Support Eileen's Fresh Start in a Safe Place

Update: March 9

Tomorrow we will set up Eileen's account at the Guadalupe Credit Union to receive the GoFundMe funds directly Then we can purchase the battery and tire. But first Eileen must get a new id because her old one was lost at the shelter. On top of all these doings, Eileen has all the symptoms associated with Shingles. She is in intermittent intense pain on her left side with a terrible looking rash. We will be heading to the ER.Update, March 8

Snowy blustery day here in Las Vegas, making for more getting sick days. And we are into our second week of no safe drinking water. Anyway, amidst all this we are urgently awaiting contributions so that we may purchase a used tire that fits the RV ($75). Oh, and we found that the battery is bad and needs to be replaced. ($190). Hoping the new spot we found ($550/month) remains available after we get the RV up and rolling.

Our Budget:

Replace tires on RV

Complete RV repairs and improvements

Monthly rental fee for RV space for one year

Utilities for one year

Total: $6,000

Hello,

I am Matthew. I live in Las Vegas, NM, a town rich in culture and history, now in hard times. We live in the meadow at the foot of the Rockies, where 'the mountains meet the prairie'

I live right across from the railyard that once saw the first trains running from Chicago into the west. Jackson Avenue once ran through the yard but it's been closed for some time. Still it is a pathway for folks looking for a shortcut to their homes beyond the rail lines and freight cars setting on spur lines. And one day Eileen walked by on her way home to her RV when she stopped to visit me in the little garden oasis in the apartment courtyard. And we got to talking and admiring a pot of nasturtium. Over time, Eileen walked by many times. We became friends. Over this past difficult winter

I became aware of the daily challenges Eileen faces to keep warm and keep a safe home for her and her family, two dogs, Bullet and Rowdy.

And so events unfolded and it became clear to me that Eileen needed and deserved some good luck for a change, good luck in terms of being supported by people who genuinely care about her and good luck in terms of financial assistance so that she can step beyond current difficulties and get a fresh start. We all can sometimes use a fresh start.

Eileen deserves to be happy.

Eileen deserves to be healthy.

Eileen deserves to be safe.

Eileen has been down on her luck since the Hermits Peak Fire left her with nothing. She needs to move her small RV to a safer location. She needs a fresh start. She needs a bit of good fortune to get back on her feet.

So this is the story of Eileen or at least what I have come to know of her life over the past few months of our becoming friends.

Eileen is 64 years old. Tiny stature but strong as ox. Feisty, tough as nails, sweet to her friends, known at various times of her life as ms. Annie Oakley and "the lone wolf". A scrapper, a survivor, Eileen grew up in Watroos, a small rail town, just northeast of Las Vegas, German father, Mexican mother, she was raised primarily by her maternal grandmother, a teacher in the rural areas of San Miguel County, riding horses, growing food in the garden, hanging with all her uncles, driving about the countryside in their hotrods, attending Upward Bound at Highlands University.

Life came along and swept Eileen away, to Denver, Alaska, places in between. Marriages and babies.

Good times and bad. In 2018, a tumultuous break-up in Denver brought her back to New Mexico, all over for a while and finally back to her old stomping grounds of Las Vegas with almost no financial support and even less family support.

At the time of the Hermits Peak Fire (the largest wild fire in New Mexico history)Eileen was living in a makeshift tent city under a rail bridge on the bank of the Gallinas River. The fire and subsequent flood brought evacuation and loss of her scant belongs.

As a result, Eileen has been a frequent client of Samaritan House over the past three years. She did acquire a beat up RV which currently sits in a bad spot in a bad situation in a bad neighborhood .

And that brings us to this moment in time. We have spent the past two days chasing down a tire for the RV. Today, our friend Gabe started checking over the motor to make sure we can start her up safely. And we are pretty certain we have found a good safe spot to move the RV.

To get a fresh start. That simple. And as Eileen's friend, I know that if you choose to donate to Eileen's GoFundMe account, you will be making a real difference in a person's life and I believe she is a person who will make the very most out of this fresh start.

And one last story, to illustrate Eileen's resiliency and lively spirit in the face of the daily grind to exist. We are driving over to the Wildlife Refuge. It had been rough day for Eileen. The radio was playing oldies.

Eileen was slumped over in her seat.

A new song starts up, Just into the melody, Eileen pops up, turns the dial way up, exclaiming, "that's my favorite song." " GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN." Eileen!