*** My gofundme Page ***

[TorchTheWitch]

It looks stupid, but I can't figure out how to edit stuff like the size of fonts and whatnot, but I think I've muddled through doing it so that it works. I hope.

For anyone that wants to donate anything or even just to pass it around on facebook or twitter, I'd be ever so grateful.

I didn't have an idea in the world what to put in as a "goal" amount, so I just chose an arbitrary amount about the size of similar campaigns and mostly so that if I put in a smaller amount the page would just close itself by reaching a smaller goal amount. I don't actually have a real goal amount since I can really only deal with this situation one step at a time and hope for the best.

For those that don't know, last Monday (the day after Easter) I filed an appeal in the county court mostly just to buy some time. The clerks there were very knowledgeable and helpful unlike the dingbats in the district court. With their help I filled out a ton of papers to file as a pauper which waived the $285.50 filing fee, and I only had to pay 1/3 of a month's rent at that time just to file the appeal. Twenty days later I'll have to pay the remainder ($850) or the whole deal is off, and then 30 days after that I have to start paying the rent to the court every month that they put in escrow until the hearing in - get this - NINE MONTHS! Of course, I have no intension of being here anywhere near that amount of time, and with the mold or dryrot or whatever the hell it is issue I REALLY want to get the hell out of here as soon as humanly possible and away from this nut of a landlord that's really starting to scare me.

Anywho, here's my gofundme page...

http://www.gofundme.com/slumlord-escape

Please share it on facebook or twitter or where ever.

Thanks you so much!

[Violet_Crumble]

1. Good luck. I hope yr getting good advice from people who can help you n/t

[davidpdx]

2. If there is another thread you posted about this, maybe add the link here

It would help people get more information.

I've been there with slumlords. I sued one about 18 years ago in small claims court and lost. It escapes me exactly what the issue was, but they were pretty terrible. I'm not sure about your situation (and it's ok you don't have to tell me), but I had some significant problems on my credit report and other stuff that prevented me from getting a better place. I had just graduated college and lived in the dorms which were nice compared to the dump I lived in.

[TorchTheWitch]

62. I meant to do that but now I can't find it

It already went drifting off into the archived threads, and I forgot to bookmark it myself. Same with the threads from before that one. If I can find a few minutes I want to try to find the last one again (and bookmark it this time) though it got so polluted by the ridiculous naysayers.

Some day I should write a book about all this.

I already need to do some updates on my gofundme page (I'm still figuring out how to do stuff on there) like about getting the sewage pipe replaced after two years of hell because the township made her get that done immediately. So, now I have a shiny new PVC sewage pipe that I just LOVE so much I could just hug it!

I also found out from the plumber telling interesting stories about some things that he's seen while being a plumber that apparently a lot of people paint their sewage pipes or their oil tanks if they heat their homes with oil and other bits of things in their house. Eventually, I would love to look this up on the internet and see how people have painted their pipes or tanks or whatever with murals and other clever paint jobs. Who knew people did such things? I like my new sewage pipe being shiny white pristine PVC though, I wouldn't dream of painting it with cow spots or flowers or whatever... it's so perfect as it is.

[davidpdx]

63. A book on slumlords, that is an interesting idea

What you need is to get one who has turned honest to interview. I've got a good working title for you.

Slumlords: How the poor are preyed on

If you ever get the project off the ground I'll gladly throw in some editing.

[TorchTheWitch]

71. at first I was thinking more of a novel

I've always been good at creative writing even as a young kid as long as I had an assigned theme or subject to start with anyway. It's the bit about coming up with an original story that wasn't something I'd actually read before and didn't realize it until later. I just never seemed to be able to come up with an original story idea on my own.

It was the mess with the district court and the township code enforcement office that it suddenly dawned on me that this just can't be only me. There had to have been loads of people that went through that system that were run over as well but unlike me had no idea their rights and the law were being bulldozed. And this is hardly the worst township. This is a money area where the citizens insist on a good well paid police department, fire stations, school system, roads, etc., so in most other places it's probably even worse. Maybe even a million times worse.

Then I started thinking what if I was a senior citizen or disabled or just didn't happen to be particularly smart? This situation would be a million times worse for someone not like me who is intelligent, healthy, what I call a "young" 50 years old, I've got no children to have to be concerned about (ok, there's Yoshi who's like a hairy son to me, but he's still a dog rather than a human child), I have no one but me and my dog to care for, I've got a car (such as it is) and capable of doing any number of kinds of jobs since I've had experience in lots of things.

And then there's the totally innocent people like neighbors who aren't personally involved with a slumlord situation themselves but can be just as badly effected by it. I live in a row house so I share walls with the neighbors on either side of me. Because this ceiling leak has been going on forever that I had no idea about until it busted through the ceiling has been causing water damage in my next door neighbor's house for years but have had no better luck than I have in making my landlord fix it. They own that house, so their damages are on them to pay for, yet they may be just as effected by mold as I am... mold can creep in where ever it wants to. They aren't poor, but they aren't well-off either, and they have no connection whatsoever to my landlord but are being so badly effected by her negligence. Because they own their house they're in no position to just pull up stakes and leave. They would have to sell the place first, and they certainly couldn't do that with the water damage and heaven forbid they've got mold from the leak in here as well.

There's also the plumber who my landlord slandered all over the place during both hearings. His business depends on his good reputation since that's how he gets more business. He's also stuck between a rock and a hard place because though my landlord is causing him problems with the terrible things she said about him in court (and hearings in the district court aren't private... all the other people scheduled for a hearing in their own cases sit in the same room and just wait for their turn before the judge), yet he still wants to be the one to do the repairs in here because it makes him money.

You don't even have to be poor either though certainly it's a hell of a lot worse if you are. Until I lost my job I WASN'T poor. It just turned into a nightmare trying to get another job for the first time in my entire adult life. All the way along I knew that if I didn't pay her the full amount of the rent on time she'd evict me. Even if I decided to put the rent into escrow to try to force her to fix things she'd still evict me or at least try to. If I could have just gotten a bloody job, none of this would have happened. With something like 75% of the country's population being one or two paychecks away from disaster and the horrible lack of decent paying jobs anymore, this could happen to huge swathes of renters poor or not.

Even what I've found out about the landlord/tenant laws are just jaw dropping teeth gnashing horrible. According to the law as long as the tenant occupies the property regardless if it's a ruin or they're being harassed by the landlord, etc. they're still required to pay the rent every month and on time. That's why even with the appeal I still have to keep paying the rent as long as I'm still here, but at least now it goes into escrow and paid to the court so my landlord isn't getting so much as a penny to do with as she will. And when she gets the notice about my appeal and finds this out she's going to be fit to be tied and piss rings around herself.

So, now I'm really thinking that if I were ever to write a book it really should be a factual non-fiction thing.

Oh boy, I think that's the sun I just saw peeking out! We've had days and days of wet, cold, and just miserable weather it's been feeling like winter all over again.

[davidpdx]

74. I think focusing on the poor, senior citizens, and disabled would be a good focus

because they tend to get shafted more and have less ways out of such situations in terms of resources to fight against such treatment by landlords. It would be great if out of this whole struggle you could write a book that helps others.

[TripleKatPad]

3. Happy to help

Good luck.

[ColesCountyDem]

4. Kick for visibility.

Good luck, TTW!

[akbacchus_BC]

52. Hey you!

Glad you on here to kick TTW post.

Best regards,

[ColesCountyDem]

61. Hi!

Here briefly.

