Hello, my name is Jake. My two roommates and I (including my partner) and our cats recently had our life unexpectedly uprooted and abruptly changed in a terrible accident. I was home sick from work when a tree fell into our house and penetrated the ceiling in the room in which I was sleeping. It later came to be that we found out my room was filled with asbestos. We unknowingly tracked it throughout the house causing a cross contamination event that eventually lead us into no longer being able to enter our home for an unforeseeable amount of time.

We were placed in a hotel with the help of the Social Services Crisis team, however; we will not have access to many of our items for the foreseeable future. Many of my belongings were determined to be disposed due to the level of contamination. My bed, many of my clothes, our cat tree, and many of my items were buried in a foot of asbestos and insulation. My partner and I had to go to walmart and buy minimal new clothes and $5 microwaveable dinners which quickly racked up to $600 bill. Unfortunately we did not have renters insurance and this whole experience has been a traumatic nightmare. Unfortunate but a lesson learned.

This money would help us in staying afloat during this holiday season and to help my partner and I purchase a bed, pots and pans, cutlery, belongings for our cats, a less contaminated wardrobe for myself, and to help us restock our kitchen as the items in our freezer, fridge, and soon to be pantry have been lost. I also had to take multiple unpaid days off from work to process the event we experienced and try to find new housing.

We understand the holidays are already a hard time, but we appreciate any and all help we can receive. Thank you