Help Get Jamie and Zoe Safe and Housed

We are Lauren Gutierrez and Kathryn Webb. Our dear friend Jamie and her daughter (also our dear friend) are going through a very difficult situation.

After returning to California and leaving a dangerous housing situation in another state, Zoe's Medi-Cal was inexplicably canceled. All our efforts in the last 4 weeks to reinstate it have so far failed, despite the fact that Zoe's disabilities qualify her for lifelong Medi-Cal coverage. Without Medi-Cal, Zoe's IHSS was canceled, and the income Jamie can receive for caring for Zoe around the clock was not available. This led to a cascade of troubles for our friends.

Jamie and Zoe are facing eviction, and after a recent hospitalization for Zoe, the house they were in is not currently safe to return to. Zoe received needed supplies through Medi-Cal, including a very specific food she needs while she waits for surgery to repair a fistula and despite working hard on getting those funded by the Regional Center, she still is not receiving them.

Jamie's car needs repairs and updated past due registration. We need to bring in services to make their home medically safe for Zoe again or to move their possessions into more stable housing. We need rent to keep them from being evicted and to get them stable in their existing home or find another place for them to live. We need to continue to support them with emergency housing in an AirBnB, groceries, food Zoe can eat, supplies that Medi-Cal should be providing, and continue to pay bills like phone and car insurance until they're back on their feet.

In every area of life, Jamie and Zoe need support right now. We have been able to fund emergency stop gap measures ourselves for now, like groceries, supplies, phone bills, a hotel stay and a week of AirBnB, but we can't continue indefinitely. We are working with every possible support system that exists to build a sustainable plan, but we will need funds to keep them out of further emergency and to help them build a stable life.

Jamie was a single mom on a business trip 9 years ago when Zoe was born, unexpectedly, at 25 weeks. They were stranded in Las Vegas, where Zoe acquired meningitis in the hospital and they were in an impossible situation. At that time, the Down syndrome community rallied for them and built community around them and it's time we do that again. Zoe is a proud, multiply disabled girl and wannabe teenager who deserves to grow up supported in community and her mom is the most dedicated, loving, and hard working mom we know who deserves the same.

Please help us with the funding part of this process. It will make a huge difference and after getting Jamie and Zoe through the worst of things, it will allow them to be more present in our community, live and in person, where they belong. They are two very loving and lovable people and we need them as much as they need us.