THE HARDEST THING TO DO IS TO ASK FOR HELP.........Hi, my name is Deanna Stewart. I am a single mother with four children ages 26, 21, and 16-year-old twins (Their Dad was murdered in the year 2007). Since October 26, 2023, my eldest daughter has been hospitalized at OHSU due to a severe car accident. The fire department used the jaws of life to extract her from the vehicle. She has multiple severe injuries and is followed by a trauma team, spine team, ortho team, infectious disease team, pain team, and the plastic surgeon team. Since October 26, 2023, I've been off of work from my full-time employment. I applied for the Oregon Paid Leave benefits and was approved, but my payments didn't start until 4 to 5 weeks later. Because of this, I have fallen on hard times. To stay in the house we have been renting for the past sixteen years, I must pay 5749.00 by the 22nd of this month or we will be evicted and our water has been shut off today for non-payment. We must pay 720.00 to get our water turned back on. Waiting one month for my benefits from the Oregon Paid Leave Act caused me to get behind on all my payments, lots of bank fees, and returned payments fees, which seems impossible to catch up on. On top of the water shut-off, and close to eviction, my employer needs a check for my benefits that were not taken out of my check in the amount of 746.41 by Dec. 31.

One of the hardest things for me to do is to ask for help, but I will put my pride aside and ask for your help. Please help my family during this difficult time. I'm doing my best to contact all local resources but it has been a lot of "Sorry we're out of funds". Please help my family stay in the house we have been residing in for the past 16 years and help my kids have a happy Christmas.