Stressful financial situation

[Marley]

This letter finds me in an extremely stressful situation with life finances. My husband and I were renting a home in the Decatur area. We were tenants there for 27 months and then a tree fell on the home. It didn’t harm anyone (thank God), but did damage the roof pretty badly. When the insurance adjusters came out they looked around wrote a report. Later that week we found out that our landlord had been illegally renting to us. The type of loan he secured to buy the home required him to be the owner occupant for at least ten years.
He admits that we were great tenants and he was sorry about the situation. The landlord gave us 40 days to vacate, because that’s how long his mortgage company gave him to move back into his home.::We have been trying desperately to find a home for my family- My husband, myself, our eight month old daughter, and my mother in law. We are applying for homes, and as soon as we pay the application fees $35-45 per adult, the landlord/ company informs us that the property is no longer available or has just been rented. In other cases it seems that the whole rental thing is a scam because once we pay the app fee, they want us to wire first month’s rent and security deposit to an overseas location. This is wearing our pockets thin as the application fees are nonrefundable. Our things are currently sitting in storage and we are living in a good friend’s unfinished basement which is definitely not conducive for living and absolutely not baby friendly. Life is depressing to say the least. My mother in law is dependent on dialysis treatments three days a week and this whole situation is affecting her health.
Our saving is depleted putting our finances under stress. My husband is the only one working as I am still on maternity leave in this situation. My mother in law has fixed income from social security benefits. It seems that any extra cash goes towards application fees, only to end up being a complete waste. We can no longer afford application fees, a deposit and first month’s rent. I have worked hundreds of hours building homes with Habitat for Humanity and hundreds of hours tutoring kids for the Family Refugee Family Services. Now that my family is in desperate need I’m completely at a lost to where to go for help. I am looking for someone who can take a chance on my family. We are honest people who are going through a terrible situation. Can someone out there work with us to secure a home and we can make payment arrangements for the security deposit and rent? We will be able to pay the balance in full at income tax time. I don’t know what else to do. My husband is trying hard and God knows he is a hard-working man, trying to keep the family together and stop the stressful financial situation. This whole situation caught us completely off guard and I don’t know what else to do. If you know anyone, an HONEST landlord, or some resources to help my family. Please, please, please help us with this financial situation. I have swallowed a lot of pride in these desperate times.

[Mccant]

I lost my job in match and went 3 months without a job and fell behind on my mortgage and my lot rent. I am in a stressful financial situation. They will not work with me on a payment plan and I cannot get caught up. In facing foreclosure and eviction from my lot. I have a job now and can pay my bills. I just can't get caught up. If I could just hey some short term help. I have 2 little girls in trying to take care of and between working and raising them I only have one day a week to try and get some help. My husband works all the time as well but his pay has been garnished because of student loans. I just really could use some help from this stressful financial situation before we lose our home we have worked so hard to keep. I don't have Internet at my house right now. I don't really know how this can help but I don't know what else to do if someone could help I would really appreciate it and would be forever grateful. Thank you.

[Janel]

Hello,
My name is Kelly Heinz and I am stressing out about my life and finances. My two children (19 mos. and 13) and I live in Saginaw, Michigan.
I was told about your rental help program by my advocates, Evelyn and Tiara, at the Underground Railroad. I will relay to you a very basic summary of my situation, as I’m sure you receive many emails every day.
Until recently, I was a victim of a wide range of domestic abuse. After the last encounter with my now ex-husband, he was charged with 2 felonies and subsequently taken to jail. He was then released less than 24 hours later on bail, and subsequently given jail time with a 14 hour work release and a no contact order until his trial. The no contact order was completely ignored and he began stalking me. Upon the fourth complaint (because I had proof) to the judge, the work release was finally revoked in June and he has been in jail ever since.
Later on, in June, I was in an accident which totaled my only vehicle putting us into a more dire and stressful financial situation. The week following my accident, I was let go from my mobile medical supervisory position, ironically because I did not have a vehicle, or purchase a new vehicle, fast enough(even though I supposedly had access to a company vehicle).  
The 2nd week of July, I contacted my landlord to figure out some kind of arrangement for the rent, and was informed that my ex had not fulfilled his agreement for half of April and all of May(total: $1125). I had already paid for June and took care of July with the rest of the money I had. At this point, I am still unable to pay August and September, as well as for the owed back rent.
I finally obtained 2 new positions and began 1 of those last week, while the other I start next week. The crux is that I do not begin receiving a paycheck until approximately October 4.
My landlord, while willing to work with me, is not willing to wait until October, and has begun the paperwork for eviction(though I do not know if he has filed it yet).
I am asking for your help with keeping us in our home and dealing with the stress from this financial situation. We have nowhere else to go. The total owed to make us current is, $2575. I realize it’s substantial, but I have no other options or ideas. I am extremely grateful for anything that we receive- even any thoughts or ideas about what to do from here.
Thank you very much for your time.

[Admin]

$2575 is A LOT of money you need. While it is great you said you "realize it’s substantial", you must realize that amount of assistance is rare (if not impossible). For those types of funds, we recommend a community action agency grant program near you.,

I am asking for your help with keeping us in our home and dealing with the stress from this financial situation. We have nowhere else to go. The total owed to make us current is, $2575. I realize it’s substantial, but I have no other options or ideas. I am extremely grateful for anything that we receive- even any thoughts or ideas about what to do from here.
Thank you very much for your time.