PLEASE MEET JEANIE:
Jeanie spoke frantically from her car. My attempts to calm her only increased her frustration. Maybe it was my hokey optimism. Like telling her she matters. She gave me the occasional stink-eye, indicating that I didn’t get it. Then she ripped loose her head bandanna mid-sentence. Her sudden wide eyes popped from her bald head and messed up my trip. Fat tears followed. “This cancer never goes away, right? You can take a lot from a woman. But don’t take her hair. A woman’s hair is who she is…”
Remember Jeanie? Rex introduced her here a year ago. She had recently lost her mother. Mourning her loss while adjusting to homelessness, she lived in a U-Haul where she was mugged and beaten by thugs. Her belongings were dumped on the street and the vehicle re-possessed.
This community responded. Jeanie was grateful. But we recently discovered Jeanie again, living in her car. Now Jeanie is sick with ovarian cancer. She has been through chemotherapy and receives daily radiation treatments. We found shelter for Jeanie in a tiny house. But she drives long distances daily in a vehicle with a failing transmission to receive her treatments.
Though sick, Jeanie speaks with animation and purpose. Her story is a carnival ride of anxiety and joy. Rapid accelerations. Sadness juxtaposed against self-deprecation and dry humor. Spiritual moments, abruptly followed by shocking revelations and salty language. Your emotions can’t respond fast enough to transition correctly before the story takes another tight turn. Tears and laughter flow simultaneously as her busy face and big eyes span a spectrum of emotions. A few of her anecdotes cannot be repeated in this family forum, but left my guts hurting from laughter. Jeanie is a kick in the ass.
She won’t talk your ear off. Jeanie lets you off the ride easy each time with a whisper, “I love you Sweetie.” And we’re left with plenty to think about.
Outside a sick woman with a tragic story wears a bandanna and a shirt that says Only God can Judge. Inside, there’s Jeanie. She’s lonely these days. Needing help but employing every tool in her power to help herself. A woman who should matter. Though the world may have forgotten somehow.
Below is a list of Jeanie’s needs. In addition, we’d like to raise $1500 for gas cards for Jeanie. If you can help, click here: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YW973AHMPB5EC
Items may be shipped to: Facing Homelessness c/o Jeanie 4001 9th Ave NE. Funds are used by Facing Homelessness to procure this ask. No funds will go directly to Jeannie and no funds go to Facing Homelessness. If there are funds remaining, they will go to another person who is in need.
Stand Up Walker
Electric Blanket- full size
Boulder Creek Fleece Winter Coat size 5X, Navy Blue or Black
Explorer Plush Fleece Pants, 2 pair, size 5X
Long Sleeve Thermal Long Johns
Cargo Pants- Knock Around Kind size 5X
Sneakers- Lace Up Downforce, size 10 womens
Copper Fit Energy Compression Socks, black, 2 pair
Kent Neighborhood| Damian
A QUIET THOUGHT - If you’re moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/ and click on the ‘donate’ button and consider a “monthly recurring” donation of just $5 in support of the work. Thank you.
#Kindness #FacingHomelessness #JustSayHello
heartBROKE
PLEASE MEET JEANIE:
While visiting Dee, who lives in an RV with Devin in the SODO neighborhood, I learned their friend Jeanie was having a really difficult time. We walked two blocks to the U-Haul she was living in, she was sitting in the front seat staring ahead.
When I came up to her my first thought was how kind her face was. I asked, "How are you doing?" She looked at me and started to cry, she said, "Not very good."
For an hour she cried, telling about the mess she's in. For 12 years she took care of her mother, then 10 months ago her mom died and everything went downhill. She rented a car to get a job with Lyft to pay for a room in a house and also pay off her mom's burial expenses. All was going well until a car crashed into her, wrecking the rental. At first the guy was nice, apologizing, next minute he took off, before Jeanie could get information. She lost her job, then her room, that was in June.
Up until two weeks ago she was sharing space in an RV, learning to live homeless. She was a wreck, missing her mom, trying to adapt, when the guy kicked her out. She rented a U-Haul on September 15th to move her stuff into storage, planning on returning the vehicle the next day.
Jeanie is disabled, has had 25 knee operations, she moves slow with a cane. While unloading the truck two men came up from behind and knocked her down, hit her again and then stole her purse and money. At first they tried to drag her into the bushes but she screamed and fought back, eventually getting into the back of the U-Haul, where she stayed for two days, fearful of coming out.
Every day that passed Jeanie became more stressed, freaked out that she could not pay U-Haul the rental fee. She wrote a four page letter to them, explaining what happened, hoping it would make a difference. I read it and was overwhelmed.
I told her this community would try to raise the funds to pay the nearly $1,000 owed. I was going to make that post asking all of you to help. But between meeting Jeanie yesterday and now, the police and U-Haul showed up, put everything of hers on the street and took off. I asked the U-Haul person if they could wait one more day, that we would raise the funds owed. He said no chance of that happening.
Tonight Jeanie and all of her belongings are outside. I want to scream. Not at U-Haul. Not at the police. But at who?
Let's raise $750 for a week of hotel stay for Jeanie, giving her some peace of mind just for a bit to help figure things out.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr…
LOVE to you Jeanie, you are a beautiful strong woman!
SODO neighborhood | Rex
A QUIET THOUGHT - If you're moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/ and click on the 'donate' button and consider a "monthly recurring" donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!
#JustSayHello #FacingHomelessness #Kindness