[bonniebgood]

5. Here is my contribution. Knowledge. for the cost of 1 months rent

you can go to your local County Government office ask for information on buying Tax foreclosed property. Some are in better shape than the one you are RENTING. Some has deeds attached.
You will never have to be threaten or evicted again, with or without a job. No matter the condition OF the property, the rent you are paying and struggling to pay could be going toward fixing a property you OWN. GOOD LUCK, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

[Omaha Steve]

7. Great advice

First time that has been suggested that I know of.

[Adrahil]

16. Good advice.

Some homes around here are selling for less than $1000. Of course, they are in desperate need of work, but most are habitable. And then, pretty much all the "rent money" can go towards home improvements. Although you have to remember insurance and taxes.

[TorchTheWitch]

31. interesting that you mention this

I've thought about this since I first moved to this town with my parents when I was 18 after they sold the house, and there was a woman in our building that bid on foreclosed properties at the sheriff sales for her dad who was in construction who gutted them, fixed them up really nice and sold them for way more money. It always seemed to me the most likely option to ever be in a position to own a house.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that though I've lived in so many rental places sometimes with crappy neighbors or crappy landlords or crappy properties or places I liked but were sold so I had to move, etc., I don't think I really want to own a house at least not at this stage of my life. Now that I'm getting older I'm starting to really despise winter, and every year in this area they seem to get longer and colder and more miserable. I always thought in the back of my mind that I think I'd like to move farther south eventually. One thing I've always liked about the idea of working as a bartender is that it's the kind of job one can do anywhere whereas when I was working all those years as a legal secretary/paralegal I felt very trapped in this state only knowing the laws and legal procedures, etc. right here... it just wasn't the type of job one could easily transfer to another state.

My life is very uncertain now what with a change of careers, and I like it that being a renter means I don't have the responsibility of maintaining the property where I live or that I can pull up stakes and go somewhere else on quick notice should there be a reason to. I'm only one person, and even in this small house I feel like there's too much to take care of and too much to pay for. Do I even WANT a whole house and yard of the average family size which is pretty much all there is anymore? It doesn't even seem very sensible to own a house when you're only one person.

With the situation that I'm in right now I need to get out and do it fast which just precludes bidding on some cheap foreclosed house that I probably wouldn't end up getting, don't have the skills or finances to put it in order if it needs to be, and don't have anything close to the time it would take to find a worthy property. It's hard enough to find a rental property when you own a large breed dog particularly when you need one fast, but it would also be a hell of a lot harder and far more time consuming to go to the monthly auction where I'd likely be outbid by someone else leaving me completely vulnerable to just getting a roof over my head which is the situation that I'm in right now. For the next place maybe it's something to consider, but right now I'm in a situation where in order to just keep a roof over my head I'm more than likely going to have to take an apartment that's not something I'd even want to stay in once the first year lease is up. I'm not even in a position right now to even be able to figure out what sort of living arrangement I'd be able to afford since I'm starting a career change and one that what you make is entirely dependant and where you work.

But because this has always interested me and sat at the back of my mind since I was a teenager I found the current list of houses for the next auction in my county, and aside from a couple all of them are in towns I wouldn't want to drive through much less live in. For the first time in my life living on this street was like living in the armpit of the city with the worst sorts of people surrounding me which is not a good thing all my itself for anyone's mental health. All my life being single, female, and small I'd always made the decision to financially opt for a smaller place in a nicer area rather than a larger place in a crappy scary one. This little street is like a slice of the worst of all dangerous urban areas plopped down in the middle of a really nice safe town though we pay the same prices as though we lived in a nice area. Though it's gotten a lot better over the years that I've been here what it's done to my psych has rammed it home to me that I never want to subject myself to having to live among people like this ever again.

There's something I don't understand about the list of properties for the next sheriff's sale. There are two financial amounts listed for every property, and I'm guessing that the first and larger number is the amount of the loan that remains yet unpaid, but what is the second far smaller number?

http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/sheriff/list1.pdf

[Bay Boy]

6. You certainly put a lot of

...time and effort into explaining the situation on the gofundme account.

[Heidi]

8. Kick!

[CrispyQ]

9. I sent a few bucks. Wish it could be more.

Good luck Torch. I hope you get back on your feet.

[cleanhippie]

10. "Please explain why this makes sense?"

From a comment on you GFM page. I've seen this asked of you in the other thread, too, but you seem to ignore this fundamental question...

Through all of this, you have been give a ton of great advice to call charities, different organizations. You've ignored all of that, instead writing paragraph after paragraph explaining why you just have to get money to pay rent for a place you call a dump! You have refused to take ANY of the great advice given to you, and here you are, again.......asking for money to stay in a place you call inhabitable. Please explain why that makes sense?

[cwydro]

12. And she says she is afraid of the psycho landlady.

Makes no sense at all to me.

I'd a been gone when I still had my savings instead of throwing good money after bad.

[Demit]

14. She'd be hard put to find a rental that would take that big dog;

The house has a yard for the dog; she's lived there 10 years. I suspect those three things far outweigh plumbing problems and her "fear" of the landlady.

[underahedgerow]

25. It's because when someone UNEMPLOYED as this lady is, no one will rent to her! She has to take the

right steps in the right order! She has to first continue to have at least a roof over her head, even if it's leaky and disgusting. Meanwhile she has to find a job and keep her car running and continue to try to find work. Ever try to find work as a 50 year old woman? Especially as a bartender? That is not easy!

She's at the end of her rope, and is doing everything she can to get herself out of this situation. Once she has a job, she'll get the heck out of there at the first possible instance.

I understand her situation completely.... I've seen it up close and personal.

Sometimes a person just needs a helping hand... It takes absolute dire straits to ask for help, so have a heart and at least be kind. 'Just sayin.

[TorchTheWitch]

48. how interesting

I'm getting really tired of repeating this over and over again. I don't have any CHOICE but to stay here until I can get a job and enough money in order TO get out! It's not rocket science, it's common SENSE. Why it even requires an explanation is anyone's guess. No one here is so unbearably stupid as to not be fully aware that in order to rent a property in which to live it is required that you not only have an income but ENOUGH income to be able to pay the rent. It is also well known that in order to sign the lease and move in one must first pay the first month's rent, last month's rent and a security deposit. Some landlords don't require the last month rent payment, but generally in order to sign the lease and move in one is required to pay up front the equivalent of three months of rent.

Now is there anything the least bit confusing about this for anyone? Does everyone now understand that in order to rent a place to live one much have an income sufficient to be able to afford the rent and the equivalent of three months of rent?

I do not HAVE an income right now as I have not been able to find a job since I was fired from mine due to the well detailed disasters that happened in this house. Without a job or some other income one cannot rent another property.

I do not HAVE the equivalent of three months rent because I already paid everything I had to the landlord for the rent while I tried to find employment.

Without those two REQUIRED things there was no way on earth I could leave here and rent somewhere else to live.

So, you tell me, what the fuck is so damn difficult to understand about needing to stay where I am despite the problems because I have a roof over my head, a toilet that works, refrigeration, heat and all the usual comforts except for a leak coming out of the ceiling when the shower is turned on and a sewage pipe that had cracked, been temporarily repaired and was at risk for cracking again or crumbling apart?

When one's only two choices are:

A) Continue to stay where they are as long as they can in order to find employment and earn the amount of money required to rent some other property, or

B) Go live on the street in the middle of winter having to leave everything you own and spent a lifetime acquiring for the landlord to keep or discard at her whim and be unable to properly care for their dog nor be in a position to continue to maintain hygiene, clean clothes, or a place to take a shit in private and sanitary circumstances BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO OTHER PLACE TO GO which one do you chose?

