Provide a Safe Home for Single Mom Bella & Kids

"Bella" is one of my dearest friends. I've known her for nearly two decades. She is incredibly smart, talented, well-educated, kind, loyal, and fiercely hardworking. And for the past year, I've walked alongside her as her life has completely fallen apart.

Bella was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disease after enduring years of traumatic abuse. She suffers chronic pain and endless fatigue. Despite this, after her husband finally abandoned her and her children, she has worked relentlessly to provide for her family.

What began as short-term, part-time jobs blossomed into a reliable full-time income while Bella persisted through endless joint pain and migraines, setbacks and disappointments. She has even paid off debt! But what she has not been able to do yet is secure safe, dependable housing for herself and her young children. She HAS maintained a roof over their heads this whole time, by the grace of God--but the rest of their home, and their neighborhood, leaves much to be desired.

First came the hot water leak in the foundation of her house. Her landlord managed to repair it--but left her with nothing but splintering plywood for a kitchen floor. That was months ago--and it turned out to be the first of many serious lingering issues that have been "repaired" only to flair up again and again, causing untold amounts of stress for Bella and loss of work as she deals with constant household breakdowns. All the extra strain on her system is terrible for her health, and the environment is certainly not conducive to raising two young children on her own. Add to that some intimidation/stalking on the part of some of her neighbors, and she point-blank **needs** to get out of this house.

Bella is gritting her teeth as far as they'll go just to hang onto the job she has--but if her health continues to worsen thanks to the toll this house is taking on her, she won't be able to. And while she is currently able to maintain her bills and monthly rent, saving up the deposit and three months' worth of income to qualify for a new place is far less straightforward. It will take her months yet, while her current housing continues to deteriorate--along with her body.

I want to raise enough money to cover three months' rent, a rent deposit, and a pet deposit for Bella, her babies, and their passel of pets (an enormous, necessary source of comfort in a terrible situation) to move into a safe, sanitary new home. She is looking for a comparable property in her area to what she has now (a small 3-bedroom), for a similar monthly price--one she can cover with her income. Landlords typically ask for only a month's worth of pay stubs (which Bella has), despite wanting to see three times that in applicants' bank accounts. If we can put the funds into her bank account to cover initial costs, the rental company won't care where it came from, and Bella will be able to maintain the rent from that point forward herself.

She just needs a leg up. She just needs a boost.

And she needs it sooner rather than later--before the strain on her system kills her ability to work at all, or worse. She has exhausted all her other welfare and support options (I've been working closely with her through all of this; I know).

If we can get this to her by the start of the New Year, what better way would there be to hammer the last nail in the coffin of 2020 and kick it to the curb?!

It would mean the world to me to see Bella and her babies safely, securely resettled in a calm, peaceful home that isn't constantly wrecking her health and her sanity as she both parents and works full-time--in the middle of COVID! With an autoimmune disease! Please, please help me do this. My own family of origin was riddled with trauma from abuse and an autoimmune illness. I understand a lot of what it means to go through what she's going through.

If we can help Bella, it will give me more hope than I've ever had for a better world for the oppressed and marginalized, for the widows and orphans.

Please help me. Please help her and her little ones.

4 weeks... $7,000... for:

Rent Deposit
Pet Deposit
3 Months' Rent

Thank you!!!


**Out of respect for Bella's privacy, I have changed her name.**