Urgent Help for Unhoused Mother Escaping Domestic Violence

Hi everyone, my name is canelo (they/them) and I am fundraising for my mother Maria who has recently become unhoused and escaped a violent domestic violence situation, and is relying on me and on community for financial support to sustain her livelihood. This has been a heartbreaking process for me as I am personally struggling to support my own livelihood and my dog muneka’s livelihood, while my mother is relying solely on me for her support. My mother raised me and my younger brother as a single mother through immense systemic barriers and is in need of my, and our, support now. I am putting out this ask as an urgent request for her safety and housing.

My mother is recently houseless after escaping a serious domestic violence situation and desperately needs financial support that I cannot provide long term or sustainably. She is living in her car after being displaced from her old apartment that she was living at with her abusive ex. The leasing company did not renew her lease because she does not make enough money to cover the rent after raising it. She is also currently out of work because she injured her back severely and they are dragging her settlement case so that she takes the least amount of resources from the company. While the work injury case drags on in court, she is NOT eligible to apply for unemployment and other support so she has used up all her funds to stay afloat on top of the financial support my brother and I provide for her. However, this has become unsustainable for me as I cannot pay her bills, muneka’s medical care, and my own financial needs as well.

A large part of this fund will be used to pay off her car which is where she’s currently staying. She also owes money to various collection agencies so that is also part of it as well. The funds will go to majority housing costs (hotels while shes in-between housing, finding a new apartment, paying for deposits etc.), part car payment, and part debt recovery. Ideally, we could raise more funds for her overall wellbeing and care too.

I’m creating this mutual aid support fund in the hopes that it will provide the support for my mother while also easing the strain on myself and the tension it puts on my biological family and interpersonal relations. Some of you are aware of the nuanced and complex relationship I hold with my mother but at the end of the day, I do care for her and love her and of course I do not want to see her suffering or being houseless again when I am now grown and can do something about it. Please consider supporting and sharing with your networks. We all deserve to be safely housed, especially our elders.

Alternatively, my venmo and cashapp are:

Venmo @canelo-cabrera

Cashapp $MZOCabrera

With gratitude,

canelo