Many of my best Cherry Grove memories involve Paula Rosenberg and Cherry Grove Pizza...


(Do you remember that warm smile?)


Paula desperately needs help right now.  Like many, she's been severely affected by COVID.  It goes without saying that life hasn't been easy for the last year, especially for someone working in the service industry.  Paula has gone almost a year without work and she's extremely vulnerable now.  She's asking for a little generosity from friends, old and new.  She really really really needs an extra push forward!   I hope that the Cherry Grove and Pines community will come forward generously and return the love.  Many of us are blessed beyond belief and have weathered this storm well enough compared to what others have gone through.  Let's "pay it forward!," ok?

Paula's positive attitude has buoyed her even as she has undergone challenge after challenge.  She has had to live in her car for many months, where she also stored all of her possessions (including precious keepsakes that she received from her mother and other deceased family).  She barely made it through 2020.  She lost her closest relative (a brother) and suffered through a hurricane that flooded her car.  I'm sure something is forgotten from this list.  I would've "broken" long ago from anything like what she's experienced.  The difficulties of life without work, without scant monetary aid, and without a home are HUGE.

Paula was looking forward to finally crawling out of this hole in which she's found herself.  She secured and has maintained solid work after many months without any work at all.  Nobody was hiring or nothing was open!  A generous friend allowed her to park in a vacant lot of theirs.  She lived in her car for months on end.  Then, the unimaginable happened...

Last week, a spiteful neighbor sold Paula's car to a disreputable junk dealer while she was at work.  It was towed away unbeknownst to her and she is unable to get the car or any of her belongings back.  The car was paid for, with only 55k miles and was in good shape.  Unfortunately, she could only afford to insure the car for personal injury and not for theft.  It's truly astounding that anyone could be so mean, especially during these tough times!! 

Paula is looking for any help she can get now.  Her needs are humble but life in and around Fort Lauderdale, Florida requires a car, even to live in when other options aren't possible.  She has a job (if you know her, you know she's one of the hardest workers in the world!) and a temporary place to sleep in a friend's home.  However, she needs help with the following to get on a steady foot again:

- Pay a small deposit and first payments for a room ($1,500 estimated)
- Buy personal necessities and new clothing to replace what was lost ($500 estimated)
- Replace personal possessions including the technology items that were stolen ($500 - 1,000 estimated)
- Buy a new (used) car ($7,500 estimated) 
 
Paula always works with a smile and boundless energy and enthusiasm.  Remember the Tuesday Night Specials?  Such good food and happy service.  Yummy!!  Over the years, I've been pleased to have become better acquainted with Paula and to eventually call her a friend.  She's always positive and a great conversationalist.  I benefit from knowing her and witnessing her positive outlook on life, even through this incomprehensible time.  I can't stand to see a good person suffer so much.  I'm simply trying to help however I can and I hope you can join me to help too.  

I would like to help Paula out in a desperate time of need and your help would be appreciated also.   She never gives up, and never gives in, but she needs our help now more than ever.  Pasted below FYI is the story she emailed about how her car was viciously stolen.  

Please find it in your heart to give whatever you can.  No amount is too small.  Everything is appreciated!!   Any questions, please reach out.  If I can't answer you, I'll get you in touch with Paula.  

Thanks
__________

EMAIL with additional information from Paula dated Thursday, March 4, 2021:

"Hi

This email is being sent to a handful of people. Each one of you cares about me. I'm just want to tell you what has happened. I'm not asking for anything. I feel like each one of you would want to know.


You all know I've been living in my car. Some of you may know I recently have gotten two part-time jobs. This morning I got up before going to my job so I could vacuum my car. A friend had brought over a vacuum for me to use the night before. 


My car sits on an empty lot which is adjacent to a building that houses two apartments. There is an outdoor electrical outlet that I have been given permission to use for charging my phone from the resident in the front apartment.
In the rear apartment there is a mother and her two daughters, all adults. 


When I plugged in the vacuum yesterday morning it's shut off about 45 seconds later. One of the adult daughters unplugged the extension cord. I walked over to her and asked her why did she unplug it? To say she went ballistic would be an understatement. She in no uncertain terms threatened me with bodily harm. She was screaming very loud. I've asked her why would she be doing this to me when I have never done anything to her in my life?  Of course I got no answer just more screaming. ( I should say here that she's never up in the morning so she had obviously been up all night drinking smoking weed and I don't know what else) She started threatening me that she was going to remove my car. The screaming went on for a good little while and a couple of people came out to observe what was happening. She then got on the phone and of course I don't hear very well but I heard enough to know that she was trying to make arrangements to get my car removed. I didn't go to work yesterday morning because of that. I was fearful that while I was gone my car would disappear.
Eventually the screaming subsided I'd lied down back in my car and I fell asleep. I was woken up about an hour later by the woman who actually owns the vacant lot where my car was situated. I don't know if it was by chance or if someone called her that she showed up. I have been given previous permission to stay on her property. I explained to her that I have just recently got employed working two jobs and when the stimulus check came I would be leaving her property. She said okay. She said let me give you my business card because I could help you get low income housing.
she then went and talked to the woman who was screaming at me in the back apartment, I have no idea what was said. Then the woman in the front apartment came out of her place for the second time and spoke to the woman as well. I only heard one sentence of the conversation and that was that the woman in the apartment told the property owner I was the one who told Paula to come here because she was not safe with she was before. Then both women went back into their apartments and the land owner left. I went back in my car and fell back asleep. I was under the impression that the situation has been resolved peaceably.


Later that afternoon I had to go to one of my jobs just for a short while. I'll say that there is no parking in downtown Fort Lauderdale unless you pay for it so I take the bus to work every day. That was no different yesterday. I took the bus and left my car at 1:15. I returned to the property at 4 and my car was gone.


I knew that the woman who was threatening me had someone take my car. I have come to find out today that was exactly what happened. She sold my car for junk to a disreputable junk car buyer. she called someone she used her own id and claimed it was her car. of course the police have been alerted but it will be almost impossible to get my car back the car has probably already been dismantled. My car was a 2014 had only 55,000 miles on it. Completely paid for and the only thing of significant monetary value that I owned. On top of that anything that meant anything to me of material possessions was in my car. Specifically in my trunk cooking utensils and equipment; some of which was my grandmother's and much of which was my mother's. 
I had to go through the motions of making sure that my car was not in the property of the city of Fort Lauderdale or authorized towing companies and I did that and it wasn't. Then through a friend of mine who is also a friend of a woman in the front apartment found out today a description of the truck and the person driving the truck. This person also witnessed the woman handing over her own ID and making the transaction. The problem is street credo in this neighborhood says people will not say a word and will not turn on each other if questioned by the police.
The reality is I will never get my car back nor will I get back anything in it. 
I will not rest until I find a way to get this woman arrested for stealing my car.
Not only have I lost my car I have lost everything that I own and the place where I have been sleeping. I literally have the pair of shorts and t-shirt I have on and flip flops on my feet. I also have my phone but I have absolutely nothing else. Not my medications. not my identification. not my chime card not my food stamp card, not any clothes or shoes to go to work in,no personal hygiene needs,  not any of the important paperwork for everything I've been trying to accomplish..... To just say this.. ...it is  devastating




I'm asking you please do not respond to this thread because then everybody will be getting everybody else responses and I think personally that's extremely annoying. I don't want to annoy anybody least of all you few people.....


Love


Paula


For the moment Marie has given me shelter."