Let's Put a Roof Over Karen

Karen Lewellen lives out of her car with a handsome black & white tuxedo cat named Rascal. If you look into her car, it is packed with all of her life's possessions, yet carefully appointed with personal flair as one might within their home. She spends her days at the Wally Pond park, picking up litter and pulling weeds, scraping graffiti off tables and benches because she cares about the park and wants to keep it clean. At night, she puts up window shades and reads by a tiny reading light. She says that if the cops see her reading light, they'll give her a hard time, though in recent days, because she has a reputation of policing the park and scaring off potential car break-ins, they have been leaving her alone. She likes to read at night, after she's finished her nighttime routine in the women's bathroom inside the gym. She comes and goes like a normal community member. She is pleasant, quirky, warm.

No one would ever guess she was homeless.

I met Karen during one summer night. I played basketball at this gym 2 nights a week and had noticed a stray cat that had given birth to a litter of kittens outside the gym. I started coming every night, leaving food, playing  with the kittens, and trying to earn the trust of the mother.

One day, Karen saw me laying with my cheek on the ground, trying to coax a kitten out from under the bushes. She must have thought I was having a medical emergency and hurried over to ask if I was alright.

We chatted for a while, waiting patiently to trap the kittens.  I learned that 12 years ago, she'd had a house, a job as a dental assistant,  a completely normal life. And then she had a medical issue, and she couldn't work while she was getting treatment. The treatment took it's toll financially and by the time she recovered, she'd lost her home and struggled to get back on her feet. She told me, "I went to college, I came from a good family, I had a good job. Never in a million years did I think I would ever be homeless."

It made me realize how easy it is for ANY OF US to become homeless. All it takes is one major illness.

Every time people in Fremont have opposed the Navigation Center, I would think of Karen, and fight for her. 

I just saw this news article about how she helped a kid who was getting beaten up. You can view the news story here: Karen being recognized for being a genuinely good person. Special thanks to Annabel Chai who notified media about Karen’s situation.

Watch the video. Listen to her optimism. Feel what a good person she is. I always see her outside picking up trash that careless people leave behind, or feeding the stray cats in the neighborhood. She cares about this park, she cares about people. Her kindness is so RESILIENT.

Karen told me she feels confident she has a job lined up but she needs surgery first. She has Medicaid which will cover it, but to date she has not scheduled it bc she can not recover from surgery while living in a car. She also needs some dental work (any dentists out there?) and a referral for a housing voucher if anyone can help.

Let's show this world that being a good person matters. Let's show Karen that her kindness is worth something. Let's raise some funds to get Karen out of her car, in a home with a roof and running water so she and her cat can have a safe haven. Let's raise enough funds to give her enough buffer to get her on her feet.

I invoke the lucky number 8 in the amount to be raised ($18k),  and bless it with this intention:

Please provide Karen Lewellen a financial buffer so she can have a roof over her head, a warm bed to lay in, a hot bath to soak in, and a foundation from which she can find her calling. And may her contribution to this world, her optimism and kindness, provide for her financially.

Good matters. Kindness matters. Let's put our money where our mouths are to say that good people deserve to get on their feet.