No one on earth is so brain dead as to chose Option B, and NEITHER WOULD YOU OR ANY OF THE OTHER NAYSAYERS, so everyone can now cut the shit whining about something so painfully obvious and that I had already SAID numerous times in past threads though it has been chosen to be deliberately ignored not to mention that it is also detailed in painful clarity right on my gofundme page you obviously never bothered to READ though miraculously are able to quote a comment allegedly made on my gofundme page when there ARE no comments on it as I set comments to be blocked thanks to people like you and "the person" who complained to me that their comment which is exactly as you quoted here whined to me directly in my yahoo email about their comment disappearing repeating it in that email to which I responded appropriately and I'm sure you already know all about.

Tell me, does this email I received from "Atty Atlas" look familiar to you? Amazing isn't it that both you and "Atty Atlas" mentioned they copied that comment that didn't appear on my gofundme page because I set it to block comments when I signed up. And "that person" ended up revealing exactly who they were on DU all by themselves because they have a sad that their embarrassingly ridiculous comment didn't appear on my gofundme page and because they so desperately need the support of their buddies here to hold them up as they are so desperately unable to do that all on their own:

hmmmmmmmm. Somehow, my original comment vanished into thin air, but luckily I had already copied it. So, here it is again. Through all of this, you have been give a ton of great advice to call charities, different organizations. You've ignored all of that, instead writing paragraph after paragraph explaining why you just have to get money to pay rent for a place you call a dump! You have refused to take ANY of the great advice given to you, and here you are, again.......asking for money to stay in a place you call inhabitable. Please explain why that makes sense?

Oooops. We all certainly know who this "Atty Atlas" is now, don't we?

Once again, I will explain to "Atty Atlas" as I did in replying to their email to me that they were too chicken to even acknowledge that unless they were right beside me day and night for MONTHS of my seeking out ways of receiving assistance and responding appropriately they have absolutely no barking clue about what I have done and for how long or whether or not I've taken anyone's advice here based solely on what I have said or not said on DU and have not even considered that what is claimed as "ignoring" was nothing more than my not having the fucking TIME to respond on DU individually or that I didn't do it publicly since DU has this very convenient system called DU mail where people can discuss things between themselves privately or that much of the advise given was redundant as I had already known about it and looked into it all on my own with my own internet and phone capabilities already not to mention so much of the replies in my threads were from naysayers asking stupid questions, assessing my mental health and other absurdities jamming up the threads with crap to make even finding the posts with useful advice a chore I had little to no time for. For fuck's sake, I have barely had the TIME to even SLEEP for the past weeks!

This "Atty Atlas" also clearly has no clue in the world what "inhabitable" and "uninhabitable" mean or that they mean different things depending on whether or not they are used as casual usage or legal usage. "Atty Atlas" is obviously confused in using the term "inhabitable" in their comment as it means that the place in question IS fit to live in using the casual usage whereas "uninhabitable" means that the place in question IS NOT fit to live in. Somehow this went entirely unnoticed in your ignorant reply just as all the other absurdity has somehow gone unnoticed by the naysayers that have been spewing it.

And for WHAT??? Just what is the REASON for all this ridiculousness from the naysayers in the first place? What is the POINT to such ugly and cruel behavior? If there's anything that makes no sense it's THAT.

These words "inhabitable" and "unihabitable" have far more specific meanings concerning their legal usage. For example, the sewage pipe that you should know all about and seen photos of on my gofundme page had you bothered to even read it as well as right here on DU does not render this house uninhabitable in the legal usage as there is no problem with my living in the house as the pipe is replaced which is exactly what happened, and had you also read other posts of mine on this subject you would already know that the sewage pipe had finally been replaced by a licensed plumber as the township forced the landlord to have it done immediately and that while it was being replaced an agent from the code enforcement office came to witness that it had and sign off on it. Here once again is my shiny new PVC sewage pipe:



An example of "uninhabitable" in the legal usage would be something so severe that there can be no one living in the property due to some hazardous condition that would either out right condemn the property or required such extensive repairs that normal and safe usage of the property would be impossible.

As for why I would need funds to pay the rent into the county court's escrow account had you bothered to read what I said on my gofundme page before getting to anything about comments (and HOW can one accurately comment at ALL when they never bothered to even READ it?) in order to do the appeal of the district court's judgment in favor of the landlord which required me to either pay the landlord the amount of the judgment or vacate the premises by the Friday before Easter or file an appeal in the county court there are laws about that.

Filing an appeal would normally require a $285.50 filing fee plus three month's rent or the amount of the judgment by the district court (whichever is lower) by the Friday before Easter, however, because the courthouse was closed on that Friday before Easter for the Easter holiday I luckily gained an extra day to file the appeal, so my last day to appeal became the Monday after Easter Sunday which also gave me the weekend between that Friday and Monday to garner the required funds to file the appeal at all. A good portion of these funds was graciously supplied by my next door neighbors with whom I share a wall. They have had water damage from my ceiling leak in their own property for years and have also had no luck getting my landlord to address, so they have an interest in keeping the appeal alive at least until we can get someone in to assess the leak, how long it's been going on, whether or not it's the cause of their water damage and in particular find out about mold/dryrot and how long that may have been going on.

Through my own research I discovered that I was able to file In Forma Pauperis (which means as a pauper/poor person) which waives the filing fee, and instead of having to pay the entire amount of the judgment from the district court as collateral in the event that I should lose the appeal I only had to pay a third of one month's rent payment amount in order to file the appeal on that last day I had to do so though within 20 days of that last day (the Monday after Easter) I am required to pay the remaining two thirds of one month's rent ($850) in order for the appeal to continue. This was all explained on my gofundme page (AGAIN!) had you bothered to read it.

As I also said in my gofundme page (again, had you bothered to read it!) the reason I filed the appeal was to buy time in order to get something accomplished to avoid being thrown out onto the street by the constable within 10 to 15 days from the Friday before Easter. The purpose of my buying time is obvious... so I have the time to try and get some form of financial assistance (should it be available) to continue to remain in the property as long as I pay the rent each month to the court that they put into escrow until I can get a job and acquire the necessary funds to be ABLE to rent some other place to live ASAP. Paying the rent during this time into escrow is required by law as the law says that as long as I reside in the property I am required to pay the rent regardless if the property is uninhabitable (casual usage).

While you and your cronies have decided that I have no idea what I'm talking about concerning my own situation, claiming I'm ignoring good advice and even assessing the status of my mental health never mind how absurd that is seeing as I'M the one LIVING in this situation instead of replying to every little thing anyone has said in every thread I've actually been DOING things that best preserve the status quo so that I don't get thrown into the street as long as I can fulfill the required obligations in order to do exactly what I said at the beginning of this reply that only a dumbass couldn't have figured out on their own and EXACTLY what you and anyone here would do were it you or anyone else here in my shoes.

Isn't it just so amazing that seeing as I'M the one that actually has to live in this situation while the rest of you just play "troll hunter" and thump each other on the back with every pathetically ridiculous claim uttered (since kicking someone when they're already down and deliberately ignoring absolutely everything they say that refutes the original premise you all decided arbitrarily had to be true since you so magically "sniffed it out&quot is just so damn FUN while you all go off to your own beds you have no worries will remain right where they are since your own lives are just dandy not to mention while also congratulating yourselves on your so superior liberal, progressive and democratic characteristics that you've proved yourselves every single time you keep braining me don't actually exist despite how utterly cruel and inhuman your actions have been.

