Help Jen on her journey back from the streets

Jennifer Lee is organizing this fundraiser.

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Alan Graham, who is the founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves and Fishes and also of Community First Village, says, “The single greatest cause of homelessness is a profound, catastrophic loss of family.”

This is most certainly the case for Jen. She lost her father 13 years ago, who she was extremely close to. Due to the stress that comes with deep loss, she ultimately split from her family and drove her car here to Austin from Houston. If you live in Austin near the Twin Oaks Library, you've surely met Jen, as she’s been living in or around the Library for the vast majority of that time. She's always ready to offer a smile or a greeting despite her situation and all she's been through.

We live next door to the Twin Oaks Library, and have known her for all of this time. Getting from where she was to a better place, is just a road she cannot navigate on her own. She’s willing, but it’s an overwhelming process that we’ve come through so far. This year started out especially bad for Jen. We had a terrible freeze, then someone threw her blankets and belongings in a dumpster, and she endured a terrible sprain attempting to retrieve them. She had been mostly staying in the drainage ditch behind the library, but this became hard to access with her injury.

It became abundantly clear that we needed to help Jen find a better situation, as there are enormous challenges that come with living on the streets, especially as a woman. Since February, we have made great progress. Many people and businesses in the neighborhood have helped Jen through these years, and she’s incredibly appreciative of this help. However, the road back to normal life is a very long and hard journey.

Things we’ve done:

Temporary Housing - with AC, water and a mini-frig
Apply for Social Security benefits
Birth Certificate (thanks to Michelle Beebower at the library)
Library card!
Texas ID
MAP card, allowing her to receive much needed free medical, dental and mental health care
SNAP Benefits, aka food stamps allowing her to get food at the grocery store which is a real treat - only pays for food items, not toiletries and other needs
Community First Village waitlist - should be just a couple months!
Resolve legal issues (thanks to attorney Rhett Braniff)
Reconnect with family
Started to look for work

And just navigating a system that really makes it hard for people to emerge from such a place!

The Ask:

Permanent Housing - She is on the waitlist for a tiny house at Community First Village. This is a fantastic community built to house the formerly chronically homeless. It's an inspiring place of hope. To receive housing, one stipulation is that the person must be able to pay rent. We didn’t want money to be the sole barrier to achieving this. They do allow someone to guarantee that rent, but only for the first year, as the resident must move towards becoming self-sufficient. Jen is anxious to become self-sufficient, but will likely need some help as all of these changes are and will continue to be overwhelming. We have guaranteed this rent but would love it if we could help her as a community.
Money for non-food needs - Money for items not covered by SNAP. This includes toiletries, food for her cat Iris, who is her new best friend.
Received! -- Microwave - She has been warming her food using the sun or walking to the corner store to use the microwave.