Help Corporal K - disabled Marine
Tax deductible
Help Corporal K – a disabled Marine vet – get back on her feet!
The Barnyard Sanctuary is reaching out to the community for help. Not help for us, but for a homeless disabled Marine vet we have come to know and respect. With Veteran’s Day right around the corner, there is no better time for you to help, and she needs help NOW!
After speaking with this wonderful Marine, we have collectively decided to afford her some privacy and dignity, by not releasing her full name at this time. We will refer to her as Corporal K, as that was her rank and is her first initial.
Corporal K did not ever ask for this GoFundMe, or any other type of monetary donation whatsoever, we decided to do it for her. I can tell you that she embodies the heart and soul of the homeless vet problem that exists, and we would like to do our part to help.
I can also tell you for certain, that this is a legitimate person, and a legitimate situation, that we can all proudly stand behind. The Barnyard Sanctuary will be collecting all the money and then assisting her to rectify her situation. Will you help us now?
ABOUT CORPORAL K
· Actively served our country as a Marine (2002-2006) and was in Iraq 2004-2005.
· A disabled veteran, who is considered 70% service connected and struggles with PTSD.
· Became homeless in April 2016, spent 15 months living in her car and the last 2 months in a program designed to help the homeless.
HOW WE MET
This summer the phone rang, with a simple but unusual request. A marine veteran, who has been homeless for 15 months and living in her car, had an opportunity to get into a program that would provide her a place to sleep every night and one meal a day.
There was a catch; she couldn’t bring two of her fur-family members that have been her support and constant companions through her darkest times. Her service dogs for PTSD & mobility were allowed, but she needed to find temporary arrangements for ZZ (her 13 year old dog) and Meow Meow (her 9 year old cat). As we spoke, she explained how she had reached out to over 30 shelters in PA, NJ and DE to try and make arrangements for them (so she could enter the program)… all to no avail.
All she wanted was to enter the program, so she could have a roof over her head and one meal a day, for 2 months, in order to be able to get the medical attention she needed, focus on her mental health and rebuild her life.
HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN??
When Corporal K returned to civilian life, she soon learned it wasn’t an easy road. Suffering from PTSD, it became extremely difficult to work and maintain a job. Not being able to support herself, she was able to get a housing voucher.
Due to a combination of unfortunate events, there was a delay with the inspection that is required to renew her voucher for housing (March 1, 2016). While the property management knew the renewal was underway and despite Corporal K being a tenant for 9 years with good standing, on April 26th she was evicted.
Dropped balls, loopholes and technicalities forced this former marine to once again engage in survival mode. Even though the voucher was approved and the balance for her housing was paid for shortly after she was kicked out of her home… the fact remained she was on the streets and her record was now marked with an eviction.
She continued to fight for her voucher and received another one in October, 2016, but no one would rent to her with an eviction on her record. The only places that were willing to rent to her were in private homes and did not meet the requirement or pass inspections for the housing voucher.
Adding insult to injury, if the previous building management would have just been a little more patient, she would not have found herself homeless in the dead of winter. Now living in her car, her stipend from the military wasn’t enough to help her survive the winter months and pay for the storage that housed her belongings.
HOPE, PERSERVERANCE & RESILIENCY
In July of 2017, Corporal K found a wonderful attorney who was willing to take on her case pro bono. During this time, Corporal K was also connected with a program that would provide her with a safe place to sleep. This provided her the chance to switch from survival mode and allow her the opportunity to work with the VA doctors focusing on her mental health.
HOW AND WHY WE WANT TO HELP
Here at The Barnyard Sanctuary, Corporal K has touched our hearts in a very special way. We would love nothing more than to be able to help her beyond caring for ZZ and Meow Meow, which is why we are starting this fundraiser. Her ONLY request for help was to look after her fur-family while she was in the program. She never asked for anything more or complained, even when her cellphone was stolen one night as she slept.
Despite being at the brink of giving up, she dug deep and stayed strong. No one would ever have thought less of her if she was to become frustrated, angry or bitter. This badass marine continues to fight the good fight, stand by her convictions and is determined to use the experience as an opportunity to help others. Rather than becoming a victim the system has failed, we are convinced she has the ability to rise above and really make a difference in the world. She has an incredibly good soul who has fallen on hard times, and despite it all, has an astonishing capacity to forgive.
It won’t be an easy road, as she still needs to focus a great deal on her health. But with your help we can make it a little easier for her to get back on her feet. It is our goal to raise enough money to get her a new phone (to replace the stolen one), help her pay the overdue fees for the storage unit (and get back all her personal belongings), either get her a new car or at least get the necessary maintenance and repairs her current car needs, provide her a laptop so she can complete her education and once again be able to work and provide for herself.
This wonderful combat vet has sacrificed so much for all of us, please if you can, help this marine get back on her feet!
Thank you!
