My family and I had a house fire back in January of 2022. We were instantly displaced and we have been displaced for over a year. We are in need of help and we are out of time to continue to stay where we are now. We recently received a five-bedroom housing voucher grant that is worth $3,346.00 per month to assist our family with rental payments. After a year of using the housing grant for rent, we can use it to buy a home. I am writing this letter on Monday the 25th of September 2023. We have to have a place to go by October 24th because we moved into a house that didn’t pass inspection for our housing grant and the homeowner will not make the repairs that are required for our housing grant to pay. Before I get into explaining the details of our needs I would like to share some things about who we are.
I’ll start with my daughter Ashley aka Lady Bug. Ashley is 35 years old and she uses a motorized wheelchair. She was born prematurely and she has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, mild moderate developmental delays, Orthopedic issues, depression, anxiety, and obesity. Recently after the house fire Ashley was diagnosed and hospitalized for blood clots. While she was hospitalized they also discovered that she had a stomach ulcer and she has been having nightmares about being locked away from me and being alone and scared. Those are some of the health issues she deals with but I would like to tell you a little bit about her personality.
Ashley has always been a caring person. She is creative and she likes to write poems and songs. She loves listening to music. She’s a music connoisseur. When she was about 15 years old she told me she wanted to start a club for people with physical and mental challenges. She said, ” Although people call me disabled I don’t like that word. She said she would rather be called or referred to as a person with modified capabilities.
Ashley was rarely able to spend time with other people with modified capabilities so then she said she wanted her own radio channel that encouraged people with modified capabilities to believe in themselves and make their dreams come true. She felt like she could reach more people and encourage them with music, inspirational conversation, and good advice. Ashley now has a book of poetry entitled Modify Capabilities and her Lady Bug Radio channel https://urbanstarradio.com/lady-bug-radio/ We hope to soon be able to add content to her channel that supports her dreams, but for now, we are all in survival mode.
Now, about my mother, Emma. My mother is 74 years old. She has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis. My mom uses a wheelchair and sometimes oxygen. She moved here from Louisiana when my sister had to take a job driving trucks across the country. My mother needs someone with her 24 hours a day so she came to live with me.
My mother and father raise my two sisters and myself and there are 9 grandchildren and 12 or more great-grands. My dad passed away in 2016 and my mom told me yesterday that she really misses him very much. A couple of days ago she had me go to YouTube and play Daddy’s favorite songs. It was emotional for all of us but I saw the pain in my mother’s face. I see the sweetness too; she needs to be comfortable and not stressed. She got to Las Vegas on December 19th, 2021 and since January 2022 after the house fire she has been hospitalized four or more times and she also had to stay in a rehab facility for a little over two weeks. While she was there I saw that she was very sad.
Now about me, I am 55 years old. I was diagnosed with degenerative osteoarthritis in 2015 and given a motorized wheelchair. I had hip replacement surgery in December of 2017. Afterward, I’ve been able to walk without so much pain and I am thankful. I have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and insomnia. I have developed pretty good coping skills over the years but they are difficult to apply when we don’t have a stable place to live.
We had a little money saved before we moved into this house. The owner lives in Florida and he assured us that he would work with us to make sure the house would pass inspection but when he found out the cost to repair the heating and air-conditioning he refused to pay and asked us to move out. Then he filed for eviction.
We are asking for help to get money to find another place to move, fees, deposits, movers to help us move, a moving truck, and if we need a place to go before we find the right permanent place we’ll need help with that too.
We need a place to stay where we are all together with our live-in personal care provider and safe. We cannot afford to do any more rental applications when we are not approved for the home or apartment.
We need something that is wheelchair accessible and safe. We need someplace big enough for our medical equipment. We have searched for a single-story home that is large enough to accommodate our family’s needs and it has been a challenge to say the least.
We may need at least $10,000.00 Any amount you can share will be greatly appreciated.
If you know someone in the Las Vegas or Clark County area with a home that is willing to help us, please let me know.
If you can help us or you know of anyone who can, please do.
My PayPal link paypal.me/bluephoenixc
My CashApp $BluePhoenixC
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,