Housing Need

Hi, my name is Brittany Thatcher and I live in Tyler, Texas. Like many others in my area, my home was severely damaged by the storms over the last few months, but yesterday 5/29/2024 at 9 am a large tree fell on my house crushing the back upstairs bedroom, caving in my dining room, and puncturing my garage. This occurred moments before my oldest daughter got up from that bed to use the restroom. Thankfully, she was spared and to my knowledge, we had no casualties. Although, we are missing my daughter's little black cat named Midnight.

The damage to the home is severe and significant. It is not habitable for the foreseeable future. We were preparing to relocate to a hotel yesterday when I was informed that our belongings and housing are not covered under the owner's homeowner's insurance. They will only cover the structural damage to the house and her loss of rent. My renter's insurance lapsed a few months ago. As of right now, we are homeless.

I have struggled this past year financially due to battling many health issues. I had major surgery on 10/25/23 and did not recover as planned. I developed a bad post-op infection that sent me to the ER twice, and I had to be hospitalized once. I was out of work longer than anticipated and my short-term disability payment was delayed. Once I started back working, I had to prioritize my expenses. I made the difficult decision to let my car go back in an attempt to get caught up on utilities and maintain food and other essential items.

I make no complaints. My daughter's life was spared. Everything else can be replaced, but I need help. I cannot do this on my own. For a brief time, I was going to give up because I was tired of struggling and pushing forward and not making progress or meeting the goals I set for myself. I saw this as just another setback... a reason to quit fighting and let things fall apart. I was angry at life for the cards I was dealt. Life has been a struggle since day one and it feels like everything I hope to accomplish is out of reach. I want to finish my degree and get certified as a mental health nurse so I can make some much-needed changes in the community. We don't want anything fancy... just clean, safe, and efficient. Homelessness is not unfamiliar to me or my kids. We were living in a shelter when I was accepted into LVN school. I was homeless my senior year of high school and I worked two jobs after aging out of foster care in high school. I just want different for my girls.

Any money donated will go towards securing housing, the deposit, standard move-in fees, and moving expenses (which will be significant because I will need to hire someone who is experienced in recovering as much of our stuff on the second floor as possible), replacing damaged furniture, clothes, shoes, food, and household items. I have multiple pictures. We were also on 3 or 4 different news stations. I am willing to provide receipts for everything. Anything left can go to someone else in need. I am also open to nonmonetary donations like furniture, etc.