Sleepless In Seattle - Shelter Fund
Donation protected
THIS MONEY WILL BE USED TO: provide our family shelter when we lose our current shelter in a matter of weeks, give us a fighting chance to finally move into the unit we were recently approved for DESPITE another unexpected eviction, and bring an end to a homelessness saga that has plagued our family of five (and two cats) since August- more than 9 months now. It will be used, plainly, to help with an emergency hotel and with deposit/rent/fees for move-in for a new home.
(Anyone uncomfortable donating here can send a PayPal contribution to [email redacted].) ------------- ------------- ---------------- --------------
Simply put, we need help avoiding homelessness...and fast. In a place where we have nowhere else to turn. My family relocated to the Seattle area in January of 2017 for a job opportunity, and to try and obtain better access to healthcare and education for our three awesome children- Brayden (8), Abigail (7) and Emily (3). Simply put, to grasp at an opportunity for a better life.
At first, everything was smooth enough. The job is fantastic, and I work hard for an incredible company that treats me with respect. I work a lot. Things are more expensive here, but we made do. The kids adjusted fast, and fell in love with Washington. We had done the right thing.
Suddenly, the corporate apartment complex that our company had helped us to find had completed a surprise inspection of our unit. This is where it gets strange, fast. They claimed we had only announced one of our two cats- old cats that had been family for much longer than a decade. They wouldn't show us our original application, but they took advantage of a lease with grammatical errors that had a line with the word "cat" to accuse us of a breach. They gave us 10 days to come up with literally THOUSANDS of dollars to atone, to cover a vast array of fees they'd generated, and to "amend" our lease to now show two cats. We panicked and came up with the money- money we didn't have. We thought we had to. We talked to a lawyer who said that we couldn't fight things fast enough to avoid eviction. We paid and went far into debt. We kept our apartment for the time being. Soon, though, there were more charges. More fees. More shakedown. They buried us in an impossible situation, and we lost our apartment in January. We limped into a hotel and hunkered down with newly destroyed credit and tons of debt.
A couple months later, a friend at work heard that we were struggling to save anything with the high costs of our hotel room- that getting into our own place would be difficult. She offered us a serious kindness- a place to stay in her home for a reasonable rate. This would allow us to raise funds fast to rectify our living situation, giving us a chance to earn back some respectability through the acquisition of OUR OWN PLACE. That's all we want. A home for our lovely kids who have done nothing to deserve the back-and-forth they've been subjected to.
I've worked two jobs- averaging 13-14 hours a day of work over the past month. And, after many rejections, I found a way forward that allowed us to get approved on a place we so badly need. We have been given a July 1 move date, and we let our guard down and started to breathe a bit. Literally, the night we learned we were approved, we were informed that we needed to get out and leave our current living situation no later than June 15th- preferrably sooner. Two weeks before we finally reach the end of this ugly saga. We had no warning- no idea this was coming. This absolutely unwinds the plan we'd work to complete. This would require us back into a hotel for long enough to generate a bill for thousands of dollars- money that was budgeted and desperately needed to cover all the hefty deposits, fees and rent required to move into a coveted Seattle-area apartment, however modest. Our plan was foiled in lieu of more homelessness. And when we inquire as to the reason, we were told there was none. No problem. Simply that it was time. No room to negotiate the date. Nothing we can say or do. Just the way it was. We are sunk. Low. Angry. Hurt. Disappointed. Determined, but not entirely optimistic. We don't understand why we are constantly under attack. We're not sure why it's so easy to toss children out onto the street, but that's the fate we continue to face over the past year.
We work hard. We want to secure our own solutions to these issues. We take pride in going about our business in the right way so as to set a good example for our children. (At the moment, we are closing in on a part-time opportunity for Tracey with my company, as well- it’s just been a struggle figuring out transportation and childcare that’s affordable enough to make that effort worthwhile. We’ve applied for every kind of assistance possible, including childcare assistance, and were always told we are just above the line and ineligible.) We just want a simple, good life. A place to live and groceries to eat. And for our kids to have a good opportunity to do better than we have. That's why I humble myself before you tonight. Our costs and our fear are exceedingly formidable. We're preparing for the worst (will we be told to leave even sooner?). We have not cancelled our July 1 plan yet, though. We want to take one more run at making this thing happen. And, we need your help. We are working to pursue all possible solutions to this late June homeless gap, but we need to build a financial wall against the ugly possibility of the ultimate setback- missing out on the July 1 opportunity because we cannot pay the necessary fees. I thank you for reading this, and caring whatsoever. If you can help, we will remember it always and recriprocate it in myriad ways. We will honor that gift with endless hard work and effort, and by continuing to do everything possible to raise good children who will be productive members of our collective society. We will take nothing for granted. If you cannot give, we understand that too. Far too often lately, we've seen good causes we'd always have supported, and had to pass when all we wanted to do was help. But you still can- if you pass this along, or explain it to others. Or even just send along your encouragement. For the benefit of our kids, we are happy to accept all the good energy we can. It will fuel us as we brave what may be the toughest stretch, but what we hope will be the FINAL stretch of our homelessness issues here in Seattle.
