Cash-strapped tenants turn to GoFundMe to stave off evictions

There is no amount of lipstick the spinmeisters can put on the “Bidenomics” pig to hide the fact that inflation crushes real people.

In the latest dispatch from the front lines of real America courtesy of Newsweeksqueezed tenants must now rely on the generosity of others by asking for money on GoFundMe to avoid being evicted.

Struggling tenants turn to GoFundMe to avoid evictions https://t.co/bqi3UjfHi5 pic.twitter.com/Wo3hNhROSt

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 7, 2024

The left-leaning outlet tells the story of Michelle and Ken Lau, a Las Vegas couple with two young children who faced tough times after they both contracted COVID in November 2021.

“It was several months of being sick, and then Ken couldn't go back to work. That's when we started falling behind on rent,” Michelle Lau told the network. “It was good at first, our landlord was amazing,” he said. “Everyone was panicking about COVID-19, we said, 'It's OK, we'll see what happens.'” But [the debt] we just kept building, we couldn't catch up.”

After Ken was recently fired from his commercial HVAC job and has been unemployed for several months, Lau's landlord was forced to give them an ultimatum to pay the $10,000 in overdue rent or be thrown into the Street.

“He wanted the best for our family, he was being very patient and trying to waive the late fees,” Michelle Lau said. “But we're in a situation where we can try to juggle our bills, but that back rent balance never goes away. It's just kept going up and it's been a very stressful few years.”

So the couple turned to GoFundMe for help, an option that more and more struggling renters are using with the fundraising website including a section on “Tips for Emergency Rental Assistance” to to those seeking help.

(Screenshot)

“Crowdfunding is a great solution. A great way to let friends and family know about your situation is to start an online fundraiser at GoFundMe. They offer fundraising so you can keep more of the funds you raise to help- you with rent. You might be surprised at how supportive your friends and family are to help you recover,” GoFundMe says on its advice page.

“GoFundMe is really a mirror of social trends. And we often see that when there are patterns or reports of people feeling financial pressure, there are signs of the same phenomena reflected on GoFundMe,” said Margaret Richardson, director of corporate affairs for GoFundMe.

“We know that people are feeling the real effects of our nation's housing crisis,” Richardson told Newsweek, adding that “this precarious experience of feeling on the edge of economic security” has contributed to the 'increased fundraising to prevent eviction on the platform.

Although the Laus were unsuccessful in raising the full amount, they managed to raise $5,000, enough for their landlord to give them an extension to get the rest of the money.

“We already feel like we've achieved a miracle,” he told Newsweek. “We were very hesitant to turn it off, and it was a last resort, but we finally got around to it. And we thought only some of our friends and family would see it, which they did.”

“Getting sick wasn't our fault. We didn't do anything wrong,” he added. “We are good people with good values ​​and we have good hearts. And sometimes difficult things happen.”

The truth is that ordinary Americans are suffering in the real world, not the fake one portrayed by the government and media gaslighters who have spent months falsely trying to convince voters that the economy is great, as they have for four years that Joe Biden was not. not senile

Staff writer

Chris Donaldson is a regular, ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption, as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who despise our hard-won freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.

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