Debt Relief for Single Mother

In 2019 I made the difficult decision to leave an abusive domestic situation with my then 1 1/2-year-old with no savings, little funds, a whole lot of debt, and heartache. 

I found an emergency shelter with a friend in their camper that I lived in for close to a year until I managed to get an RV that we have been living out of since then. Since I was responsible for half of the marital debt (much of which I was not actively apart of accruing), I could not afford any of the apartments in the area and was unable to leave the area due to shared custody. 

It is now 2022 and I am still struggling to stay afloat living paycheck to paycheck thanks to these predatory loans I shouldn't have had to absorb, and navigating the obstacles that come with RV living. I stay in constant fear of being fined for the way I live or forced to relocate to a state park whose parking costs equal what I pay monthly in these loans. There is nowhere else to go.

For the past several years I have worked very hard to get out of debt - scraping every dollar, trying to pay down the interest - while caring for a disabled cat who recently lost his eye, another cat that is aging, and a fiery toddler. Yet after several years, I have been unable to make much of a dent because of medical bills, legal bills, and general life misfortunes.

 I am unable to qualify for house loans because of the two loans I was forced to take from my previous marriage. I can't acquire land to put my RV on due to zoning and building regulations. And I cannot leave the state without risking another custody battle which would place me further in debt. Bankruptcy has not been an option as it would impact my ability to acquire a rented space and/or qualify for an affordable home loan in the future. Seven years is too long for me and those depending on me to wait.

My mother is aging and has nobody else to care for her, is currently stuck in an abusive marriage herself, and has nowhere to go. My Black and Indigenous relatives are either unhoused or housed by those who leverage that housing to further violate their boundaries. I've worked for years in social justice circles to raise mutual aid for others and have seen the power of community in lifting each other out of debts, emergent situations, and so forth.

So I am seeking just 23k to pay off *one* of my loans so that I can finally apply to afford housing for myself, my toddler, my mother, and potentially two other Indigenous relatives. Anything beyond that will go towards a downpayment on a house. This one debt relief alone will open up so many possibilities for multiple people and I am willing to put in the work to make it happen - I just need a chance and your help.

It is my dream to build a community, to provide shelter and food to those that I love in a permanent *safe* environment where we no longer have to worry about this basic need. 

Safe, reliable housing is a right for everyone, even those born into intergenerational poverty, who leave abusive situations and are at the behest of a biased, carceral system that keeps the poor, poor.

Please consider donating so we can finally safe a permanent space to live our lives and start building a longer table...