posted
I don't think we'd be able to generate enough to create the fund, but it's possible we could generate enough money to help this particular family out. It doesn't solve the larger problem, but it's something. We raised...what, $600 for that literacy charity? I'll bet we could raise than much again, couldn't we? I'd be willing to donate.
posted
And, ya know, I just heard on radio this morning where the estate of Ray Kroc (McDonalds) just gave the largest single donation ever recorded -- over 1.5 BILLION dollars to the Salvation Army.
So where are these charities when a situation like this happens -- where someone is about to be put on the street.
Some things get so big they miss the individual trees of the forest....
posted
I'm wondering what our time frame would be for this. What would be the minimum amount you'd need to raise to help this family, and what is the very latest you'd be able to make use of the money on their behalf?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Guys, it’s sweet of you to offer, but there are a lot of families in the same situation. The community food pantry is hosted in our church, so I get to meet them. Today it just really got to me – I hate having to tell people with specific needs that I can’t help more than groceries and gas.
Vana – they qualify for $328 from LIHEAP. But it’s sent directly to the utility company to reduce their next bill. They still have to get the darn thing hooked up. Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
*hugs* Dang that's rough. But 3 days? That doesn't seem right... All the evict notes I got last year gave me at least 2 weeks to pay the money. I wish I could set up something to help folks in that sort of situation. Heaven knows I'm always a razor's edge from it myself.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Most states make it quite easy to delay evict notices. Missouri requires something like 2 weeks, which can be delayed for 6 more easily with proper action.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:If the tenant has not paid the rent, the landlord may send a 3-day notice to "pay or quit". The tenant must pay the full amount of rent owed within the 3 days (including weekends) or move out.
If the landlord accuses the tenant of violating the lease agreement, the tenant has 3 days to stop the conduct or move out.
The landlord can give a 3-day notice to vacate if the tenant is committing serious damage to the property, creating a "nuisance" or using the property to perform illegal acts. In these cases, the landlord does not have to give the tenant a chance to cure the problem.
Some times when a 3 day notice is used.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
It was the first one -- she still owed $160 on last month's rent. I read the "pay or quit" notice. She asked for an extention, the landlord said no.
She's staying with her parents for now, although they really don't have enough room for five extra people. They also don't have any extra money to help, as her father has major medical debts (cancer and no health insurance). Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
They are the same in Iowa, as well, from what I see on some of the landlord/tenant rights sites.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
While it is very sad that this woman is in such financial straights, you really can't hate the landlord for this.
Many people who own rental properties are themselves just one step ahead of the bill collector. A tenant that fails to pay for any extened period of time can put a rental property owner in a terrible position. Be a bastard, or lose my property.
Posts: 5383 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
dkw, has she already been evicted, then? So it's too late for us to help her stay in her house, or get her utilities hooked back up? Cause I would be willing to contribute something, if it would make a difference. I'd be glad if hatrack was given more opportunities to come together to help people out from time to time, though I may not always be in a position to give.
There are plenty of great places out there to give money, (Care and Salvation Army are two that do great work and have low overhead, for instance), but somehow when it's to help someone in particular that somebody knows, and it's hatrack as a group doing it, it makes it a lot more personal and rewarding, you know? I think that would be cool!
posted
On a 3 day notice the tenant can work the system to get up to three weeks. Not that that would help, since I'm sure February is as cold as January where you are. The 3 day notice is three days to settle so you still have a reasonably good reference from that Landlord. At least, this is the case in UT.
Also resisting a 3 day notice incurs the legal costs that were probably in the fine print of the lease, so not really a recommended route.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
She is already moved out. The utility money is to hook up the utilities at her new place.
Slash, normally I'd agree with you, but in this case I know the landlord and 1) letting her float $160 until payday wouldn't have hurt his finances and 2) there are plenty of reasons to dislike him apart from this situation. But, what he did was legal, even if not particularly nice. The motivation for my virtual kicking was frustration, not hate.
If folks are really interested in helping, I will try to find a way that anyone who wants can send the money directly to the utility company, to be applied to her deposit. The only other way would be to send money to me personally, and I'd feel a little weird about that. I can't do it through the church account, since we can't pay a utility deposit for one person when we turn down others.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
What kind of utility takes $1000 deposit? Did the absent father destroy the credit or something?
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Jebus, I had horrible credit when I got my apartment and hooked up my utilities and STILL didn't have any deposits.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Yes, it's always a good idea to pay the bill directly to the utility, in the person's name, to remove any possibility of the money being applied to the wrong account, for instance, or being used to bail an ex-boyfriend out of jail, as happened to me in one such situation.
But I would think the $1000 would be what she owed from the past, in addition to an estimated one or two months future bill in case she goes again without paying, so the utility can cut her off and not be out any money.
Posts: 5509 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Gosh, I am sorry for everyone involved and us too. Don't you wonder about a nation that allows single parents with kids to be thrown out on their ear and then turns around and spends a billion and seven money units on bombs and munitions.
This has been something that has bugged me since I was a single Mother in Wisconsin. I could see the waste and unneccessary expenditures all around me, but because I made a little hourly wage and had child support income fairly regularly, it was a continuous round robin to pay the bill, make some money, get assistance cut, work out budget payments, pay the bill...
You would think 20 years on, that something would have changed to help single parents feel like they have some semblance of normal life.
I wish I could bankroll more deserving folks but we have our whole charity pot working for others right now (3 families)...have to wait til it refills.
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