Your actions along with those of the naysayers have been complete filth and reminiscent of what was done to Andy Stevenson as all of the naysayers have acted in the exact same manner as the shits that denied him a timely surgery regardless if it would have proved helpful or not, and you all just keep proving it the more you gossip about it in other threads and my own as if I have no way to read it, and you always do it in groups since not a one of you could do it on their own because you lack the guts.

And I'll leave this reply that will also go ignored by all of you with what I said in Omaha Steve's thread you all had the sick audacity to highjack to gossip about me and when that man is facing his own demise with such courage and grace that you tiptoed out of showing without question not a ONE of you had the spine of a mouse to confront but crept away from. The more you keep it up the more you reveal yourselves as the epitome of cruel, disgusting and inhuman and for no dicernable reason which of course you will also ignore...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6469206

[padfun]

11. Please, use this money to rent another place

You shouldn't be in that house. It is too rotten.

[TorchTheWitch]

21. the only problem with that is I also need a job as well

Nobody is going to rent to me without my having employment and a salary that would be sufficient to pay whatever the rent amount is. Once I had to rent a place while I was working full time doing temp work and even that some people were reluctant to accept. This place was actually the only one where I didn't have to show any kind of proof of my salary.

Other than keeping this eviction thing at bay so I don't get thrown out the job is the single biggest thing, and until I got the hearing notice that's all I was focused on every day. That was the most maddening thing until the second hearing was that I didn't have a single minute to look for a job. While this eviction process was going on I constantly wanted to scream at anyone involved to just go away and leave me be so I could get back to looking for work. And now here I am, and I STILL haven't had even a minute to do anything about that. It's been driving me bonkers on top of everything else.

And yes, this place is disgusting. I'm perpetually afraid of what's going to happen next. With my luck the whole roof will cave in or something. It's a perpetual stressor. What's so odd is that all of these big disaster all happened in such a short period of time which just added to the hysteria feeling like every day something else blew up. I can't even understand how I managed to stay here so long and not just because of the house itself but the worst of the neighbors. I just got to a sort of place that went past all the hysteria about everything and just kind of went numb to it. Even now I just can't think for the life of me how on earth I was still here even after the first year.

[daredtowork]

30. Advice I got today

Get your own credit report to carry with you so scamming landlords won't charge you for credit report.

I hope your credit isn't an issue. :-/

[bettyellen]

84. But you've not "a minute to spare" to job hunt or "comb through"

Previous threads for good advice. Instead you're focused entirely on fund raising. Can't spare an hour a day searching for work? This is all according to what you've written in this thread.
Okay then!

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I spread it already

[akbacchus_BC]

54. Nadin, you are such a kind person!

Hope you will come back and keep posting, I really miss your views.

Best regards

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. Well I have virtually known TTW for a long time

[akbacchus_BC]

57. I have seen her posts, but I always liked

your posts and liked you as you reported the news in your town, which I really appreciated.

I really hope that TTW can get on her feet and be independent.

Some of us on here care for each other and you my dear is someone to be respected on here. I really like you and am glad you are back.

Best regards,
akbacchus_BC

[Sissyk]

15. Good luck to you and Yoshi, TTW!

I hope you find a new place soon that will accept Yoshi!

[Adrahil]

17. I sent a few bucks... good luck! n/t

[KMOD]

18. Torch, I'm so glad you set this up.

I did what I could to help.

Wishing you the best.

[ColesCountyDem]

19. Keeping it kicked for exposure. n/t

[Texasgal]

20. KICK!

Keeping kicked!

[UtahLib]

22. K&R. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. kick. I think your summary could be shortened

[NCTraveler]

24. Not being arguementative.

"the mold or dryrot or whatever the hell it is issue"

Almost all major counties across the us will conduct a free mold inspection including a report. The beauty is that in most counties the inspection results are only given to the person who ordered the inspection. They do not furnish the actual owner of the property with one unless you say to do so. A lease is necessary to make that happen. Just saying it could help your case in the end. No one in this country should be in a state of not knowing when it comes to mold. Finding out if there is a mold problem has been made pretty easy in major counties.

Best of luck ttw

[TorchTheWitch]

64. my next door neighbors and I have been talking about this

Since this is a row house I share walls with neighbors on both sides of me. The neighbors on the side of me that are right next to where this leak in the ceiling has been going on have been having water damage issues in their own house because of it for years. They haven't had any luck getting my landlord to do anything either. My neighbors own their house, so any kind of repairs the place needs is on them. Their house was also completely gutted and got all new cabinets and appliances and carpet and everything before it went on the market, too. Now they're also worried about mold that may have crept into their house as well which is certainly possible.

I don't normally get a chance much to talk to the husband since he works practically every day, but the wife I've known pretty well since they moved in a year or so after I did. She's a stay at home mom, so she's usually around to talk to. Neither of us could figure out what the hell is the deal with the township building and code office that keeps claiming they only work for property owners which just CAN'T be right - tenants, neighbors, workers, etc. are all tax payers, too, and they're the ones that normally are going to have the complaints in the first place since it's more likely that the property owners just don't care about their tenants or workers or their neighbors if their building isn't up to code or unsafe or hazardous or whatever.

We even tried working through the township health agency and that also got nowhere. It's been so frustrating! Our next step was seeing if we could get any help from the county, and she was supposed to be researching that while I've been dealing with the county court with the appeal, but I haven't heard anything from her. Today I have to go back to the county court and file some papers and the ticket stubs from the post office to pprove that I sent copies by certified mail to both the landlord and the district court the copies of the appeal. Since I'll be there anyway I can look into where a county office concerning mold inspection or anything else the county has that might be some help. So far, everyone at the county courthouse has been great. Everyone I've talked to seems to be entirely knowledgeable and helpful, and I've discovered that it's the security guards of all people who seem to be a font of wisdom about almost anything.

If I can't find out anything useful while I'm at the courthouse then it's back to the internet to see if I can find some county help at least about checking for mold or any other creepies. I was also thinking about a private person like a contractor or somethin, but I doubt they'd do anything for free, and I'm not sure I could trust what they said anyway since who knows what they might tell someone in the hope of getting a repair job. So that I'm not so sure about, and I already know I can't pay anyone to inspect not to mention that it would just gall the hell out of me to do that even if I could - for heaven's sake it's supposed to be the local government that's supposed to do this!

You're right though that there should be some county office that would look into this though I'm afraid they'll just tell me to go through the township offices who have all been completely worthless thus far.

At some point I also need to do dishes and laundry and run around with the vacuum cleaner, etc. I still have so much to DO! I think I need a few clones and put them all to work doing this and that I need to get done.

Thanks for the info!

[NCTraveler]

66. If you pm me the county I will look for a phone number or online form.

It should be free. Wouldn't mind taking a minute today to look for it. Even if you simply forward the info to your neighbor it might help. I might ask for the city at some point but simply knowing the county should work. Sorry about all the issues and best wishes to you.

[TorchTheWitch]

69. that would be so great if you could do that for me!

It always seems to take me forever to search for something on the internet. I think I just don't have a knack for coming up with the best key words or something.

I ended up going to the courthouse this morning, and I forgot all about asking anyone there. It's rainy and cold and just gross today, and this time I didn't luck out with a parking spot and ended up having to walk a couple of blocks to and from the courthouse in this crap weather. I wish I hadn't already put away my long johns because with just my jeans on it felt like I was wearing ice pants. Damp ice pants at that. Ugh.

Give me a minute to send you a PM... the puppies next door finally came outside, so Yoshi is dying to go out and play now.

[Aerows]

67. Great information for everyone!

Much appreciated.

