice while in the hospital throughout the month of May 2023. Cousin Nancy owes $3341.90 for April, May, and June rent, late fees, and court costs. The court has ordered that she needs to pay this amount or she will be evicted by Friday, June 30th. Additionally, she has $1015 due by July 4th. Even if the disability money comes in, it will be too late.

What are our next steps? We are exploring every avenue for emergency aid right now. If you are able to donate, even just $5, towards our $4400 goal, Cousin Nancy would be so grateful. On Monday, June 26th, we will be going to the Salvation Army, the hub for emergency aid in Grand Rapids, and Community Rebuilders, to get her any help they can give. If anyone knows of a non-profit, church or other religious organization that would be willing to partner with Cousin Nancy, please send me a direct message through GoFundMe. Finally, for the people in Grand Rapids, her nephew Michael and I are also collaborating to post some of her furniture, craft supplies, books, movies, and vintage/antique items on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. I will post the links to those items in an update, so that you can support in that way if that’s more manageable.

We are also preparing for the worst. Even if she is unable to stay in her home past Friday, June 30th, your donation will help her pay off what she owes so that any new rental places will not deny her applications.

Thank you for reading this and considering whether you are able to give to my amazing, incredibly motivated, loving cousin! We appreciate you all!