In mid-February, FloridaSNMOM posted an appeal on behalf of our longtime sister Kossack, snoopydawg. That diary did have some success, raising $500 for which snoopydawg is extremely grateful. Her two dogs (the closest family she has right now) got the vet care they needed, she paid off an old past-due water bill, and she paid off her auto mechanic who was willing to take payments over time.
But the biggest need--about $2500 to bring her mortgage up to date, to avoid foreclosure proceedings that are set to begin on the 18th of this month--is not yet met. Thus this diary.
Here is snoopydawg's PayPal information: snoopydawg@earthlink.net
Please Kosmail me for her name and snailmail address if you prefer to send a check or money order.
There's no denying that snoopydawg has a tough row to hoe. She's been disabled for several years now, stemming from a workplace injury over ten years ago. But her Workers' Comp benefits ran out after a few years, apart from a bit of help she still gets for medical treatment. Not surprisingly, given her injuries, she's been basically unemployed, living on savings, sale of almost all of her assets, and a little bit of help from an aunt, for the past four years.
This lack of recent work means that she cannot qualify for SSDI, but must survive on SSI benefits once they are approved. (More about that below.) As you may already know, SSI benefits are quite low, and one cannot have much besides a house and an inexpensive car to be able to meet the means test as it is.
But, through all these trials, snoopydawg has been able to hold on to her house. That's no small accomplishment, and she's doing the very best she can to make her budget work from this point forward on the SSI benefit she expects to be awarded soon. By the way, though there are no guarantees, her application is solid enough that her state of Utah has granted her a small amount of money to help tide her over until her benefits start. Once those benefits do start, she will be able to move forward on renegotiating her mortgage, and take other steps to safeguard her house and dogs.
So, that's how she got to where she is today. In a better, more mutually-supportive society, we wouldn't have to make a request like this. But we don't have a society like that, and so it remains up to us to help each other when we can.
The current request is for $2500. $2379 will go for her overdue mortgage payments, bringing her up-to-date and buying her more time to take her next steps, and $121 for the next three months of medications for her dog Charlie, who was just diagnosed with Addison's disease. (I didn't know that dogs could get that, but unfortunately they can.)
I think we can do this for snoopydawg. She's been a long-time Kossack, approaching ten years on the site, and she doesn't really have anyone else to ask. Unfortunately, her mother is very ill, and snoopydawg can't even visit her now due to a hostile step-father. She has plenty of heartache and stress to handle; we can all make a huge, positive difference in her life by pitching in a little bit, or a lot, right now.
We thank you all very, very much for whatever you can do to help. Every rec, tip, tweet, share, and donation makes a difference.
Here is snoopydawg's PayPal information: snoopydawg@earthlink.net
Please Kosmail me for her name and snailmail address if you prefer to send a check or money order.
Kossacks are the best!
Please help snoopydawg stay in her house with her beloved dogs.
8:32 PM PT: So far, snoopydawg reports that donations total about $100.
She is grateful, no question. But she--and I--hope that we can help her out with more.
If you have more ideas about how to circulate this request, please Kosmail me. We'd appreciate the help.
Thanks, everyone, for your support!