Help Mo and baby Aether find safe housing

Hello, friends! I've been helping a wonderful young woman named Mo navigate leaving an unsafe and unstable housing situation with her baby Aether, born Jan 2nd. She was going to stay with her sister and her sister's baby and toddler in Houston TX, but that situation has unfortunately become unstable as well. 

The situation was precipitated by an ER visit last week, which was when Mo first learned she was pregnant; she didn't know until she went to the hospital and they told her she was in active labor (she didn't show big and she has a complicated medical history including PCOS, with symptoms that have a huge number of pregnancy symptom crossovers. Yes it's unusual, and yes it happens - look up TLC's I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant!).

The housing situation where she had been working and staying since November 2023 was not a safe environment for her newborn, and because in no universe was she expecting to produce an entirely new being, she didn't have anything else lined up. The biological father of the baby is not in the picture for safety reasons, and she has no other family support. 

With assistance from some generous friends, I've been able to pay for a hotel room for them for the last few days and make grocery and errand runs. I've been staying with her when I'm not working as a pediatric home care nurse to do the nighttime feeds and diaper changes, so mom can sleep and have some time for her body and spirit to recover. 

We're working with an outreach team from Elliot House to get her the paperwork and documents and resources she would need to get housing in the area, but all of that might take a few weeks to get sorted out. We've been flooded with an outpouring of donations of clothes and bottles and all the baby gear they could ever need, so now I'm trying to get together a fund for interim housing. The most affordable and nearby longer-term option that wouldn't be disruptive to bring a newborn into is an Airbnb. With the discount for monthly rental, two months will run just under $3k. That, plus diapers and supplemental formula and all the other expenses that go along with babies, adds up fast.

I'm setting the goal at $10k, so they'll have a little wiggle room until she's able to find work again. Mo is one of the most resilient, thoughtful, gentle, and courageous people I've ever met, and she's already proving to be a wonderful and attentive mother. She's holding it together and learning to ask for help, but the situation is so much larger and overwhelming than anyone could imagine. Whatever you feel moved to give, it would be greatly appreciated. 

With much love, and updates to come -

K