Help Sheli After Her Apartment Was Destroyed

I am setting up this fundraiser for Sheli Massie because she could really use some help right now. Sometimes life has a way of really making it hard to get on your feet. Two years ago Sheli found herself in a situation where she had to start over as a single mother of five children and grandmother to a beautiful granchild. After years of being a stay-at-home mom, giving stability to her household and her family, Sheli set out on her own, working two jobs to make ends meet and living in a long-term temporary house. This past summer Sheli found a dream situation in a more permanent home, a two-story apartment in Aurora large enough for her entire family, one she could finally put down some roots, and a home affordable enough that she could work just one job. It seemed like things were finally getting easier for Sheli after two long years.

Then an unimaginable plumbing situation occurred. A sewer pipe above the second floor of Sheli's apartment burst, pouring sewage into her bedroom, all over her bed, and down into the living room all over her furniture. The apartment was completely uninhabitable, forcing Sheli and her family to move into an Airbnb for several days while the plumbing situation was fixed and the apartment was cleaned up enough to move back in.

This past week Sheli got the green light to move herself and her children back into the apartment so she bought a new mattress for her bedroom and a used couch for the living room and moved back in. The very same day the exact same sewer issue happened again, dumping raw sewage all over Sheli's new mattress, new to her couch, and this time also took out her TV. Devastated, Sheli moved back into an Airbnb large enough for her family while she waits for this nightmare to end.

Anyone woman who has faced divorce, or is close to someone who has been through one, knows just how insurmountable it is to start over after years of being out of the workforce and having a partner to share in all the duties of children and finances. When women strike out on their own, too often they are starting completely over with little money or things to their name. Every gain is fought for with sweat and tears. When a setback like this occurs, it is completely devastating and demoralizing. All of those gains and triumphs, gone in a moment straight into a dumpster.

Sheli gives so much of herself to everyone. For her day job, she supports the unhoused as a care worker at AID, a nonprofit that helps people of all backgrounds get the support they need. In her time off, she is working to start the Goldfinch Cafe, a restaurant that will be open to anyone regardless of their ability to pay. Sheli devotes every minute of her life to others. In anyone's time of need Sheli is the first one to ask, what do you need, what can I do? Sheli is empathetic, caring, kind, beautiful, selfless, and strong. She can get through this but she also needs all of us, her community, to help her get back on her feet. The funds from this fundraiser will be used to help Sheli find new furniture at Thrift and Dollar, a couple of new rugs and TV, and to help offset the expenses of staying in an Airbnb large enough for her family. Please consider giving anything you can, even if it is just $5. Every bit will go a long way to helping Sheli get what she needs and to show she is cared about too.