Support the Card Ladies’ URGENT Need for Housing

We’re homeless. After being evicted from our house, we moved into a hotel. We’ve been here since last Friday, sleeping on a lumpy mattress in a small room with three dogs. We shower and sleep here, but it isn’t home. I go about my day at work pretending that I’m happy and carefree. I tell Cece things like, “we have everything we need” or “let’s pretend we’re on vacation,” but the reality is we don’t have everything we need, and this situation is extremely difficult.

It seems there’s a common misconception about homelessness: that it’s caused by addiction or mental illness. I’m sure folks think I made financial decisions that led us here. That’s simply not the truth for us. We’re homeless because I had cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions.

I wasn’t able to work for over a year. I filed for disability benefits over a year ago, but my case is still being reviewed. I coordinated several fundraisers while I was off work, including a GoFundMe campaign. Thankfully, these efforts, along with government assistance and local charities, allowed us to pay rent, have food, and keep our lights on. These efforts didn’t help with other essentials like medical bills.

I returned to work in January, still in pain from surgery in December. I had a feeding tube until February. I’m still recovering and dealing with the aftereffects of my medical drama. I’m tired and nauseous all the time. I took a significant pay cut when I returned to work because I’m no longer able to work as an executive chef. I simply don’t have the strength and stamina.

Once returning to work, I no longer qualified for energy assistance (LIEAP). This is a government program that helps low-income families with their utility bills. DOGE made cuts to the program in January. These two combined created two very large utility bills: a $1900 electric bill due in March and a $1700 gas bill due in May. One of those utility bills is half my take-home pay for the month.

I was hopeful that everything would work out wonderfully, that my current job would be enough to pay our household expenses, and I’d feel strong physically. It didn’t. I feel like shit most of the time, and I don’t make enough money to maintain my pretty house on 5th Ave.

I tried to avoid an eviction because it’s almost impossible to secure a rental following an eviction. I’m living that truth right now. I’ve applied to several rentals, but each application has been met with a denial. (Side note, each application costs $40-$50!) I had a 750 credit score before my illnesses, but with a lapse in my work history and bills always late for 12+ months, it tanked.

Know what’s crazy? Even if I found a place to rent, I can’t afford the first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and security deposit. Why? Moving is f*cking expensive. Moving with a 14-day notice and being disabled is crazy expensive. Truck rental, storage unit, cleaning service, cleaning supplies, packing materials, eating fast food (no kitchen), laundry at the laundromat. I had a lot of folks help with the majority of the move, but I had to hire movers for the heavy stuff like my washer and dryer. That was a second truck rental. Emergency housing, aka hotel, isn’t cheap even though it’s the cheapest one in the area. I had to pay a pet fee to the tune of an extra $50 a day. There is absolutely no way we can get into a safe and healthy home without your help!!

You might be wondering what I’m currently doing to get out of this mess? 1) I’m a full-time college student working towards a master’s degree in supply chain management and logistics. More education means more professional opportunities. 2) I work on the line when I’m able for other chefs. I can usually tolerate 5 or so hours a week. 3) I’m busting a$$ at my current job; I’m doing my very best each day to take care of my current clients and get more. 4) I’m staying positive and avoiding spiraling depression while being honest about my situation. 5) Applying for every possible program that helps single mommas in my position. 6) I’m working closely with my doctors to get a little bit better every day.

Ways you can assist:

Pray, pray, pray!!

Help with daily personal items like vitamins, bottled water, healthy shelf-stable snacks, hair care/shower stuff. Walmart or Aldi gift cards are helpful! Without a permanent address, Amazon isn’t an option for us.

Coins (quarters and dollars) or gift cards to local laundromats.

Airbnb gift cards for temporary housing.

Gas cards.

Gift cards to local restaurants for meals.

Monetary donations to go towards first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and security deposit, storage fees, moving expenses.

Vote to maintain social services and funding for homelessness. Vote for legislators that support helping families with emergency needs like housing, utilities, and food. I’m reaching out to you all because there’s no other help available to us. Women’s shelters are full in my area, and transitional housing programs don’t have resources to help us.