Help Sharina & Cici in their new journey

Hi, my name is Sharina Ramirez and I was born and raised in L.E.S. (Lower Manhattan). I've lived here most of my life. I am now 47 years old, so that's a pretty long time. I've lived through the '80s and '90s, where I lost my parents to AIDS due to the drug epidemic that swept through my neighborhood. I was technically orphaned at 16 and was a young single mom by 17. Wasn't sure where life was taking me, but it wasn't going to be an easy ride, and I didn't want my baby girl to suffer with me. So I did the smartest, hardest thing I had to do and left her with her grandmothers so I could figure out my life. I knew I didn't want to end up like my parents, so I ran from the neighborhood, and I ran far. First, I endured some major hardships, from being homeless to being in an abusive relationship before I was even 20 years old. That relationship led me to my furthest run. I ended up in a small city called St. Mary's, Georgia. Talk about a culture shock. I didn't think I could make it, but I did. I eventually got out of that horrible relationship and actually began to build myself and my life. It took a lot of hard work, but I got my GED and had 3 jobs at one time! I was thriving! I loved it! But, I missed my baby girl. She wasn't a baby no more.

I made the decision to come back home to the Lower East Side, where I was blessed to not only become part of my daughter's life, but her grandmother trusted me enough to finish the job and continue raising her. I was overjoyed. I wanted to take her back to Georgia where she could experience a different life, but her family (our family) was here, so she wanted to stay, and I understood. We enjoyed her teenage years together, and I swore she would always be my only child (joke was on us!). Just as my daughter graduated high school and was getting ready for college, along came her little sister. I've raised my youngest here as well, where she heard the stories of her grandparents, her mom, and her sister growing up in different times of our neighborhood. She's now seen and experienced the changes and challenges our neighborhood is going through, and it is now affecting both of our mental health. I have suffered with Borderline Personality Disorder since I was younger, and now my youngest was diagnosed with anxiety disorder due to environmental occurrences.

That leads me to here and now. My dream of moving back to the south has never left. So I have decided I need to leave NY to thrive again. Mine and my daughter's mental health has become a major priority, and unfortunately, NY is no longer conducive to the life I want to be able to live or give my daughter. I have saved up enough money to secure an apartment for my youngest and me. My oldest will be staying with our current apartment so she can thrive as well. I'm able to move what we own to where we want to go. We have some stuff and are not completely starting from scratch, but we are going without furniture. I've been torn about asking for help due to my own pride, but I realized I have to put that aside if I want to be able to provide a comfortable living space for my daughter and me. Our goal is to move in August after she graduates elementary school. I am humbly asking for any help you can spare, even if it's a share or a well-wish on our future journey. I appreciate you for taking the time to read my story.

Best wishes,

Love & Light,

Sharina