Help Kristina and Heather Escape from Cockroaches

We are two neurodivergent queers in a loving relationship for the past year and a half. Our relationship is filled with love, joy, laughter, and dedication to one another, and we have two fur babies (cats), Maybelline and CJ, who are everything to us.

 

What Happened

 

Our lives were uprooted on Sunday, May 1 because of a cockroach infestation in our rental suite (picture: our bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, etc.), and we are in desperate need of temporary housing. We have a place to go in mid-August but are homeless until then.

 

We have been living in an apartment in downtown Edmonton for the past year, and we thought it would be a decent place to spend our last few years renting while saving to buy a house with our best friend. This apartment has not proved to be a safe or decent place to live, though, and the property management group has been negligent in responding to the ongoing cockroach infestation in the building.

 

Alberta Health Services is involved as the infestation is present in multiple units, and we have requested that the property management group give us an abatement of rent while we are unable to live in our suite, however they have denied this request. We are working on a case to present to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS), and while we are hopeful for a positive outcome, we will not know the status of our claim for at least a month.

 

We cannot be expected to stay in our home while there is an active cockroach infestation, as this is an infringement of our rights as tenants and an insult to our decency as human beings. Aside from our right to a pest-free living situation, we struggle with our mental health and the infestation has caused us a great deal of emotional harm. Because of the infestation, we have had to throw out all our stored human and cat food; we have had to replace many of our toiletries and have purchased towels and blankets for temporary use; we will likely have to replace many of our small appliances as they are hot spots for infestation; and we have spent our small savings to address the situation ourselves.

 

So, we are humbly asking our loving community to help us get back on our feet until we can move into our safer housing situation in August.

 

Where the Money Will Go

 

$6500 – Airbnb costs for May 31 – August 13.

 

$2000 – To recoup savings lost at the beginning of May when cockroaches were found that were spent on Airbnb stays, replacement of food, replacement of cat food and necessary accessories + the cost of replacing effected small appliances.

 

$300 – GoFundMe administrative fees. GoFundMe takes 2.9% of each donation for admin. fees, and the total represents that approx. amount.

 

Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts.

 

Thank you so much for considering giving us some of your hard-earned money. We appreciate all contributions, no matter the size, and if you cannot contribute, we appreciate you sharing this with your networks.

--If you would like to contribute offline, you can send an e-transfer to [email redacted]--

 

**If we receive financial compensation from the RTDRS following our hearing, we will donate 10% of the funds to HARES Outreach (formerly Treaty 6 Outreach), a 'grassroots mutual aid network...currently doing street outreach' in Edmonton, Alberta.**