Disabled tenant facing homelessness over discrimination

Hello!

A little back story: Due to the genetic condition Ehlers-Danlos syndrome I became disabled in 2010. It's a defect in how my body makes collagen, which is the glue that holds us together. It's what makes tendons snappy and cartilage springy and lends stretch to our organs and skin, so where a normal person's tendons would be made from rubber bands mine are made from chewed gum.

I deal with high levels of pain 24/7 caused by deterioration of my spine and joints, and neuropathy resulting from nerve and neurological damage. I'm plagued by constant fatigue resulting from a combination of subclinical hypothyroidism, insomnia/non restorative sleep, vitamin deficiencies due to gastroparesis and malnutrition, and heart failure due to congenital and neurological defects. I have Chiari malformation, which has caused damage to my cerebellum and is compressing my brain stem-leading to a host of neurological issues and autonomic dysfunction, and a 3mm lesion in my pons from a stroke in 2014 that left me without feeling and loss of strength on my right side, as well as further damaged cognitive function. I'm also AuADHD with a lot of OCD traits, and have PTSD from trauma throughout my childhood and into early adulthood that's resulted in anxiety and treatment resistant depression. I'm genetically wired to be more susceptible to the negative impacts of stress and have lived my entire life in a near constant state of "fight or flight", which is likely what caused the thyroid issues that have recently (due to the stress of the last 6 months) become severe and incapacitating.

Despite the challenges I've faced, in 2015 I started my own business Zebra Splints-which I run as a not for profit, charging only for the cost of making them-providing low cost splints for others like me, who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford them. I donate a lot of my time to production so I can sell my splints at a much lower cost than most other places, and am the only maker worldwide that offers titanium and niobium for patients that previously couldn't wear metal splints due to allergies or severe sensitivities, leaving them stuck with the plastic ones that frequently cause irritation and/or damage our fragile skin. Most of my customers are also disabled so on fixed/limited income, and I know first hand how awful it is having those incapacitating pain days and not even being able to draw or make crafts to distract yourself. It makes me happier being able to help save someone from that fate than extra money ever could. All I've wanted is to be able to put some good in the world with my little life, and to support living independently while doing so. Up until August this had never been a problem.

This spring I developed bilateral trigger thumb from overworking, which really slowed me down and left me unable to use a key piece of equipment-at the same time my assistant suffered a personal loss and unexpectedly quit. This caused me to become extremely backed up with orders and I started working more and more trying to make up for the lack of help, but at the start of August my body finally gave out after months of pushing too hard and not taking care of myself well enough. I was incapacitated for about 3 weeks, stuck in bed unable to muster enough energy to even sit upright, so had a friend come stay with me to help while I recover. I also had to make an exception to my landlord's "rule" of paying cash for rent, using a money order instead because I physically couldn't drive to the bank, and this set off a chain reaction of events that now leaves me in imminent danger of losing my home.

Because the laws here ban the landlord from refusing to renew my lease in retaliation for making my requests, since the middle of August I've faced non stop harassment and "self help" eviction tactics-making excessive noise outside my bedroom window early in the morning most days of the week, cutting off my propane leaving me without hot water or a stove, lying to all of the agencies I've contacted for help to make it appear that I'm at fault and "faking" my disability so they'd refuse help, calling the cops and lying to them that I'm refusing entry so they'd come banging on my door. He has no regard for my rights or any laws, all he cares about is what he thinks he's entitled to-which is apparently collecting above market rate rent for an illegal rental that's falling apart, and not using any of that rent for the many repairs needed. I've had a leak in the ceiling since I moved in over a year ago which is growing mold (likely contributing to my recent health decline), sections of the floor giving out, windows that don't work or are missing screens, and I've been cleaning dead mice off my floor almost daily since February (thankfully I have cats, or this place would be totally overrun. I'd been putting batches of orders on my porch and a note in the mailbox for USPS to pick them up, and suddenly had a huge surge in missing orders-over 100 total. I can't prove it, but I believe he took them. Anything to make my life harder so I'd be forced out...

But all he did was destroy my health and cause such massive financial losses that I *can't* move. I've spent months getting the missing orders replaced as quickly as I can, while also catching up on delayed orders and keeping up on new ones. It's been exhausting, but thankfully I'm finally almost there.

In early October I put in reasonable accommodation requests because of the condition I'm in and he took it as an opportunity for new ways to make my life difficult-requested to park closer to the house due to the mobility problems and he parked two broken unused vehicles in the way pushing me further out (which is blocking me from taking garbage out), requested to keep appointments after 11am to accommodate my chronic insomnia and he started making excessive noise and leaving notices for "inspections" at 8am-9am that he wouldn't show up for-then filed false police reports that I refused entry, requested to receive packages at home because it was hard for me to get to the post office which left without food or medications for days to weeks at times...and he removed the actual physical mailbox. In mid September he blocked my internet service-included with the rental-leaving me cut off from the world since there's no phone service for miles in any direction and I rely on wifi calling. I couldn't communicate with my customers or even access my website editor to put up a notice so they'd know what's going on. I was able to get my own account set up, but it took a couple weeks and a lot of damage was done during that time.

