Homeless Family in Need
Almost 1 year ago my family and I lost our apartment because we could no longer afford our Oakland rent.
We are Oakland natives that have been driven out of the rental market. We have 3 children with no place to go. My husband was driving Uber & Lyft, but since we had to leave our only family member's apartment due to landlord stating the unit was too crowded, he cannot work anymore as we are living out of the car.
We are both employable non-drug users. I never imagined we would be here with a 1, 15 & 17 year old children. I have always been a self-motivated go getter who has always helped others. It hurts, but in our time of crisis everyone we know and loved has turned a blind eye to us.
I used to think of homeless people as dirty or drug addicted individuals who had made serious mistakes in life. Now when I look in the mirror I see the face of himelessness in the Bay Area...ME. The Target bathroom my new place to bathe in when we run out of hotel money, the leased vehicle about to be repossessed my bed for the night, my view the big cranes at the port. As the waves crash my 1 year suckles and I feel hopeless and helpless as I stare into her brown eyes. I want to work, but can't even find a stable place to live. Shelters have a 5 month or more waitlist for a family of 5 and since I'm married and not a victim of domestic abuse I'm shunned there too.
I have tried to turn to my family and my husbands family, but most are poor and unwilling to sacrifice their own government assisted apartments to help us.
We are turning to GoFund Me as a last resort to reach out for help. We want to get back on our feet and moved out of the Bay Area to seek affordable and stable housing. Your donation would help keep a very active, productive 15 year old black male out of trouble, keep an astute environmental activist 17 year in school, help a 1 yr old toddler who deserves to sleep in a bed at night and preserve the union between a married couple who are stuck in a sad situation and give us hope to move on.