Housing Spunk

Dear Friends, Patrons, Donors,

Fund raising letters are not my forté.  I’ve done this once before but twice a habit does not make. To be good at ANYTHING, practice makes perfect. Time has come to speak up, not so much for myself as for what I can, need do for others.

My own situation is, perhaps, emblematic of the problem I am trying to address: “homelessness” as we have come collectively to refer people who have a hard time keeping a roof over their heads.  My current circumstances are what prompt me to write but of course these are thoughts that have long been in the incubator, so to speak. 

MY STORY (as brief as possible)

After eight (8) years of “homelessness,” I finally secured an apartment in Long Beach, California. The rent was about 50% more than my monthly Social Security check. With the help of gig work and donations from family and friends I have been able to pay the rent up until now.

So that’s it in a nutshell. I told you I would be brief.  Now I will unpack some of the consequences of eight years of “homelessness.” That sounds like an introduction to a litany of woes which result from being unhoused. First, I would like to talk about some of the positives of not being tied to a place that requires monthly budgeting and expenses.  The freedom from bills is liberating although small comfort when, say, the weather is bad or your belongings get stolen, etc. Freedom from bill paying and the ensnarement in the rat race is one of the benefits of living in the open. Living in the open opens one up. Makes one more accepting of others and generally leads to finding yourself in the company of the marginalized, the alcoholic, the drug addicted, etc. Moreover, the wide open spaces are there and there is no reason not to explore. So during those years I traveled about, mostly on foot, sometimes buses, trains and cars. I summitted Mt. San Jacinto twice. My first summit I camped along Strawberry Creek which runs down the mountain emerging out of the mountain's peak as a miraculous spring. For a whole day I observed Lady Bugs floating by, by the millions. It was breathtaking. The second time I summitted San Jacinto there was a huge migration of red butterflies sailing past the peak. The beautiful thing about Mt. San Jacinto is how its peak is really a peak.  Not all mountains, of course, are like this but San Jacinto is a rocky, pointy peak… so beautiful with the butterflies going by.

After my second summitting of Mt. San Jacinto I acquired Spunk, aka Spunky. It was the summer of 2017. I had lived outside for most of the past three years at that point. I came down off the mountain and found myself in Cabazon, CA where the Morongo Band of Indians have their Casino. I was given Spunky at the Circle K in Cabazon just prior to heading back onto the Pacific Crest Trail.

Spunky improved my life outside or rather, she changed the whole experience.  I became a lot happier having someone to share the experience of seeing and living amidst so much natural beauty.  Spunk came alive in the woods and I worried at times if she would just run off with the coyotes, of whom she was intensely curious.

So Spunk has been with me for the past six years now and both of us are too old to go back on the street. At present we are facing either eviction or a mandatory relocation unless I can raise enough funds so that my dog and I can make a more dignified transition.

NOW FOR THE NUMBERS

My gross annual income from Social Security:              $13,800.00

My base monthly and annual rent costs:                      1650.00/mth.

                                                                                           19,800.00/yr.

Estimated annual utility (electric):                                          1,000.00

Without any other income this leaves a deficit of:                -7,000.00 7,000.00/yr.

Rent and utility bill I am currently behind on:                2,000.00

As you might imagine, I wish to pay back my friends and relatives some of the many dollars they sent my way over the last year helping to retain this dwelling, shelter, house, apartment, studio, HOME!

The point of this fundraising letter is to better prepare for the coming year(s) with a realistic and forward-looking assessments of what I need and what I would like to see happen for both myself and others.

I am looking for any kind of help I can get. Perhaps someone would like to give me editorial criticism about how to make this fundraiser more effective. 

LONG TERM GOALS

During my previous GoFundMe campaign which helped me to purchase a computer, a better cell phone AND a lot of land. A residential lot in San Bernardino. In the hopes of finally slaying the beast of housing, I want to develop lot of land and perhaps live there myself or sell it to fortify resources for avoiding housing issues in the future.

Between the rental of the apartment or an apartment (whether I can come up with the funds or not my current property manager probably wants me to leave, ASAP) and the development of my lot of land I am looking at an overall cost of well over $100,000, as a rough estimate.

What I can tell you for sure is that I will need probably $30,000 to make it through the next year and to have enough funds to plan for the future and raise the remaining funds necessary to bring me to a point of housing security.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON “HOMELESSNESS” AND HOUSING

As someone who lives or lived unhoused, I watch public officials, aka politicians wrestle with the issue of housing and realize that there is no easy solution.  Lack of housing takes away so many things that we don’t so much take for granted but recognize as necessities. A working telephone and internet access are essentials that one cannot do without in our times.

As for resolving the issue of “homelessness” is a testament to how individuals make the difference and governments simply create bureaucracies of varying degrees of effectiveness. It was really first one person who helped me and then another until I had found my footing with a clean, dry place to live with indoor plumbing and electricity.

In closing let me say thank you in advance and to remind any and all of those who might consider donating that any and all contributions are appreciated, large or small.

So right now I am trying to raise $30,000.00 but will probably be looking to raise considerably more in the next year.