Obviously all these things are really illegal, but apparently no one around here cares.

I lost tens of thousands over just a few months being unable to keep up on orders in a timely manner between my health, not having help with the work, and losing countless days that needed to be spent working to researching laws, filing complaints, and emails and calls trying to get help.

But there is no help, there's nothing anyone can do for me. We don't even have legal aid where I live.

The intense amount of pressure I was under and the added stress of everything going on sent my nervous system spiraling out of control. I haven't been able to eat or keep food down, causing malnutrition that in turn worsened my hypothyroidism. Function declined severely and rapidly, and last weekend (January 8th) I had to be hospitalized in serious condition-delerious, unable to speak, and likely on the verge of myexdema coma. Over the last month I've become so fatigued I can barely stand, my memory and cognitive/executive function are shot. For the first time in my life I'm so gravely ill that I can't even handle basic everyday tasks like cooking, showering, or household chores. I've been largely housebound for over a year already, relying on Amazon for my shopping needs and food that I can have delivered. All the usable energy I have is going into work, which has been and always will be the top priority for me.

This has become a dire situation, and I'm terrified.

We had our first court date December 12th. I tried to get the case dismissed due to the landlord falsifying paperwork and not filing it properly to prevent me from being able to respond. Sadly it turns out that the small town mentality thing extends to the judge, and the landlord had already been down there with his fake sob story pulling the "I used to be a cop" thing to sway favor and convince people of his false allegations. The judge was extremely rude and nasty, wouldn't listen to me or allow me to answer questions, accused me of "making up conspiracy theories" in response to the falsified paperwork, and completely ignored my request for a jury trial-which is a right by federal law and my only hope of winning. We were supposed to go back last Friday-the 8th-but that morning I woke up with my system shutting down and had be hospitalized. The judge, likely believing the landlord's story about "faking disability to play the system", decided it wasn't an acceptable excuse for missing a court date and ordered the eviction by default, served just a few hours later. I'm working on getting the case reopened since I have all the documentation from the hospital, but given how things have gone so far my chances don't look good. With my health this way it's been I physically can't move, I can't even pack boxes. And I can't afford to take 2-3 weeks off from working to get everything moved and recover from it even if I could. If I don't find a solution this week when Friday comes I lose everything, I'm only going to be able to pack up my cats, work, and the most important belongings and abandon everything I own to go into an Airbnb.

The money the fundraiser is for is to cover either the back rent that I was withholding after having my services cut-which he isn't even due and I don't have because of the massive financial losses resulting from the landlord's actions (and which the judge accused me of purposely spending to "subsidize my lifestyle")-to submit to the court. It's probably my only chance of getting him to reopen the case. Failing that it will be used to hire movers to pack stuff up for me and get it all into a storage unit, and get my cats and myself into an Airbnb.

This situation is just SO wrong. I'm autistic and have always had that "strong sense of justice" thing, I believe in justice and the truth prevailing and can't even lie when I should. Over the last several months I'd expected that regardless of what the landlord is doing, when we got to court I had the truth on my side, that the judge would see that I'm innocent and that the landlord is the aggressor, lying to get himself out of trouble. I have everything documented proving my side beyond a doubt, and the landlord only has his lies. But that's just not how it went. It seems, at least from what the wonderful lady at the online legal clinic explained to me, that court is just a game of who lies better. And I can't do that. I wouldn't even know *what* to lie about since I already have the proof that I've done nothing wrong and this situation is already so illegal and wrong. It should've been enough, there isn't anything I can make up to make him seem more in the wrong.

I believe in fairness and equality and helping each other, and watching this play out the way it has-while I've been trying to just mind my business and get my work done-has broken both my brain and heart.

I just cannot accept that we live in a society where disabled people can be terrorized for months, show up in court with absolute proof of it...and not even be given the chance because the judge was already biased, believing the offending party without question.

The stress of everything absolutely destroyed my mental and physical health.

The hospital tests revealed that my thyroid is the root cause, function declining to the point it's now overt hypothyroidism, has brought hope of getting better for the first time in many many years. I'd resigned myself to this just being the way things are for me now and the thought that with simply adding a medication in I could be (mostly) OK again and have my life back in a few short months is SO exciting.

But I'm scared I won't be able to get the care I need if I'm displaced.

I know it's a lot of money, but I'm praying I've put enough good karma into the world to get a little back. And no matter what that's what I'll keep doing, because it's just who I am. People shouldn't have to suffer alone because of corporate greed and the incompetence of the American healthcare system. Just look at all the fundraisers here for folks in need of medical care. That shouldn't have to happen.

Every bit counts and is so greatly appreciated ❤️