Ongoing Support for Homeless Family

(Edited to add additional ways to support at the bottom if you prefer other platforms instead of GFM.)

Last April, I made a fundraiser called “Preparing to Become Homeless Again.” After three years of trying to survive a rent increase of $500 to $2000 and then $2400 a month, we ran out of income and into debt covering basic utilities. The purpose of the fundraiser was to help cover the rent through the summer/early fall and to best position ourselves for long-term homelessness.

In addition to the last few months of rent, with the donations from that campaign, we were able to purchase a 40-year-old camper and get it towed to a shop, repaired, replace the tires, and the roof sealed to make it more livable in the cold and rainy Washington winter. After we moved out of our home in early October, remaining funds were put towards trying to prepare the RV for long-term survival.

It became clear very quickly that being free of our rent did not free us from other expenses of poverty. We are currently paying over $1000 a month in storage costs for items we couldn’t part with or sell in time before we left our home. My mother has devoted a lot of time trying to sort and downsize these storage units, but she can’t do that and bring in income at the same time. Her summer job of selling fruit at a fruit stand will start again in April, and her available time to sort will be even more limited then.

Our sewing and embroidery shop, Laurie Makes, has been frozen as we have no time or space for her machine and supplies to complete orders. It’s been very frustrating to her as sewing was more than just an income source for her; it’s her way to destress and relax. She will turn 68 this month, and it worries me a lot to see her working herself from before sunrise to after sunset doing grocery delivery apps, but she’s also a very stubborn woman and does not know the definition of “take a break.” She’s definitely where I got my work ethic from.

Moving to the camper has been stressful for all of us, as it has no running water, and the built-in refrigerator (as old as the camper itself) gave out a little less than a month in. We rely on bottled water for both drinking and cooking attempts. We can’t wash dishes well without boiling a lot of our limited water, taking everything outside, and spending half the day, so we use a lot of disposable plates and microwave meals.

The inconsistency in hygiene and reliable food sources has been really difficult on my chronic illness (Neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that causes chronic migraines and tumor growths on nerves), and I’ve been to the ER twice since the move.

It’s also been extremely difficult to avoid moisture and mold/mildew growth in the wet Washington climates. I think RVs in general were not made to overwinter in wet/cold places, and the fact that this one is decades old does not help.

I’ve noticed that even with two portable dehumidifiers running 24/7, the pillows nearest the outer wall and the mattress area lining it are always wet. I’ve sprayed and wiped mildew growth from the walls below the windows multiple times. I’ve been waking with coughs and nosebleeds more often. My migraines are more common, and I’m so exhausted all the time, dealing with a near-constant brain fog when awake that only seems to clear when I can leave the camper for a few hours.

But I can’t really leave the camper that often.

We pay $40 per person to access an LA Fitness membership to shower, but the location we’ve safely parked the camper is a good ten miles from any source of civilization, so we shower about once a week. It costs $50 minimum to do a load of laundry at the laundromat, so we only do that about once a month.

There is no cell service available out here if the power goes out, and that tends to happen about every other time it heavily rains or winds. The wilderness also has dangers for our pets. A local dog has already gone missing, feared eaten by the coyotes we hear at night, so it’s not safe to leave our dogs out here alone.

My brother was laid off due to budget cuts in early November but got a new job working graveyard janitor shifts for the school system late December, so he’s catching up on past due insurance and other bills. I spent the holidays on triple deadline and only have one left to finish (hopefully by the end of February), then need to write a short story for an anthology and start preparing my option book. My next novel—A ROGUE THORN, a Scooby Doo YA novel—releases in July and I’m working hard to plan a good promotional period for it and perhaps book more events this summer. The paperback of my debut released February 4th.

My family is doing all we can to try and help ourselves.

This fundraiser is a fresh start in our request for ongoing support. I’m doing all I can to work toward more book deals/event income, but right now all of my funds that don’t go to direct living expenses goes to covering minimums on the debt I accrued trying to avoid this outcome. Even that has been a struggle. My mother’s credit is already shot, so keeping mine healthy is our only chance of ever qualifying for another real home someday.

But I won’t lie, it feels fruitless most days. A friend worried before we even moved out here that “someone with your health issues can’t live in these conditions for an extended period of time” but I didn’t think it would take less than four months to break me down like this. I am supposed to be providing for and protecting my aging mother, not the other way around.

I don’t know what to do. If there’s mold growing in the wet pillows and mattress, they need to be replaced, but we can’t afford that. If we don’t want the problems to worsen or reoccur, we need to make next fall’s winterization efforts stronger, but we can’t afford that. We can’t afford to upgrade to a newer camper with better sealing and working plumbing. The cost of that would be equivalent to a down payment on a house and we can’t afford basic utilities right now, even without the burden of rent. We have to make this work. I wish I had better ideas or solutions.

All I have is my transparency with you. I will continue to keep you updated on what we are doing. I’m sorry I was quiet last month. I’ve just been so tired. Thank you for reading and being there for us. I appreciate you all.

EDITED TO ADD because I was asked, here are additional ways to support if you don’t like GFM or would prefer to support elsewhere:

Venmo: @Lily-Meade-1

Cashapp: $lilymeade

Paypal direct link: Lily.la/paypal

Patreon (best for ongoing support): Patreon.com/lilymeade