[merrily]

26. K & R

[KMOD]

27. kick

[Fumesucker]

28. Kick

[daredtowork]

29. I think this would help your fundraising

I know you care about your privacy and don't need anyone Judge Judying at you, but I think your ability to raise funds will be undermined by all the fuzz that's been thrown up around your situation. The biggest question is whether all the crap coming down on you will prevent you from extracting yourself from that situation. People outside really don't get how fragmenting it is to be always chasing resources and dealing with problems and stressed to the point you can't get work. I've been trying to extract myself from my own situation for THREE YEARS, and employers are refusing to cooperate with the amount of effort I'm able to dedicate - even with 2 job developers, job club, and a "life coach" trying to enforce the way I use my time!

Anyway, it only takes a couple months for people to start giving you the stink eye and deciding you're either taking advantage of them or "need mental help". You need to play defense on this presumption.

I recommend finding someone at DU to visit you, talk with you about your situation, and vouch for you here. With some luck, that person might be willing to help you a bit with research searching and planning - that will also back up what's not available to you if you don't get additional help from that.

Btw, the main thing I do with my " coach" is write down every little thing I have to do in an organizer: it really helps.

I know you might be irked at him for questioning why you didn't yet open the gofundme account, but I would recommend asking Omaha Steve for help (hopefully he doesn't mind me volunteering him): he knows a lot of *people of good will* on DU, and he might know who could visit you for the purposes of vouching for your situation.

Also, I second his concern that you should follow up with anyone that donated money to you. Check for private messages from them and answer their questions.

You're lucky in that you've gotten a lot of attention to your situation. I think if you do follow up as people ask, you will be fine.

[NCarolinawoman]

32. Just gave a bit. Hope it helps.

Terrible house. Such a beautiful dog.

[Texasgal]

33. Another kick for visibility!

[Jefferson23]

34. K&R Best to you!

[KMOD]

35. .

[Omaha Steve]

36. Kick

[steve2470]

38. kick nt

[rpannier]

40. Kick for visibility

[Omaha Steve]

41. How did this to page two?

How would I go about fixing that?

[ScreamingMeemie]

42. Kick

[jcboon]

43. Good Luck!

Kick

[PearliePoo2]

44. Just sent a few bucks...

to help buy food for your best furry friend 'Yoshi'.
My little Border Collie 'Pearl' is the focus and love of my life, so I KNOW what comfort an animal can bring when times are bad.
Best of luck TTW.

Kick & Rec

[Liberal_in_LA]

45. kick

[herding cats]

46. .

A kick for visibility.

[sketchy]

47. k & r

[LiberalAndProud]

49. What doesn't make sense to me

is that hateful people like Memories Pizza owners rake the dollars in from their like-minded compatriots, but a person in need on this board is treated with distrust and criticism.

Must hate always be the more powerful over kindness?

TTW, I wish I were in a situation I could offer financial help. For now I must settle for moral support. I'm glad you've made good strides toward resolving this situation. I hope for you the very best.

[akbacchus_BC]

51. Don't feel bad for the people who do not care!

A lot of us care and we try to help when we can. Times are tough for everyone but we are a community here and we feel each other's pain.

Even if you cannot donate, your kind words help. You too care plus you added your voice to this thread.

Best regards

[Aerows]

56. I understand where you are coming from

I did my best and contributed.

I couldn't care less about hateful people that get a margin being spiteful.

[akbacchus_BC]

58. You are a wonderful person on here! I have always

admired you and your contributions to DU. I don't really interact too well with Americans as our politics is so different and after all the Obama bashing, I just read rather than posted.

You are a nice person!

[akbacchus_BC]

50. I just chipped in to help you!

Hope everything works out for you.

Take care and best regards
akbacchus_BC

[Aerows]

53. Kicked in 6 bucks.

That's all i could do, but I hope it helps!

[steve2470]

59. kick nt

[sabrina 1]

60. Do what you have to do TTW. Sorry you are going through this right now, but it will get better.

Especially when you have people who care enough to help you through it.

I will donate something tomorrow and hope it helps a little. No one should have to go through this.

Such a beautiful puppy. I'm glad you have him to keep you company right now.

[Aerows]

68. I was in a bad place

about 5 years ago. If my beautiful tabby cat had not come into my life, I shudder to think what would have become of me.

There is nothing like the devotion of a pet to soothe the soul. I *adore* my Roma-tomato-nose kitten. (She has this weird red coloring on her nose, it's beautiful!)

[sabrina 1]

76. Yes, animals are great. Your kitty sounds adorable!

[PearliePoo2]

65. Kicking for the Morning Crowd

Hi 'Yoshi' doggie!

[Suich]

70. Hope everything works out for you, TorchTheWitch!

[inanna]

72. Kicking n/t

[Texasgal]

73. Past 1,000.00 now!

YAY!!!!!

You've got that 800.00 and some odd that you needed. Let's try to get some more in the kitty! You can do this!

[TorchTheWitch]

75. UPDATE - that damn landlord is trying to come in again!

I found a call on my voicemail that was left by my landlord who once again is not scheduling a convenient time with me to come into the property to "do some work". She just announced that "we" are going to be coming tomorrow at around 11 a.m. to "do some work" so I have to let her in.


Last Saturday she did the same thing, showed up at the door and demanded entrance. Since I'd been advised by the police to call 911 is she showed up without my permission that's what I did. The officer that came I hadn't met before and had no idea what this ongoing issue was. I gave him the names of the other officers I'd spoken to, told him under no circumstances did I want her anywhere near me or the property and there was no way on God's earth I wanted her actually inside. I know she's trying like hell to fix the ceiling without fixing the leak and disguise any mold or dryrot or whatever. Not gonna happen. The officer talked to her and then came back to me to tell me that she told him that I had screamed at her on the phone and invited her over but then wouldn't let her in and called the police. The officer then made her leave since it was apparent that I didn't want her in or on the property.

Since then I hadn't heard anything from her and was just beginning to believe she was going to stay away after what happened last Saturday, and the nut is planning on showing up and trying to get in AGAIN! I've told her numerous times that as long as I'm the legal tenant she HAS to arrange a convenient time with me to come onto the property for any reason otherwise it's harassment. She doesn't care about the law or my rights or my time or anything else but herself.

So, today I got a message from her on my voicemail that said she was coming over tomorrow at around 11 a.m. to "do some work". I had to call her back and again tell her that, no she wasn't, and if she showed up again I was just going to call the police again. But this time I have proof on my phone from her voicemail that again I was not consulted about this visit but just TOLD it was going to happen. I had to call her again to try to tell her the same thing as before about my rights and the law, that I was still the legal tenant, etc. and she hung up on as she has with all of these phone calls as soon as I tell her no. So, I called her back and once again tried to explain this to her and I did get in that I had filed an appeal.

On the 7th I sent her the copy of the appeal info certified mail, but she wouldn't have gotten it yet. I had to also send one to the district court, but they'll just be happy that it's out of their jurisdiction and in the county court. Once she does get it and finds out that I have 9 months to stay here while putting rent money into escrow through the court, and she won't get her hands on one penny of it she's going to go completely ape and crap a ring around herself.

She also understands that the single biggest thing she needs to do right now (now that the sewage pipe has finally been replaced) is for the leak that's still raining water through the ceiling whenever I use the shower, and all she needs to do for that is call the plumber and tell him she wants him to do the work, then the plumber will arrange with me when he can come to find out where the leak is and arrange a time with me to do the work and how long it should take, etc. She doesn't need to be here or come here for ANYTHING particularly inside the house. And she's ALREADY been in here numerous times since the leak crashed through te ceiling and was here the morning of the day of the second hearing right before the hearing started doing the walk-through with the township inspector, so she already knows according to them that did nothing but glance at the ceiling and had no idea about the leak in the first place because the inspector wouldn't allow me to say a word or point things like this out to him.

