Assist Marissa in Building a Safe Haven

Hello, My name is Marissa. I'm so grateful you're here!

When my baby girl was in her last diaper and I wasn't able to get her more for another week, I wrapped her in a towel and plastic bag and posted a TikTok asking for help as a last resort. I wasn't prepared for the amount of traction my little video would get and the amount of generous people there'd be in the comment section. Several folks have asked me to start a GoFundMe to help get us into a home and not worry about diapers for my girl. So here it goes...

How did we get into this situation you ask?

My husband and I have been building our own business for a few years. He's an extremely skilled craftsman, why would we struggle? Unfortunately he has suffered with chronic GI issues for the majority of his life. Almost 30 years at this point. With no answers from any doctor, we have had to accept the struggle and do our best to heal him ourselves. Because of this, being self employed is the best, and seemingly only, route for work as his pain disables him from keeping a "normal" job. I know this is getting long, so I'll get to it.

I was about five months pregnant with our first child when we could no longer afford our home that doubled as a workshop, and had to move out. We slept in our car (with our two dogs up until a week before before my due date), while we saved to afford a place to bring our baby home to. We sold off all of our belongings that were not absolutely essential, traveled around the Phoenix Valley from place to place and now are homeless in 110 degree weather. I have all the government assistance and am waitlisted for emergency housing which could be several more months before getting into a shelter. We are currently staying at a Motel 6, paying by the night, which is about double the cost of what normal rent would be. Roughly $68/day versus $30/day. With low credit, renting an apartment is nearly impossible without a double, if not triple, security deposit.

We're extremely hardworking people who typically do not rely on anyone else for help at all. We're both college graduates and have worked since our teenage years. Personally, my hands on work hours have decreased so I can care for our baby girl. And my husbands work hours have skyrocketed. He's been working 15hr+ days, doing his absolute best to make ends meet and provide for our family. It really does take a village. I'm putting our pride aside and coming clean... it's been so tough trying to do it all on our own, with no family or close friends to help us out.

I've been posting updates on TikTok and will continue to as our journey progresses. @3pointo47

With all this being said, every dollar raised is going towards getting our now two month old baby girl a safe place to call home. That includes rent, security deposits, and all baby essentials (diapers, wipes, crib, clothes, blankets, books, etc).

Thank you so much for all your prayers, donations, love, and encouraging messages that have been sent my way thus far. I am forever grateful.