I'm writing on behalf of my mom and 19 year old sister. I didn't tell them I'm writing on here.
Thank you in advance for listening.
There's a nightmarish back story dating back many years but I'll just talk about the last several months; starting with today.
My mom is facing eviction any day now. She had earlier this month to not only come up with $3500 for back rent (and late fees) but also subsidiary income to help her pay rent through May of 2010 when her lease is up. Not including a deposit and moving expenses since she’ll have to find a new residence. (which may prove difficult now that there’ll be an eviction formerly on her record).
Long story short, last year my mom was renting a condo a 2/2 for $1000/mo. Living paycheck to paycheck as so many do. When a major (interior) flood occurred damaging several walls, ruining furniture etc... She immediately contacted the owner who refused to do anything about it other than to contact her "go to" handyman. This gentleman never showed up. Weeks went by before he finally made an appearance, and he wasn't prepared for the job. He didn't have the right tools he said, and despite my moms many complaints to the owner... the handyman never came back, mold grew and both her and my sister started to complain of constant sore throats and headaches causing my mom to vacate the premises on a whim.
That desperation led her to quickly find another roof over their heads which brought them to where they are now, a 2/2 apartment, but the rent here is $1180/month due to the decline in housing, rental property prices soared. My sister had just gotten a job and was starting up college majoring in Oncology.
Living here for the past 10 months has been a nightmare for many reasons from loud techno music blaring from the neighbors at all hours which thump through the walls and floors to balls being thrown up against the walls well into the night, complaints about drug use and noise from the parking lot to issues with the physical condition of the apartment since day one.
My mom (as I said) was living paycheck to paycheck before, and now things were even tighter because she wanted my sister to try and hold onto her money for books etc... I should add that she has no real furniture to speak of. No bedroom furniture, no bed, no dining room etc... (Neither does my sister) No cable, no computer or internet.
As she was moving into this new apartment in May of last year, her 19 year old daughter, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer... Dr's immediately told her not to work and that she had to leave school, that stress would be a factor in her recovery. Shortly after hearing the news... My sister was then diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and the bills started to really add up. Over the next few months, (as teenagers often do) my sister made a poor decision to ride on the back of a motorcycle, and was in a terrible accident where she lost 25% of her skin, plus many broken bones; a few months after that she had to have a tonsillectomy for fear that a severe infection may cause the cancer to spread further.
My mom of course did what any loving mother would do which is everything in her power to see to it that her daughter was properly cared for. By the fall of 2009, my mom's insurance costs went up from approximately $240/month out of her paycheck to a whopping $580!!! On top of this... she had to endure a pay cut, and soon the electricity was being shut off. (She currently works at a call center and made a salary plus commission) they recently stopped the commission for all employees.) As of early 2010, my mom could no longer afford her rent. She made good faith payments. A couple hundred here, a few hundred there, but half to three quarters the rent per month wasn't going to cut it for long.
Dr's have put my sister on a very strict diet of organic foods (which is more costly as everyone knows) She's lost teeth due to the cancer treatments & had dental visits to try and help with that, and still needs frequent tests and hospital visits as well.
My mom is someone with a lot of pride. She's worked her entire life, and sadly has nothing to show for it. She's never asked for a handout; in fact she's given to charities when she was homeless just a few years ago. My mom is a saint, and my sister is a sweetheart not deserving of the life she's been given. My sister just wants to go to college, and work in the medical field helping others, but due to her illness, she’s not supposed to go to school or work.
I'm practically homeless myself, with no car & suffering with chronic ulcerative colitis and just barely earning enough to eat a meal a day if I'm lucky. My mom's health at 60 years old is failing. She can hardly function at work and has no other family nearby or financially in a position to help out. My mom's car died over 2 years ago, so she has to take several buses a day, walking miles throughout the week with severe arthritis, thyroid disease & bone spurs in her heels with sneakers worn down to nothing, and because of the severity of the situation, my mom denies herself her own medicines (which I try my best to pay for) but she doesn't tell me when she runs out. Unfortunately she needs to be monitored and her medicines regulated, but she can’t make it to Dr’s appointments the majority of the time, particularly when she needs to see specialists. My mom has a specific prescription for eyeglasses, but they broke a couple of years ago & we could only afford store bought ready made eyeglasses. She’s complained about her vision ever since, and it breaks my heart.
Life has been unusually cruel to a person that has done nothing but worked her diligently her entire life and raised a family largely by herself. If anyone deserves a little bit of charity right now, it's her. I’m asking nothing for myself. My mom and family means everything to me. My mom has ‘given’ her entire life. She loves helping others and I know one day dreams of running a non-profit organization to help others in similar situations that she has been (and is in). Some people call that paying it forward, generosity is something we grew up with in our family, but my mom has never asked for anything, which is why I'm writing this without her knowledge. She only knows how to give... even when she has nothing to give.
Thank you for listening. G-D Bless.