I'm probably going to have to go to the police department again tomorrow and find out what I should do. This calling the police if she keeps harassing me on the phone or if she shows up unwanted just can't keep going on. Because she is nuts, I wouln't put it past her to come right in with her own key (that she's legally entitled to have, and I can't change the locks) especially if I'm not here.

Since the case is now in the county court I'm wondering if there's any kind of harassment filing or even advice I could get from them. Even now I could go over the the district court and file a harassment complaint against her, but then I'd have to deal with a hearing about that and with the same nincompoops at the district court and the same asswagon of a Repuke judge. But I also don't want to have to spend any money on this madness. The first police officer I talked to about this told me that if she's crazy enough to just barge in knowing Yoshi will be loose in the house and he attacks her, that's her problem. But I don't want him to attack anyone and I'm not sure he even would though he knows that I hate her guts and her being anywhere near me now makes my anxiety go through the roof which a dog registers as fear of her. And she IS that crazy to just use her own key and come in the house whether I'm here or not. But Yoshi might also do nothing and just let her in and do whatever she wants. Because she used to live here herself before I moved in her scent is probably still all over the house, so he might think she has a right to come in whenever. He also has a really good temperament, so I honestly don't know what he'd do.

I'm not just worried for me should she let herself in while I'm not here with all my most personal papers and things here and holy cow my computer! I'm really worried for Yoshi... she could hurt him or poison him or something. And she IS that nuts!

Can anyone recommend anything about what I can do to get through to her that she can't keep doing this harassment and trying to come into the house? Or where else I can turn to stop this crap? Two of the officers I talked to are convinced she's done this before to someone or several someones because she gets right up to the line but doesn't cross it by doing something for which she can be arrested. They also believed that she was likely to escalate the harassment and to tell the police after every incident so they have a record of all the times she's been harassing, whether it was by phone or in person, and what occurred. I've already thought with the incident when she came over last week, and the officer that arrived didn't know anything about this ongoing issue that I'd need to talk to the chief of the police department so all of them will know about this problem and that despite what she says I do NOT want her anywhere near this property and would NEVER invite her in.

A few minutes after I had called her back trying again to get through to her that she can't keep just telling me she's coming over whenever she likes and that I'm never going to let her in if she does she calls me back to tell me that "something came up" and she suddenly couldn't come over tomorrow after all. I'm not sure what to make of this but I do know it has nothing to do with "something suddenly coming up". For whatever reason she doesn't want to risk coming here again. I'm wondering if she realized that I have the voicemail she left on my phone and that's proof I could have an officer listen to so this time she wouldn't be able to lie to them like last weekend. She has to have figured out by now that if she does this again just like last weekend she won't be getting in, and I'll just call the police again. She lives about an hour and a half away, so coming all the way out here again is a wasted effort, and I'm not letting her in and will be calling the police. I really just cannot figure out why she tried to do this again in the first place.

This is what it's like dealing with her. You just CANNOT get anything drummed into her head. It makes no difference how many times you tell her XYZ, it's like talking to a brick wall. It just floats right past her brain. She's completely devoid of the most basic common sense. I can't even count how many times she's brought up fixing the ceiling, and every time I have to repeat that she can't fix the bloody ceiling without first fixing the damn LEAK. And there are almost countless other similar incidents like this, like when that hurricane several years ago tore off half the shingles on the porch roof.

I told her over and over that she had to have the shingles replace ASAP or she'd end up having to replace the whole porch roof. She let that go for YEARS until my next door neighbors finally had to give her the business about fixing it because without the shingles they were getting water damage to their enclosed porch. Their porch like many others on this street had been enclosed so that what used to be their porch is now an extra small room, and the front door is right where one would normally step onto the porch which is how mine is. These little rooms that were once porches are nice little room that have an archway into the living room and make a nice little tv room or den or reading room or even a spare sleeping place for a guest. One of my neighbors has their little room set up as a library with built in shelves full of books and their desk with their computer and stuff with a nice comfy Lazyboy recliner for reading or napping. It's also where they have their dog bed so their doggie can cozy up with them in the "library".

Once the neighbors bore into her about the missing shingles, she had them replaced, but by that time with several winters without the shingles underneath the new shingles is the wood of the porch roof that was already starting to rot. Eventually, just like I warned her, that porch roof is going to disintegrate, and she'll end up having to replace the whole thing, and it will probably fall down on someone's head first. She just does not get it that all these huge problems that are going to cost her a fortune in the long run because she's ignored them would never have GOTTEN to such a point had she just dealt with each problem when it was discovered. She just does NOT get it that a house needs to have regular maintenance to avoid huge problems down the road. AAAAAAGGGHHH!!! It's so maddening!

And of course, when she did send workmen to replace the shingles on the porch roof she never bothered to tell me they were coming. The porch roof is directly opposite the outside wall of the bathroom and on the same level. One day I got up and went to use the potty, and suddenly I can hear men talking just INCHES away from me right outside the bathroom on the porch roof. I KNOW they could hear me peeing and flushing as clear as a bell just as I could hear them talking quietly to each other clear as a bell. UGH! It was so humiliating!

Anywho, anyone have any ideas of what I might be able to do to stop her from this constant harassment? The phone calls are bad enough, but she's escalating to coming over and trying to get into the house. I've though of putting a notice on the outside of my front door, but the storm door has just a screen in the top section, and it would get wet from rain or just dampness, and besides, she could easily just tear it off and pretend it was never there. There isn't any way to lock that storm door. It DOES have a little locking mechanism, but it's never worked.

[virgdem]

77. You might want to investigate..

the idea of filing a restraining order against her. I know this is her property, but she is constantly harassing you. The restraining order would put legal limits on her access to you without a clear cut reason for gaining access to your rental. It's worth a shot. I will donate to your cause over the weekend. Good luck!

[TorchTheWitch]

79. that's definitely something to consider

I've only ever heard of people doing that because of a domestic abuse issue, but that's something I'll need to remember to ask the police about. I'm really lucky that we have a super police department here, and I already know most of them because Yoshi's favorite place to play is the police department as it's also a park with the ice skating rink, the skate board park, the football and baseball fields, etc.

Do you know anything about filing a restraining order? Especially when it's not because of domestic abuse? Does that go through the police department or the court, do you know?

Thanks so much for the idea. I know I would never have thought of it at all.

[SheilaT]

78. Meanwhile, what are you doing about finding employment?

If you really want to get out from this situation, you need a job. You keep on saying over and over that you're unemployed, and yet it's not clear you're systematically looking for work.

And if you come back with how dealing with your crazy landlord is taking up all of your time, I'm not buying it. You should be out every single day applying for jobs. Even fast food or retail. Having a job is better than not having a job.

[riderinthestorm]

80. K&R nt

[TorchTheWitch]

81. Oh holy cow, I really need help with setting up a facebook account

I've been fighting with it all night, and I seem to be stuck in an endless cycle of setting up without it ever getting to some point of completion. I have no interest in putting in all this info about where I work, where I went to school, what sports or music or books or whatever I like, etc. but I can't seem to get out of it.

I don't even understand what a lot of stuff even means since I have no idea how facebook even works. So far I've put in the profile photo and the cover photo, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to even get to the point of having the account actually set up, and I'm lost about even how it works. Any time I've been to someone's facebook page it looks so simple and straight forward, but I have absolutely no idea what the heck I'm doing.

