<div>Hi! I’m Leah and I’m raising funds with my husband Richard. We need a little help getting through what is turning out to be the worst year of our lives (that’s saying a lot since last year we lost Richard’s mom and the most amazing dog anyone could ask for). Last April we had to leave our home of four years because of a $250 rent hike. Because of the housing crisis, what should have been a simple move that cost $900 ended up costing $2300. We also had half of our belongings stolen because the landlord forced us to put them on the lawn so we would be out in time. Even with putting our belongings on the lawn, we weren’t out in time so between extra days’ rent, the hotel bill for the new tenants, and the cleaning charge for them having to do the cleaning for us, they charged us another $1450.

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<div>We moved from a 3 br townhouse into a small basement suite so had to put our belongings, including our moving supplies, in storage. The extra charges from the move made it so we couldn’t afford August’s payment for the unit. We set up a payment plan to catch it up, but now we can’t access the unit. Remember the moving supplies we put in storage? Well, our roommate got evicted so we have to be out by the end of October but we can’t get to our moving supplies until the $250 arrears are caught up.

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<div>On top of all of that, we put my Great Grandmother’s 1920 Devonshire upright grand piano in specialty piano storage and haven't been able to pay for that. Now the piano storage wants $700 for moving and storing the piano by the end of September or they will dispose of my piano. It is one of the only family heirlooms I have and the only thing I have that connects me to GG Mcdonald. On top of that, we somehow have to come up with $1500 for a damage deposit on top of the $1500 for first month’s rent IF we can find a place.

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<div>The total bill for the last five months is $8800. Unfortunately, I’m on a small federal government disability pension because I have a brain injury. My husband is a retail manager for GameStop and with his salary and my pension, we still can’t make ends meet. 

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<div>While we’ve been going through this, Richard’s dad had a serious heart attack and his cousin died of a drug overdose. We haven’t even begun to think about the counselling that will get us through this grief and stress because there’s no way we can afford it. My parents are both retired and don’t have the resources to help. Richard’s dad was forced to retire from long-haul trucking because of his heart attack so he can’t help us. Having such a small income, Richard’s and my credit options are extremely limited and we are already overextended by $1300.

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<div>We are out of options. Even bankruptcy can’t help us. We are facing homelessness and losing what little we have left. Anything you can contribute to help get us out of this hole is appreciated. Please help keep us off the street.

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The worst year of our life

Still $5,934 to go. Help us build momentum.