We Are Getting Evicted by a Church
Donation protected
I’m Karin Fires. I have lived for 19 years and 9+ months in a house owned by the Lutheran Church of the Epiphany in Avon, NY. In 2000 I had a cluster of heart attacks that left me permanently disabled. In 2012, I shattered both arms and now have a plastic elbow and a titanium wrist. I had an accident in December 2016, cracked skull, brain bleed, concussion. I messed up my bank accounts. I have recovered well, but not completely. My strength, flexibility and stamina have been compromised.
My 93 year old mother lives here with me. In the last 24 months she has survived two brushes with death – the latest on 3/23/17. She was in the hospital, then in rehab for 3+ months. She came home in July and is slowly regaining her independence. Her head is clear – no Alzheimer’s, no dementia – but her body is still fragile, needing more recovery time. She still requires alot of actual physical care.
Brian Seaver lives here and is the full time caretaker of the house, us old ladies and the animals. We cannot survive without his help. Brian and I work with our adopted animals – all of whom had lost their homes one way or the other. We do wildlife education with an emphasis on special needs kids and underserved populations. This work doesn’t pay much but it has kept us afloat since 2009. We are in the process of restructuring the company from a “hobby” status to a real business. We recently opened a publishing company, telling our animal stories. We fully expect both these ventures to be profitable in the very near future. All three of us are still going strong and working towards equilibrium again.
At this moment, we have no money and no where to go. My mother will end up in a nursing home and she does not want or need to be in a nursing home. I will be forced into subsidized housing where I will not be allowed to keep my animals or businesses. Brian will be homeless. Our animals, our animals! Brian and I might not be able to survive all that. Plus valuable community asset will be lost if we can no longer provide this unique education service.
We have appealed again and again to the congregation, in person, in writing. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The congregation of the Lutheran Church of the Epiphany has voted several times to evict us. They want to sell this house. They do not pay taxes on the property according to what a board member told me. Their mortgage of $70,000 was fully forgiven decades ago. Don't you - especially as a churh - share blessings you have received? I expect to be able to buy the house in another year and buy it as is. I guess they want their money NOW. Before this, I never would have expected a church to act with so little charity, kindness or such emphasis on money
I need enough money to either buy another year or to move if I can find a place.
I need funds immediately. I have resisted going public with this because I kept thinking, believing that the congregation would find its heart eventually, but .......
https://www.facebook.com/karin.fires
My 93 year old mother lives here with me. In the last 24 months she has survived two brushes with death – the latest on 3/23/17. She was in the hospital, then in rehab for 3+ months. She came home in July and is slowly regaining her independence. Her head is clear – no Alzheimer’s, no dementia – but her body is still fragile, needing more recovery time. She still requires alot of actual physical care.
Brian Seaver lives here and is the full time caretaker of the house, us old ladies and the animals. We cannot survive without his help. Brian and I work with our adopted animals – all of whom had lost their homes one way or the other. We do wildlife education with an emphasis on special needs kids and underserved populations. This work doesn’t pay much but it has kept us afloat since 2009. We are in the process of restructuring the company from a “hobby” status to a real business. We recently opened a publishing company, telling our animal stories. We fully expect both these ventures to be profitable in the very near future. All three of us are still going strong and working towards equilibrium again.
At this moment, we have no money and no where to go. My mother will end up in a nursing home and she does not want or need to be in a nursing home. I will be forced into subsidized housing where I will not be allowed to keep my animals or businesses. Brian will be homeless. Our animals, our animals! Brian and I might not be able to survive all that. Plus valuable community asset will be lost if we can no longer provide this unique education service.
We have appealed again and again to the congregation, in person, in writing. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The congregation of the Lutheran Church of the Epiphany has voted several times to evict us. They want to sell this house. They do not pay taxes on the property according to what a board member told me. Their mortgage of $70,000 was fully forgiven decades ago. Don't you - especially as a churh - share blessings you have received? I expect to be able to buy the house in another year and buy it as is. I guess they want their money NOW. Before this, I never would have expected a church to act with so little charity, kindness or such emphasis on money
I need enough money to either buy another year or to move if I can find a place.
I need funds immediately. I have resisted going public with this because I kept thinking, believing that the congregation would find its heart eventually, but .......
https://www.facebook.com/karin.fires
Organizer
Karin Draheim Fires
Organizer
Avon, NY
