Career army vet in need of a little help

My name is David Bjorklund and I am fundraising for Kelly Thomas (she/her) who paid for repairs and maintenance for her landlord in good faith, who then decided not to repay Kelly for her expenses.

Kelly is a kind hearted and vivacious person who is helpful to anyone she thinks is in need - she’s also a US Army regular veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanlstan and the Panama conflict, only retired now due to injuries sustained in Iraq.

She moved into a very modest apartment in Oakland which needed a lot of work but was within her budget. She found the landlord was agreeable to her hiring for repairs so took care of with the assurance the last skied would reimburse her. Kelly took care of plumbing, electrical, painting and even gardening when asked - and Kelly was happy to comply doing something of the work herself. When she injured her back in the garden and told the landlord she wouldn’t be able to continue with yard work the landlord said it was okay, she would be Selling the property soon anyway. Kelly has not been paid yet for any of the work she had paid others to perform - her request for payment on some of the older items was met with silence. When the landlord did respond it was not about repayment of the mounting debt but about the sale of the property. As time went by the landlords responses were more delayed and protracted, never mentioning repayment of the debt.

As Kelly’s savings had been depleted funding repairs and maintenance on the property she began to worry that she might not be able to pay her rent. She decided to take her concerns to the city of Oakland for arbitration who assigned her a date for a hearing last week (1/25/2020). Kelly presented her evidence, bills and invoices collected over the previous 12 months and felt prepared for the hearing and confident of the outcome in her favor.

After hearing both sides of the story the case was dismissed because the landlord had sold the property! The only option left was for Kelly to take the landlord to court to regain her $30,000. If you’ve made it this far then you know Kelly does not have the funds to go to court. If there is any money you can spare to help rectify this tragedy and show Kelly the kindness her landlord should have, thank you.