Help my family be able to find housing

During Covid, our lease ended. Could not renew it while I was unemployed due to the shut down of my restaurant, and could no longer afford the rent. No new place would rent to us while I had no job. Had to put all our belongings and stuff (from a 3 br place) into storage. Had to send my youngest to stay with my ex so that his education was not interrupted. It is not an ideal situation (there are reasons he is an EX), and it broke my heart, but it was the only way to keep him in the school he loves.

My trans daughter, myself, and our two cats moved into an extended stay, one room hotel, with just one suitcase each to our names.

I was lucky enough to get my old job back, but the hotel and storage alone is $2000/month, so all my pay goes to that.

After receiving the stimulus, I thought we could find a place and began applying. I wasted much of the stimulus paying nonrefundable application fees before realizing that clearly, the bar to be approved was far too high, and it is basically a scam.

I have been rejected for making too much money, making too little money, low credit score, and a non violent, non-drug related misdemeanor from 4.6 years ago.

We have been here a YEAR so far. A year without our belongings. A year without my family together. A year of not being able to cook healthy meals. If it weren't for the food stamps we received when unemployed, we would not even have food at all.

I have a friend at work who also does real estate for people like me, he says he can help us find something. Unfortunately, at this point, I have $0 savings. No way to afford a move even if we find a place (I am 58 and have arthritis, fibromyalgia, depression and anxiety, and cannot move everything myself without movers and a truck).

I am hoping to secure enough money to pay for a security deposit, movers & truck so that if we find a place, we can do it.

I have never been evicted. Never not paid rent, never even paid it late. Yet we are trapped in this terrible situation without a way out.

My trans daughter needs mental healthcare but we cannot afford it right now. I need to get a mammogram (I am a breast cancer survivor) because it has been 3 years since my last one, but we cannot afford it. Every penny I make goes to hotel & storage each month. To say it is disheartening is an understatement. My own mental health is not great, but I try to stay positive for my kids. It is a minute by minute battle to do so.

Being able to have money saved to move when/if it becomes possible would relieve an incredible amount of stress for us, and give us some hope that a future, in our own place, is possible.

We are lucky to have the roof over us, and I know that. I am lucky to be employed as a server, but Covid is still affecting how much I make, and I cannot see a way out of our situation without help.

Anything helps, and would be appreciated enormously.