Tamala Lester, Founding Director
The Barnyard Sanctuary
The Barnyard Sanctuary is reaching out to the community for help. Not help for us, but for a homeless disabled Marine vet we have come to know and respect. With Veteran’s Day right around the corner, there is no better time for you to help, and she needs help NOW!
After speaking with this wonderful Marine, we have collectively decided to afford her some privacy and dignity, by not releasing her full name at this time. We will refer to her as Corporal K, as that was her rank and is her first initial.
Corporal K did not ever ask for this GoFundMe, or any other type of monetary donation whatsoever, we decided to do it for her. I can tell you that she embodies the heart and soul of the homeless vet problem that exists, and we would like to do our part to help.
I can also tell you for certain, that this is a legitimate person, and a legitimate situation, that we can all proudly stand behind. The Barnyard Sanctuary will be collecting all the money and then assisting her to rectify her situation. Will you help us now?
ABOUT CORPORAL K
· Actively served our country as a Marine (2002-2006) and was in Iraq 2004-2005.
· A disabled veteran, who is considered 70% service connected and struggles with PTSD.
· Became homeless in April 2016, spent 15 months living in her car and the last 2 months in a program designed to help the homeless.
HOW WE MET
This summer the phone rang, with a simple but unusual request. A marine veteran, who has been homeless for 15 months and living in her car, had an opportunity to get into a program that would provide her a place to sleep every night and one meal a day.
There was a catch; she couldn’t bring two of her fur-family members that have been her support and constant companions through her darkest times. Her service dogs for PTSD & mobility were allowed, but she needed to find temporary arrangements for ZZ (her 13 year old dog) and Meow Meow (her 9 year old cat). As we spoke, she explained how she had reached out to over 30 shelters in PA, NJ and DE to try and make arrangements for them (so she could enter the program)… all to no avail.
All she wanted was to enter the program, so she could have a roof over her head and one meal a day, for 2 months, in order to be able to get the medical attention she needed, focus on her mental health and rebuild her life.
HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN??
When Corporal K returned to civilian life, she soon learned it wasn’t an easy road. Suffering from PTSD, it became extremely difficult to work and maintain a job. Not being able to support herself, she was able to get a housing voucher.
Due to a combination of unfortunate events, there was a delay with the inspection that is required to renew her voucher for housing (March 1, 2016). While the property management knew the renewal was underway and despite Corporal K being a tenant for 9 years with good standing, on April 26th she was evicted.
Dropped balls, loopholes and technicalities forced this former marine to once again engage in survival mode. Even though the voucher was approved and the balance for her housing was paid for shortly after she was kicked out of her home… the fact remained she was on the streets and her record was now marked with an eviction.
She continued to fight for her voucher and received another one in October, 2016, but no one would rent to her with an eviction on her record. The only places that were willing to rent to her were in private homes and did not meet the requirement or pass inspections for the housing voucher.
Adding insult to injury, if the previous building management would have just been a little more patient, she would not have found herself homeless in the dead of winter. Now living in her car, her stipend from the military wasn’t enough to help her survive the winter months and pay for the storage that housed her belongings.
HOPE, PERSERVERANCE & RESILIENCY
In July of 2017, Corporal K found a wonderful attorney who was willing to take on her case pro bono. During this time, Corporal K was also connected with a program that would provide her with a safe place to sleep. This provided her the chance to switch from survival mode and allow her the opportunity to work with the VA doctors focusing on her mental health.
HOW AND WHY WE WANT TO HELP
Here at The Barnyard Sanctuary, Corporal K has touched our hearts in a very special way. We would love nothing more than to be able to help her beyond caring for ZZ and Meow Meow, which is why we are starting this fundraiser. Her ONLY request for help was to look after her fur-family while she was in the program. She never asked for anything more or complained, even when her cellphone was stolen one night as she slept.
Despite being at the brink of giving up, she dug deep and stayed strong. No one would ever have thought less of her if she was to become frustrated, angry or bitter. This badass marine continues to fight the good fight, stand by her convictions and is determined to use the experience as an opportunity to help others. Rather than becoming a victim the system has failed, we are convinced she has the ability to rise above and really make a difference in the world. She has an incredibly good soul who has fallen on hard times, and despite it all, has an astonishing capacity to forgive.
It won’t be an easy road, as she still needs to focus a great deal on her health. But with your help we can make it a little easier for her to get back on her feet. It is our goal to raise enough money to get her a new phone (to replace the stolen one), help her pay the overdue fees for the storage unit (and get back all her personal belongings), either get her a new car or at least get the necessary maintenance and repairs her current car needs, provide her a laptop so she can complete her education and once again be able to work and provide for herself.
This wonderful combat vet has sacrificed so much for all of us, please if you can, help this marine get back on her feet!
Thank you!
Tamala Lester, Founding Director
The Barnyard Sanctuary
Organizer
Tamala Lester
Organizer
Blairstown, NJ
The Barnyard Sanctuary, a NJ Nonprofit Corporation
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
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