My name is Lavender Luna and I've dedicated my adult life to advocating for women and children through raising funds for others and spreading awareness. I now find myself needing your help. I have less than 77 days to save our house from a corporation who bought our past due property taxes.
In 2022, I did the scariest thing I've ever done. I put my 9-year-old child and our 3 dogs into my compact SUV, and I drove us all from Seattle to the heart of Illinois. I can still barely believe we survived that trip and made it to our Forever Home that I had just bought for us after getting divorced.
All I wanted for my child was stability. We had moved 9 times between 2 states in our child's 9 years of life. I knew I would never be able to afford to buy a home on the West Coast. After 2 years of research, I felt aligned the most with Central Illinois. It was beautiful, the communities were involved, and it was much safer than where we'd been living the past 2 years. So when I visited Central Illinois and saw children playing in the streets, and neighbors who knew each other's names, I felt hope.
In the past almost 3 years of this being our home, my child has blossomed. My child no longer hides in the bathtub on weekends to avoid the drive-by shootings, like in our last apartment. They have a bedroom of their own, a room where they make art and do their schoolwork, and a yard they can enjoy with their dogs. They have made friendships I believe will last a lifetime, as have I.
In summer 2022, I got COVID-19. I ended up with a partially collapsed lung and was told I had permanent heart damage. I ended up with Long Covid and have struggled with my health ever since. I got COVID-19 again in December 2023, and it only got worse. This has left me unable to work consistently. My savings ran out after about 18 months and I have been trying everything I can to barely scrape by since then.
During the past few years, I've been unable to pay the property taxes for this property. The same corporation has been buying my property taxes and adding 12-24% interest to it year after year. Now, I owe them $11,683.83 by April 22nd, 2025, or they will receive the deed to my property. After all we've been through to get here, we'll lose my child's forever home.
It's taken every penny we have just to pay the utilities and regular household bills; I haven't been able to save enough to meet this deadline. Due to my health issues, my ex-husband (the father of my child) has agreed to move in to help us. He also just got a new job last week, so moving forward, we will be able to pay our monthly bills.
Please, please help us keep our Forever Home.
Every penny we raise will go towards paying the tax debt so we don't lose our house. If something wild happens and we receive more than that, it will go toward future property taxes, household utilities, a new roof (it's 22 years old and ready to be replaced), paying off debt, etc.
Your help means more than just financial assistance. It's a reminder we aren't alone and that kindness is still alive and well in our world. Every single gift, no matter the size, helps us get closer to staying in our Forever Home.
Thank you for reading and for sharing.