Help Erika Find a Safe Place to Live

Hi there. My name is Erika. I’m so embarrassed to do this, but I need help. I don’t know if I deserve it. I’ve never done anything extraordinary, but I try to leave every place a little better and brighter than when I got there. My story is the same as millions of other people right now: I have never recovered from Covid physically, mentally, or financially. And I’m one of the lucky ones.

In May of 2020, I lost my job due to Covid. It was a devastating blow. I finally thought I was on the right career path and had started to better my life. Thankfully, the help from the government kept me afloat while I navigated the new, confusing world we live in now.

I’m now what is considered a Covid “long-hauler.” I suffer from weird mystery symptoms that no one has been able to diagnose. The information is just not there. Doctors are baffled by the causes and effects because everything about Covid is new. I would know more if Healthcare was affordable. I do know, however, that my lungs are now permanently scarred. I suffer from severe asthma attacks that I haven’t had since I was in third grade. I wake up gasping for air because I can’t breathe when I try to sleep at night. My toes turn purple and blister for no reason. My sense of smell and taste dramatically fluctuate for no reason. My energy level never returned. My body aches every moment I’m awake. And I still consider myself lucky that I didn’t die.

Because of all this, it’s incredibly hard for me to keep a job that can support a healthy and happy life. I know that’s a problem for even healthy people. Right now, I’m in a very bad situation. I’m literally sleeping on a mattress on a floor in a room I had to renovate by hand in order for it to be habitable. This was once a beautiful home, but years of neglect have destroyed it. The shared living spaces are horrendously unsanitary, no matter how hard I clean, due to other renters.

New Year’s Eve was the final straw. During a party that I didn’t throw or know anyone at, someone left an open bag of ketamine (Special K) on the bathroom floor. Had my dogs or cats found it, they would be dead. I would be devastated. I can’t live here anymore.

Now that I’m on Day 5 of what I believe is Covid yet again, I’ve decided that for my mental and physical health, I need to find a safe place to live. Unfortunately, I have drained my savings just trying to survive. I don’t have a healthy support system at this point. Those who do want to help me aren’t in any position to either.

Please, if you can donate anything at all, I will be forever grateful.

Thank you for your time.