Help Leah Secure a Home and Reliable Transportation

Hello,

My name is Leah, I am a 39 year old, single adult. I am crowd sourcing for a couple of reasons. 1. to help me find a place to live. 2. to help me get a vehicle to travel to and from work, medical appointments, monthly medications I need, etc.

My story starts back in January of 2021 when I attempted to take my life. I was in the hospital for 15 days. I was living with family at the time and was told I would need to move out after I was released from the hospital. So, I was taken to a hotel where I stayed for 2 weeks, then I drove to Texas to visit a friend. I ended up being in Texas a month or so, sleeping in my car, with my dog. I put an ad out on Craigslist looking for people looking for roommates. I had one gentleman contact me and we talked and I decided to go check out the situation. I was there maybe a total of 3 days before leaving.

We were driving around and I spotted a hotel that was hiring in the area. I picked up an application and when we got back to the house, the man told me I would have to leave my dog outside or take her with me to work, if I was hired. Up until that point he had no issue with her being in the house. I told him he lived in the woods and she had no survival skills in that type of environment if other animals were to come and try to attack her while I was away (Jayde does not go outside unattended, she hates being outside alone she will bark continuously until someone is outside with her or she is let back in). He got a little mad and I said I would just leave because I'm not leaving my dog outside unattended (especially if I were to work midnights) or in my car for a whole work shift. I packed my things and started driving back towards Michigan.

Once I got back into Michigan I found a decently priced hotel and did Doordash every day to pay for the room (daily), food, gas, and anything else I needed. I eventually came across the job I currently am at, applied, and was hired within the week. That was April 2021. I have been here 3 years and called off one day (due to being sick). I don't miss work, I pick up extra days when I can (when I first started working I worked 4-5 12 hour days in the height of Covid), but with Covid slowing and our volume decreasing, the job no longer offers overtime pay. I've lost roughly over $700+ every 2 weeks in my paycheck due to this.

I currently have been living in hotels for the past 2 1/2 years, and have not had a vehicle due to repossession for the last ~2 years (unable to afford the car payment and hotel room together). I have some of the BEST co-workers who have rallied and give me rides to and from work, making sure I don't miss a day, but with school starting up and one of them leaving, this leaves me very limited in rides. I am forever grateful for them. When I don't have a ride I Uber, but that is quite expensive to do every day that I work (roughly $30+/day). I pay weekly for a hotel room, which is very costly. My paychecks mainly take that up and I have very little left over for food, Uber, necessities, etc. I go a lot without eating to make sure I have enough to pay my room each week, necessities, etc.

I, also have a dog, Jayde. Sure, you might say surrender her, but I have had her for 13 years and she is all I have left right now. She is my constant, my routine, my reason to wake up everyday and to get out of bed. She is my emotional support animal (yes, I do have a letter from my therapist). I suffer from severe depressive disorder and anxiety, she helps me with my day to day living and being able to thrive.

You may ask, why not get help from resources. I've tried. I don't qualify for low-income housing, section 8, HUD, SER (which was denied because they have run out of funds for the year), etc. I make too much money according to federal/state poverty levels. I've tried for food stamps, I used to have medicaid and that was denied this year do to "making too much," now when I go to doctors appointments I have to pay the deductible upfront to be seen, plus the remaining balance that will be billed to me. I've had friends help me look, give me ideas on what to do, help me out to the best of their abilities, I just do not qualify for anything. I've looked at shelters, low-income housing, I've inquired about apartments, houses, trailers, you name it. The down payments, security deposits, application fees, licensing, insurance all of it is just too much for me to be able to afford living in a hotel week to week.

GoFundMe is my last resort. I do not want to do this, I feel selfish, undeserving, and greedy. But, I feel I have no other choice. My hope is to get a car from maybe the car auctions or try Facebook Marketplace. The current place I am staying in allows me there for 28 days, then I have to vacate for 2 days then I can go back and start paying for a room again. It has something to do with a city ordinance. At least within those 2 days, I can stay in the car and shower at truck stops, do some more Doordash to try and save up extra money, pick up extra shifts, or get a second job. Then look for an apartment and be able to afford the security deposit, and move-in costs. I am asking for the amount of $3000 to be able to put a down payment on a car, if I find a decent one (I don't need anything fancy), and use some of that money for medical costs, and move-in costs.

If you have read my story this far, I appreciate you sticking around and hearing me out. I'm not looking for pity, or woah is me, or hand outs. I'm asking out of desperation, worry, concern, and fear. Everything has decided to happen all at once and I'm at a loss for what I can do next. I've exhausted my resources (i.e. friends, state aid, websites) and have no where else to turn. Thank you for considering donating. Know that it is not going to go unnoticed or unappreciated and will be used in the cause I have listed above and nothing else.

If anyone has any other resources they may know of, feel free to leave them in the comments, contact me through the contact button, or if you know my Facebook, reach out there. Thank you again for reading all of this and I appreciate you.

Leah