Save Barbara Caporale's Home
Donación protegida
Barbara Caporale is my friend who has lived in the Lower East Side for over 40 years, and where her grandparents and great parents immigrated.
Although I have known her from activism for tenants and for CHARAS/ El Bohio, I really got to know her when she approached me with resources for my daughter who was suffering from asthma post 9/11 and connected me to various resources, in particular the World Trade Center Environmental Health Center which she was instrumental in advocating for its creation and (city and now federal) funding.
She has fought for anti-displacement of persons, community organizations, and small businesses as well as for social, economic and environmental health justice with the 2.5 billion dollars of the CDBG monies given to our city to help recover and rebuild lives after the 2001 attack on our country and neighborhood. She helped turn out the diverse voices of our community to have an input in the expenditure of these monies, and her community organizing & advocacy pressured 700 million dollars of those funds to be set aside for community use.
As a community gardener, she volunteers as maintenance chair of her community garden, and has led fundraising efforts to gain over $15,000. for intergenerational projects, programs, and events. She recently created the Kids Cook Your Culture Community Food Justice and nutrition education program, where children raise crops, harvest & cook cultural and in season recipes, donate food to the local food pantry and homeless hot meals program, and learn ways that they and their family can eat healthy, support the local economy, and lessen their global footprints.
Now she is facing eviction from her home of over 25 years.
Barbara is a single mother. She put in years of untold hours of uncompensated labor to save her building as a community housing resource for low-income families, and most importantly to provide a permanent home for her daughter who lived there since before her birth, and is now 20 years old and completing her third year of college.
Over the past few years she has struggled financially as her health has suffered and last year a tumor was found on her lung. She underwent surgery and thankfully is in the process of healing, but this health crisis set her back considerably. Prior to that she had a few years of grant based and seasonal employment. Although she does not agree that she owes the amount the building management claims; years of dysfunctional managment of the HDFC left her with no choice but to settle in court in order to save her home.
Although she has legal counsel from Urban Justice Center, and support from University Settlement, she received a judgment for $12,800. to be paid by the end of this year.
Barbara has recently started a job working with children and families, (which she loves) and will now be able to pay her monthly rent in full, but with her new part time job, she cannot pay the judgment amount, and has no savings.
If she does not raise these funds by December 31st, she and her daughter will be in default, and evicted.
In the Lower East Side we have lost so many community people to profiteering and greed. Someone like Barbara who has helped so many people and has contributed so much to our LES community should not be forced out for falling on some hard times. Please help us to save Barbara's home.
Although I have known her from activism for tenants and for CHARAS/ El Bohio, I really got to know her when she approached me with resources for my daughter who was suffering from asthma post 9/11 and connected me to various resources, in particular the World Trade Center Environmental Health Center which she was instrumental in advocating for its creation and (city and now federal) funding.
She has fought for anti-displacement of persons, community organizations, and small businesses as well as for social, economic and environmental health justice with the 2.5 billion dollars of the CDBG monies given to our city to help recover and rebuild lives after the 2001 attack on our country and neighborhood. She helped turn out the diverse voices of our community to have an input in the expenditure of these monies, and her community organizing & advocacy pressured 700 million dollars of those funds to be set aside for community use.
As a community gardener, she volunteers as maintenance chair of her community garden, and has led fundraising efforts to gain over $15,000. for intergenerational projects, programs, and events. She recently created the Kids Cook Your Culture Community Food Justice and nutrition education program, where children raise crops, harvest & cook cultural and in season recipes, donate food to the local food pantry and homeless hot meals program, and learn ways that they and their family can eat healthy, support the local economy, and lessen their global footprints.
Now she is facing eviction from her home of over 25 years.
Barbara is a single mother. She put in years of untold hours of uncompensated labor to save her building as a community housing resource for low-income families, and most importantly to provide a permanent home for her daughter who lived there since before her birth, and is now 20 years old and completing her third year of college.
Over the past few years she has struggled financially as her health has suffered and last year a tumor was found on her lung. She underwent surgery and thankfully is in the process of healing, but this health crisis set her back considerably. Prior to that she had a few years of grant based and seasonal employment. Although she does not agree that she owes the amount the building management claims; years of dysfunctional managment of the HDFC left her with no choice but to settle in court in order to save her home.
Although she has legal counsel from Urban Justice Center, and support from University Settlement, she received a judgment for $12,800. to be paid by the end of this year.
Barbara has recently started a job working with children and families, (which she loves) and will now be able to pay her monthly rent in full, but with her new part time job, she cannot pay the judgment amount, and has no savings.
If she does not raise these funds by December 31st, she and her daughter will be in default, and evicted.
In the Lower East Side we have lost so many community people to profiteering and greed. Someone like Barbara who has helped so many people and has contributed so much to our LES community should not be forced out for falling on some hard times. Please help us to save Barbara's home.
Organizador y beneficiario
Maria Muentes
Organizador
New York, NY
Barbara Caporale
Beneficiario