Alysia

Alysia C; Michael, Tyson, Vada; 3 Dogs, 2 Cats and Some Fish

Email: - mikeyslily@yahoo.com, achapoy@cox.net
Location: - We were in (St. Charles Parish) about to move into New Orleans. We are now in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans in a rental. In a year, we would still like to be in New Orleans in a house of our own and I, hopefully, starting med. school.
Number in Household: - myself: 28; Michael: my spouse, 30; Tyson: our son, 3 1/2; Vada: our daughter, her 1st. birthday is on the 7th; Rufus: our 9 yr. old male rescue dog; Beaux: our 9 yr. old male rescue lab mix; Shadow: our 1 yr. old male rescue shepherd mix; Chewey: our 4 yr. old male rescue cat; Sage: our 7 yr. old female rescue cat; and some fish.

Situation: For the past year, our life has been one really big roller coaster ride. Every time we think we're finally about to get out of this really big hole, something else knocks us back down. Before Katrina, my husband and I had just finished school and we were expecting our 2nd child. We were just starting to get settled as a family and in our professions. I was going to apply to med school and Michael had started his career. Katrina came, we had no place to stay, and no jobs. We applied for help with Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army for rental assistance and both said they were going to, then they ran out of funding. I started working about a month ago after I managed to get the kids enrolled in Head Start. I've applied for assistance with Modest Needs, but we have not been granted anything. Every time someone says they're going to help, something happens and they can't. Our landlord has been really patient and understanding, but he needs his money too. We're trying to catch up, but it's difficult. We also applied for a house with Habitat, but we were denied because our credit has gotten so bad since Katrina. We got behind in all of our bills and still have not been able to catch up. I didn't even know you could get denied by Habitat. We don't make enough money to survive in this city since the cost of rent and utilities has gone up. Also, our kids have elevated levels of lead in their blood and we're concerned about where the exposure is coming from. They will be retested this month.

Current Living Arrangements: - We are in 1/2 of a double in the Broadmoor neighborhood in New Orleans. It is a rental.
Help: - We received the $2000 from Fema, and $975 from the Salvation Army. All of it went to car notes and car insurance and a couch.
Needs: We recently found out that we need a new set of tires. We have gotten so many nails in our tires that they are now bad. We are driving on our spare right now since our last tire was deemed irreparable. If we lose our transportation, then I won't be able to work. I rely on the car to get the kids to school. If they aren't in school then I can't work.
Paper Products toilet paper, paper towels, clorox kitchen wipes.
Diapers size 3
Cleaning Supplies laundry detergent, sponges, broom, dust pan
Household Supplies light bulbs

Clothing
Tyson is size 4T and wears shoe size 10T.
Vada needs size 18M and size 4T shoes.
We don't have much winter clothes or pajamas for her.
Stores you shop at: We shop at Old Navy, Wal-Mart, Target

12/1 The gas company finally came out and blew out our lines, so we have hot water and heat again. Tyson's starting to get excited about Christmas. Beau is getting chubby b/c I haven't been able to take the dogs running in a couple of weeks. Vada is walking pretty good now. She's still a little slow, but she'll be chasing Tyson in no time. I'm sending some recent pictures.

You heard the good news about the tires, so some stress has been relieved. Unfortunatley, the forbearance period on my husband's loans has ended, so now we have another bill to add to our monthly struggles. I just wish that we had the credit to get a home loan, then maybe it wouldn't be so difficult. That is my Christmas "Wish" that somehow we would be able to get a house of our own. I daydream about it a lot. We would have a yard to play in, and a dishwasher, and central heat to keep warm. I would love to have a closet so I could actually put my clothes away instead of on the floor. I could keep going, but eventually it just makes me sad and I get depressed. Maybe one day.
11/23 Good News!
Okay, I have to take back my pessimism b/c we got the grant from modest needs. i'm sorry for being so negative, but I really thought we were going to be denied again. We were approved and we already got the check in the mail. It actually showed up! They said they were sending it and they really did. It was great. We've got our new tires and they come with a warranty so we don't have to worry about future flats. Thank you so much for the suggestion and the prayers. Alysia