I thank you, and wish you love and prosperity. -Chris Jozwiak & Family (Tracey, Brayden, Abigail & certainly Emily)
(Anyone uncomfortable donating here can send a PayPal contribution to [email redacted].) ------------- ------------- ---------------- --------------
Simply put, we need help avoiding homelessness...and fast. In a place where we have nowhere else to turn. My family relocated to the Seattle area in January of 2017 for a job opportunity, and to try and obtain better access to healthcare and education for our three awesome children- Brayden (8), Abigail (7) and Emily (3). Simply put, to grasp at an opportunity for a better life.
At first, everything was smooth enough. The job is fantastic, and I work hard for an incredible company that treats me with respect. I work a lot. Things are more expensive here, but we made do. The kids adjusted fast, and fell in love with Washington. We had done the right thing.
Suddenly, the corporate apartment complex that our company had helped us to find had completed a surprise inspection of our unit. This is where it gets strange, fast. They claimed we had only announced one of our two cats- old cats that had been family for much longer than a decade. They wouldn't show us our original application, but they took advantage of a lease with grammatical errors that had a line with the word "cat" to accuse us of a breach. They gave us 10 days to come up with literally THOUSANDS of dollars to atone, to cover a vast array of fees they'd generated, and to "amend" our lease to now show two cats. We panicked and came up with the money- money we didn't have. We thought we had to. We talked to a lawyer who said that we couldn't fight things fast enough to avoid eviction. We paid and went far into debt. We kept our apartment for the time being. Soon, though, there were more charges. More fees. More shakedown. They buried us in an impossible situation, and we lost our apartment in January. We limped into a hotel and hunkered down with newly destroyed credit and tons of debt.
A couple months later, a friend at work heard that we were struggling to save anything with the high costs of our hotel room- that getting into our own place would be difficult. She offered us a serious kindness- a place to stay in her home for a reasonable rate. This would allow us to raise funds fast to rectify our living situation, giving us a chance to earn back some respectability through the acquisition of OUR OWN PLACE. That's all we want. A home for our lovely kids who have done nothing to deserve the back-and-forth they've been subjected to.
I've worked two jobs- averaging 13-14 hours a day of work over the past month. And, after many rejections, I found a way forward that allowed us to get approved on a place we so badly need. We have been given a July 1 move date, and we let our guard down and started to breathe a bit. Literally, the night we learned we were approved, we were informed that we needed to get out and leave our current living situation no later than June 15th- preferrably sooner. Two weeks before we finally reach the end of this ugly saga. We had no warning- no idea this was coming. This absolutely unwinds the plan we'd work to complete. This would require us back into a hotel for long enough to generate a bill for thousands of dollars- money that was budgeted and desperately needed to cover all the hefty deposits, fees and rent required to move into a coveted Seattle-area apartment, however modest. Our plan was foiled in lieu of more homelessness. And when we inquire as to the reason, we were told there was none. No problem. Simply that it was time. No room to negotiate the date. Nothing we can say or do. Just the way it was. We are sunk. Low. Angry. Hurt. Disappointed. Determined, but not entirely optimistic. We don't understand why we are constantly under attack. We're not sure why it's so easy to toss children out onto the street, but that's the fate we continue to face over the past year.
We work hard. We want to secure our own solutions to these issues. We take pride in going about our business in the right way so as to set a good example for our children. (At the moment, we are closing in on a part-time opportunity for Tracey with my company, as well- it’s just been a struggle figuring out transportation and childcare that’s affordable enough to make that effort worthwhile. We’ve applied for every kind of assistance possible, including childcare assistance, and were always told we are just above the line and ineligible.) We just want a simple, good life. A place to live and groceries to eat. And for our kids to have a good opportunity to do better than we have. That's why I humble myself before you tonight. Our costs and our fear are exceedingly formidable. We're preparing for the worst (will we be told to leave even sooner?). We have not cancelled our July 1 plan yet, though. We want to take one more run at making this thing happen. And, we need your help. We are working to pursue all possible solutions to this late June homeless gap, but we need to build a financial wall against the ugly possibility of the ultimate setback- missing out on the July 1 opportunity because we cannot pay the necessary fees. I thank you for reading this, and caring whatsoever. If you can help, we will remember it always and recriprocate it in myriad ways. We will honor that gift with endless hard work and effort, and by continuing to do everything possible to raise good children who will be productive members of our collective society. We will take nothing for granted. If you cannot give, we understand that too. Far too often lately, we've seen good causes we'd always have supported, and had to pass when all we wanted to do was help. But you still can- if you pass this along, or explain it to others. Or even just send along your encouragement. For the benefit of our kids, we are happy to accept all the good energy we can. It will fuel us as we brave what may be the toughest stretch, but what we hope will be the FINAL stretch of our homelessness issues here in Seattle.
I thank you, and wish you love and prosperity. -Chris Jozwiak & Family (Tracey, Brayden, Abigail & certainly Emily)
Organizer
Chris Jozwiak
Organizer
Bothell, WA
