Going Forward with Your Help After A Tough Year

Hello, my name is Kristin; I'm fundraising for a friend and former neighbor who has suffered through the Perfect Storm of problems.

 

The picture above is of Y.G., K's dog. She's been with K through thick and thin.

K needs your help urgently to get back on her feet. She’s shy and feels embarrassed asking for money, so I am doing it and using her initial instead of her full name. The last few years have brought the Perfect Storm of financial and physical difficulties. She’s a 58-year-old Black woman.

 

Before the recession of 2008, K held high-level financial positions in international companies. Since then , she hasn’t been able to match that success. She’s not lazy. In the years after 2008, she always worked, including as a sales clerk for a national clothing chain and for a dog walking company, among many other jobs.

 

K quickly became the favorite of the dog walking company’s clients because she brought treats for the dogs and left notes describing the dog’s day. Unfortunately, she was knocked to her knees on concrete by an overly enthusiastic pit bull while taking it for a walk.

 

Her insurance company says she’s too young for a knee replacement. I wonder if this is an example of systemic racism. It hurts her when she walks.

 

When she didn’t have a car, she took the subway from Arlington, VA, to Silver Spring, MD, a long commute both ways, for a contract job for over a year. Even though she was qualified, she noticed the company never offered permanent positions to Black candidates. Her contract ended, and she couldn’t get another.

 

Now she has no income.

 

In the last year and a half, K has been declined for disability three times, even though she hasn’t been able to work a full-time job since a car accident that messed with her head a few years ago. Because of that crash, she has frequent debilitating episodes and migraines and sometimes undergoes awful procedures. And she has that bad knee. Not qualified or systemic racism? I don’t know.

 

K recently had to file for bankruptcy. She lost the house she’d lived in for 25 years and didn’t make a penny on the sale. The county affordable housing people seemed sincere but would not help her find a place until she was virtually homeless. In the end, they didn't find a place for her. She looked for an apartment she could afford for months. K was working with an agency when she had to leave the house. She had to dip into some of her dwindling nest egg to stay in an extended stay hotel in a not very safe location.

 

After three weeks, a nice apartment was found. Soon it will be too expensive for her to remain.

 

K's family paid her rent in April. Now I’m getting worried about what’s next.

 

K needs financial help and some practical items. Her computer is dead, and she needs a new laptop so she can find some work she can do from home. Her Fiat – Mr. Gucci – needs to be repaired so she can get around more easily. It’s been garaged for a long time.

 

We’re asking for $65.000 to cover $1,500 for a computer, about $1,500 to fix Mr. Gucci and money to get the car out there. We’d like to find a new lawyer to handle the next approach to the disability office. Not sure what that costs.

 

Most importantly, she needs money to establish both food and rent stability, and to pay some medical bills. The current rent is $2,200. Six months’ rent in this building would be $13,000. If the insurance won’t pay for the knee replacement, paying for it privately would cost from $19,500 to $30.000.

 

K also needs a part time caregiver. Caregivers cost from $12 to $25 an hour.

 

K and I would appreciate any help you may offer. Donations as little as $5 can make a difference. It's been hard to watch K suffer all of these setbacks over the years, and I very much hope, we can get some help.

 

Thank you.