Gofundme seems to work hand in glove with facebook, and I can't get traffic to my gofundme page without it, so though I always swore I'd have nothing to do with facebook, I have to throw in the towel on that, but I'm just completely lost just trying to get the silly thing to a point of being completed in the set up process.

[Moosepoop]

82. I sent you a PM --

I can help with this!

[PearliePoo2]

86. Everyone was new to Facebook at one point!

Don't worry...you don't have to reveal, enter or answer all that crap that they ask.
Did Moosepoop help you?

[TorchTheWitch]

89. we were in the middle of that when I finally had to hit the sack

Then around midnight last night I couldn't get back into DU at all for some reason, and I was just able to do that now.

Moosepoop wants to get all the privacy settings set up before I start passing the link around (at this point, I can't even figure out what the link to my page even IS), but I managed to get the profile photo and cover photo done and I put the story in the "Events" part since I couldn't figure out how else to do it, but I still can't figure out what it looks like to other people. It looks a mess at the moment with all the junk about books, movies, sports and all that nonsense it wants me to put in and I can't figure out how to make it go away, but worse I can't seem to get rid of this constant list of people with their photos that I don't know and wanting me to "friend".

I'm not kidding, I feel like a neanderthal seeing a computer for the first time trying to figure this out!

I need to do soooo much stuff today. Yoshi is having his yearly massive shedding going on a little earlier than usual, so I have to brush, brush, brush him till he's bald or there's nothing left but a big floppy pink tongue. Akitas only shed once a year, but they do it all at once for a couple of weeks until all the undercoat is out... great clumps of fur all over the place! The only thing to do is just brush and brush until it's all out, but holy cow what a nightmare while it's in process! I have to do it outside, and it's been windy for weeks, so all the hair goes flying before I can gather most of it up. I think there's at least 20 birds in my yard gathering it up to line their nests with, and he's been out there for hours having a ball chasing them all. I need to get most of it out of the yard though or he'll roll around in it trying to put it back on! Everything is such a game to him.

[DawgHouse]

87. Did you get the page set up?

If you have any questions, you should post them here. FB is just very easy to set up.

[TorchTheWitch]

88. I think I have but I can't tell what the link to it would be

Moosepoop has gratiously offered to walk me through this with all the privacy settings and the basics about friending and all that. It's weird to me because there doesn't seem to be a way for me to look at what it looks like the way other people would see it. Anytime I went to someone's facebook page it looked like a simple thing and easy to set up, but I'm seeing a bunch of stuff I don't even care about like what books or movies or whatever I like and keep getting hit with long lists of people to friend that I can't even figure out how they got there... none of my family or anyone else I know does facebook, so I never had any reason to use it.

If I were to give someone the link to my facebook page what should the link look like? I would have thought that it would be something like "www.facebook.com/person'sname" or something like that, but the links for mine look more like a page I'm in the middle of updating or something. I never got any kind of notice or anything from facebook that said something like "your account is set up and here's the link to it" so I'm not even sure yet if it ever got to a point to being set up all the way.

Oh dear, I feel like the biggest dope trying to manage this, and I'm usually good at this sort of thing!

Btw, this is the first time I've been able to get into DU since some time yesterday... anyone had problems with that? I didn't have any trouble going anywhere else on the net, just here. In all the years I've been here I've heard it happening to other people before but it's never happened to me before. So, if they're having some server problem in my area or something it might happen again. Man, I hope not! I feel helpless not being able to get in here!

[Omaha Steve]

83. Kick

[TorchTheWitch]

90. Just wanted to say thanks from the bottom of my heart

to everyone that donated or gave advice or even just encouragement. It's so much appreciated, and I'm so humbled by it.

I'm still working with trying to get my facebook account set up right. I think I finally got through a verification process and have a link to it that's right, but I want to check that with Moosepoop who's been helping me a whole whole whole lot with this.

I FINALLY got through to a helpful person at this local government organization that might be able to do some things to help me, and go there Monday for some sort of intake process and I guess get assigned a case worker or something. Until I go I really don't know how it all works.

The landlord thankfully never showed up this weekend, and any day now she should be getting her copy of the appeal I got filed with the county court. Once she finds out that the rent money goes to the court into escrow and she can't do anything to throw me out until the hearing in nine months I expect she'll go off her nut, so I'm a bit worried about that. Of course I have no intension of staying here any longer than I have to until I can get work and the money to move somewhere else, and with whatever mold or crud that's in here is freaking me out so much not just for me but for Yoshi I'm dying to get the hell out of here.

I'm still having a lot of problems trying to find some kind of government agency that will do an inspection of this stuff since the township code enforcement office that is SUPPOSED to deal with such things keeps telling me they only work for property owners (which is the craziest thing I've ever heard) and the inspection they did an hour before the hearing was a joke. I haven't been able to find any kind of home inspection department with the county, so I'm hoping this government agency I'm going to might be able to help me as to where to turn about that at this point. I can't possibly afford a private person to do an inspection, and my next door neighbors for some reason don't even seem interested. As far as they believe they only have water damage.

I finally got some sleep last night for a good number of hours at a stretch which I've needed for weeks. I just wish I'd made it too my bed though because the sofa makes me wake up feeling like a human pretzel. I seem to be ok now, but for a couple hours after I woke up I felt like someone had taken off all my limbs and put them back on sideways and backwards. Sucks when that happens.

Tuesday if no other disasters strike I'll be calling all these catering agencies on the list I got from the guy that runs the bartending school. I talked to him about doing these agency jobs for weddings or banquets or parties or whatever and he said this is the beginning of their really busy time of year so they're scrambling for workers and will hire anyone straight out of the school. The pay is really good, too, though they're one day or night gigs, so I hope I can get enough of them. But I can work with a lot of agencies all at the same time, so I'm really hopeful. This seems like the best way I can think of to get pretty immediate work that pays well.

[PearliePoo2]

93. Hi Torch

Hope you are making some gains on all these issues! Any leads on bartending jobs for events?
Keep us up to date and wishing you and Yoshi the best.

[TorchTheWitch]

94. at this point things couldn't be worse

I got wrong information from the court about when I'd have to pay the next full month of rent. I had thought that after I pay this $850 that's due by Friday that I'd then have 30 days to work like crazy and stock up as much money as I could and get out of here even if it's just some tiny place where I can have Yoshi and at least my most vital stuff (maybe store the rest of my stuff somewhere or something like that). I wouldn't even care if it was in a crappy neighborhood as long as it wasn't too far from the city since that's where I'd be most likely to do any kind of work whether the catering bartending or a temp office job or whatever.

But I just found out recently that the countdown for that 30 days started on April 6th the day I filed the appeal and that I have to pay a full month's rent by May 6th or that's it for the appeal and in 10-15 days the constable comes to throw me out! So, after paying this $850 on Friday which I have thanks to you folks that donated to the gofundme page I'll have just a few hundred dollars left to my name and only about 10 days before I'd have to pay $1250 to the court! Now I can't figure out what the hell filing as a pauper did for me other than let me file the appeal at all. I'm not any less of a pauper than I was when I filed the appeal, and I can't figure out how anyone that normally lives from paycheck to paycheck could possibly come up with all that money that fast.

