DH is an old friend and fellow Kentuckian who, like many, has found himself in a rough patch because of Covid. He is one of those who has fallen between the cracks, unable to receive any stimulus payments. Currently, they are telling him that he has to prove his identity; when he sent a copy of his ID, they told him that might be sufficient but it might be 2 months before he gets his checks. Guvmint, hmph. Of course, he has been fighting this fight since $Rump and his minions were doing that thing they called governing. DH has been here a while, but isn’t a diary writer; rather, a reader and commenter, mostly participating in community diaries and being helpful, as you can see here, www.dailykos.com/…
Now it’s our turn to be a helpful community for DH and his pooties. He has moratoriums on eviction and utility cutoff, but needs to make current and back payments before those moratoria end. No one is giving him certain deadlines, but presumably they will want their money very soon. He is being as frugal as possible, but has basically run out of money. He has two cats that he is considering rehoming in case he becomes homeless, and of course we hate to see anyone and their buddies go through such separations. He does not have pootie photos because he does not have a good camera; but one is black, and you know how difficult they can be to photograph even with a good camera (as above).
So, can you please help DH? We have found from previous fundraisers that most donors do not give much, and that’s fine — as they say, “Many a mickle makes a muckle”. Whatever you can spare will be greatly appreciated. Fortunately, Kentucky is a low-cost state, so $3400 would be enough to pay back and current bills, and provide living expenses until the next stimulus check, assuming that by then he will have his identity verified. He hates to ask for help, but a few of us encouraged him to do so.
Thank you all! Please feel free to post fun photos and music in the Comments, to help us keep up the interest. Let’s celebrate and get this done! DH’s email address for PayPal is dharden40219@yahoo.com When you “send to a friend,” PayPal takes no fee. Below are a few of DH’s own words. Thanks again!
I don't know how long the eviction moratorium will last, but rent does need to be paid off, or at least paid down, in order to keep management relatively happy. Including next month, the amount is around $925, but what's important right now is being able to pay some of it, the more, the better.
The most pressing need right now is food (also litter and TP). After all, we can't suspend or declare a moratorium on needing to eat! The pooties, being on the "SeeFood Diet", are happy enough with Aldi's house-brand kibble. Aldi consistently has low prices for human basics like bread, milk, etc., and sometimes, Meijer specials manage to beat their prices. (I've been eating toaster waffles for the past couple of weeks because Meijer had them for $0.88/box one week.) Still, much of what I've eaten during that time has come out of the USDA Commodity Box the local food bank handed out when its truck came to my neighborhood earlier in the month. (What they have varies from month to month.) It’s not the greatest food, but there was enough of it to stretch for a while, since it only had to feed one mouth. There’s still some left, but not much. If there is a local pet food bank that's operating, I don't know where it is or when it's open — but I would have to go there myself, and I’m at the point of thinking twice about putting $5 of gas in the car.
Gas & electric disconnections are suspended; I don't know for how long, but they've promised to give 30 days notice before resuming them. I still have to pay it off, of course, but at least I don't have to worry about losing things like lights, heat, fridge... or computer... without warning. Internet service is, fortunately, through an independent local provider that's been around since '93. (Support Your Local Geeks!), but it still depends on a DSL modem that has to be plugged in, so no power would mean no internet. For now, it's current, but comes due on the first of the month. They’re OK with payment ($43.28/mo) being a bit late, but I don’t know how far they’d be willing to push that.
My phone service is disconnected. That has a real impact given COVID safety rules, since many things, from using library services such as computers or printing, to applying for utility-bill assistance (which I’m told is available), require making an appointment by phone, or at least being able to make phone calls. Cable service is also off, but that's mostly relevant because I bundled the phone with it to save $30/month over what I'd been paying AT&T. Anyway, regardless of what I end up doing with the service, it still has to be paid off.
One of my main worries has been of not being able to keep the fit from hitting the shan, and not being able to contact anyone about rehoming the cats because of no phone and no internet access. I took both of them in off the street after they'd been dumped. Last thing I want is to have to take them back onto the street.
We’re starting off with a $50 matching challenge. Once enough other donors reach that amount, we’ll put the matching funds into his PayPal account as well!
Thank you all — we will get by with a little help from our friends.
Update: We immediately made our match! Woot! Off to a great start, thank you! I am fighting a digestive illness, so will not be here much, but DH needs at least some of this today so can’t wait for me to be 100% healthy. But please help us out and rec, tip, comment, share. Add a mickle if you can, but even if you can’t, all that publicizing is a Yuge help! If anyone else wants to provide a matching challenge, please Kosmail DHfromKY or leave a Comment to that effect. Thank you!
Update March 1 at 4 PM: We have an anonymous donor offering a $500 match! Wow, thank you so much! Please help us meet this match, we can’t leave offered donations behind! Thanks all! (Too many exclamations, but every one worthy!) Time for a cat dance!
“Woot! We’ll have some nice dinners!”