Meanwhile after I filed the appeal and had these 20 days to otherwise try to find government help, charities, work or whatever to help me keep a roof over my head, Yoshi and at least my most important stuff one of my brother's got in touch with me to try to help with the government stuff since I was hitting a really frustrating wall with that. Just trying to get someone on the phone at all is a hair pulling nightmare. You get stuck in a runaround of automated phone crap that's just maddening. My brother even said it drove him batty. Then I get a call from him, and he told me that he talked to someone at his gym that works at one of these agencies in my county (you have to go through the agencies in the county that you live in - no other county will so much as talk to you if you aren't a resident). She worked at some place called NHS that I'd not heard of before, but when I looked them up on the internet I couldn't imagine how in the world they could do anything for me since they work with almost exclusively people that are alcoholics or drug addicts, but also work with some people that have brain injuries or autism or some other serious mental health problems.

I'll have to go into the nightmare with the government agencies later because I just have to go to bed now as tomorrow I have sooooo much to do and have to be up really early. But thanks so much for asking me and Yoshi. He's doing as good as ever, but right now after getting completely jerked around by these useless agencies wasting my time that was far better spent elsewhere and now finding out that I have to pay a months rent by May 6th, I'm just not seeing any way to keep a roof over our heads. I'm so damn scared that I'm going to lose him! I have to struggle not to cry and just curl up in the fetal position and give up at this point since I can't think of a bloody thing I've not already done. even if I got a job a week ago and worked every hour God made to pay the damn court after what I have to give them on Friday there's just no way I could come up with that amount of money even if I gave up food and toilet paper (and I'm very nearly out of both).

I also just found out from gofundme that my page still hasn't been approved to be listed as a searchable page so the only people that can find it even now are anyone I've given the direct link to. They said I had to change or delete one of the photos and I sent them an email asking which one, and they've not gotten back to me yet. They also say that most donations come from networking through people that you already know. Great.

I'm so sorry I have nothing good to report. It's all terrible. And now I REALLY need to get to bed, so I'll have to get back to this when I can scrounge some time. Thanks again for asking about me and Yoshi. Jesus, I can't lose him!

[Liberal_in_LA]

91. kick

[snooper2]

92. So, what happened?

[akbacchus_BC]

95. Hello TorchTheWitch, good to see you!

How are you doing? I chipped in what I could!

Are you doing ok now?

[TorchTheWitch]

98. I just got hit with another blow that is the ruin of me

I found out today that the slumlord hired and attorney and filed a Complaint against me that of course is going to be full of outrageous lies and damand a ridiculous judgment award. I'd have to file an Answer, and I need an attorney to do that, and even if I could possibly afford one which is just laughable if it wasn't so horrible by May 10th. If I don't file an Answer it's like I agree with whatever outrageous crap is in the Complaint, I lose, and she'll get some kind of award just because I'm too poor and days away from losing my beloved Yoshi that is my only emotional support and every damn thing I own that I worked a lifetime to acquire including all those mementos from my life going back to my childhood.

I can't find a way out of this horrible mess. I've struggled so hard and went without sleep to find whatever I needed to find and did everything I could and worked with these worthless agencies that do nothing but waste your time and jerk you around, who tell you one thing or the complete opposite depending on who you talk to after finally getting someone on the phone after being put through automated phone hell that goes nowhere, give you false names so you can never find them again, and on and on and on. One of those agencies told me they could help me with utility bills, not to pay them and bring them to their intake process so they could deal with them for me, but when I did that it turned out to be some mental health clinic they expected me to pay for and had no clue what I was talking about concerning my bills or housing problem or anything. I ended up having to pay them myself almost getting thrown off the water company's poor person's plan because I didn't pay it on time, and I didn't because that agency asshole LIED to me just to get me into a mental health intake full of VERY seriously nutso people. And she won't return a single one of my many messages ever since. Then yesterday I find out that she told my one brother who has at least been trying to help me find some kind of government help that he wasn't ALLOWED to talk to me anymore at ALL utterly destroying the only contact I'd managed to build with anyone in my family that gave a smidgen of a damn.

Being abandoned by my own family has been the most emotionally and mentally painful blow, and I have no idea why or how it even happened. We've talked all the time in group emails on the interenet sending each other funny pictures and joking about things in the past, and I'll never stop being slaughtered by their absolute disintrest that I'm about to be thrown on the street with nowhere to go, losing my whole life and having no way to get out of it. They don't care that I'd have to sleep in the gutter, eat out of garbage bins and have to find some private corner in public to go to the bathroom. And I'm not going to do that. I don't have whatever magical survival instinct that few people have to have the strength to live such a hopeless and horrible existance. It's not life, it's torture. I can't be that kind of person because I've never had that kind of inner strength, but I have no other option other than to somehow take myself out of this misery of a worthless life.

Thank you soooo much for chipping in though now I really think that I just have no more chance. I just don't see any way to come up with the money I'd need to save myself even if I had a job before this eviction nightmare happened since without outside help from somewhere I just can't come up with enough or in time, and there is no real legal aid or social services - I found that out the hard way. I've tried absolutely everything that anyone has advised and even my own ideas, and there just isn't anything.

Jesus, I'm so sorry to dump on you like this. I probably just should have said nothing. I'll shut up now.

[CreekDog]

99. How much is he filing for?

Wouldn't it be small claims?

[CreekDog]

100. Wait, from your posts here, it seems like you've said you don't have any money

What's he going to sue you for?

[CTyankee]

102. TTW, please seek help immediately at a public hospital ER...

at the very least, you will get some crisis counseling and a referral to a homeless shelter and hopefully get temporary lodging for your dog. It can't be easy on her either or safe at this point.

I have a friend who became seriously ill with postpartum psychosis, hearing voices that told her to kill her newborn. She presented at the ER of Yale New Haven Hospital and was promptly admitted for observation and evaluation. Her husband had the baby safely at home. She is doing well now. I am sure there is a major hospital that can help you.

My husband was in charge of our city's homeless commission and still serves as its voluntary chairman now that he is retired. He thinks this is something you should at least try. I hope you do...

[steve2470]

104. I hope she took your advice nt

[nolabear]

105. I'm going to second that. I think you need a sanctuary.

I don't like hearing the note of hopelessness in your post. Money can only do so much. You need people who can provide help and support.

[sabrina 1]

96. I'm so sorry you are still struggling. Wish there was a way to make it all go away for you and Yoshi

:kick:

[seabeyond]

97. hey torch.... how are you doing today?

have you been able to find any solutions, resolve any problems???

[TDale313]

101. Yes, when you can, please update us.

My thoughts are with you, Torch.

[steve2470]

103. anyone heard from her lately ? nt

[TorchTheWitch]

106. I'm still here when I can

Which is extremely little. I have sooooo much to do and such little time to do it. Mostly when I am here I've only really been in DUmail and to check how Omaha Steve is doing or at least make sure he's still here. I've been in very briefly a few times today just for breaks and to find out if anything important is going on. So many things I've entirely missed.

I've got 17 days now until I'm homeless. I'll consider myself lucky at this point if I can even get into some poxy shelter so I'll at least have a toilet to use and stay out of the rain. I still can't even face losing Yoshi but I can't find a suitable place for him so far temporarily and I'll never be able to stand having to give him up forever, and I'm so terrified it's going to come to that. And at this point I'm just not seeing that it won't.

Thank you so much for asking about me. With my own family not giving a shit it really does help to know that there's others out there that care.

[steve2470]

107. please make another OP, people do care! nt

[TorchTheWitch]

108. the last one hurt me so badly I don't think I can

and I never could stomach reading most of it. I thought about that today though. I just can't cope with any more hurt though. I'm drowning in it as it is. Every day is a new bludgeon, and at this point the small hits feel like an anvil dropping on me. Right now I'm just too scared to take the risk. Maybe I'll feel better about that tomorrow, but every day gets harder and harder to bare, so I don't know. I don't feel like I know much of anything anymore.