Hi, my name is Christine Bailey I am a mother of 2 girls ages are 14 and 6. My oldest is starting High school and my youngest is starting first grade.I have been blessed to have gotten a housing choice section 8 voucher, and it was a struggle to find an apartment because I have been very ill with cellulitis staph infection deep inside both legs and lymphedema. So searching for a place was nearly impossible. I also am legally disabled with epilepsy, Severe Fibromyalgia, Chronic Lymphedema, I need to use a compression pump machine on both legs for 4 hours per day to basically milk the lymph fluid up out of my legs so that the fluid can find some lymph nodes that are not damaged and then circulate through my body. It is a very strange disease, I found out I was born w/ it and it is starting to really effect me now that I am 32, The lymph fluid makes my legs, ankles and feet 5-6 times there normal size, very painful and uncomfortably tight and heavy. And with each cellulitis infection that I get from the stagnent fluid, which is a breeding ground for bacteria, dameges my lymph system more. It is a very bad cycle. The machine and dieretics are helping, but too much damage has been done. I can just maintain and try and and not get any cuts, scratches or bug bites because any slight opening to my legs could cause major infection. I also have severe spine/back problems disks/spinal stenosis etc. So I am on a fixed income right now of child support and SSDI. I worked all my life so I had enough credits to qualify for SSDI and not just ssi.And of course my car is acting up and i needed to take cabs back and forth to hospital appointments I have to pay half a month rent were I live now and a half in the new apartment because I am moving in on the 15th of this month and I have no problem paying the rent or for the moving truck and then I would have just enough money to buy food and have a little pocket money for the rest of the month, not to mention I have to still buy more back to school clothes for the kids.[ Everything kinda just all hit me at once and the big problem that I am having is my new landlord wants me to send him a security deposit of 1,475. I don't know what to do! I tried government and charitable organizations but they are all out of funding until next month(they felt very badly about the fact I am just a few weeks off, or I would have been able to get help) And if I do not take this apartment I will loose my housing voucher because I already used up all my extentions due to my infections, I was bedridden for a few months. I still have severe leg pain and a fever everyday. The doctor thinks I still have the infection and antibiotics do not seem to be working. I do not want to lose this opportunity for my children and I. This seems to be our only chance to get out of poverty and a way that I can be more independent. I can actually own my own house in a year through this program if I take classes. It would be so appreciated if anyone has any information on any organization or person who could help me with even just part of the cost of the security deposit, if not the whole 1,475 any amount would be a huge help. I have all the documentation I could show a letter from the housing authority, a copy of the new lease that I am supposed to sign Tuesday, doctors notes about my illnesses and proof of income, and even references to show that I am reliable and I will promptly pay back any loan that would be offered to me. I could pay back a few hundred dollars per month until it is totally payed off. This is the only time in my life that I have ever asked anyone for help like this and I was very scared to write this letter, but I am desperate to give my children and I a better life. where we live now is not home it is tiny and in a very bad neighborhood with no other kids for my kids to play with. I never thought in a million years I would actually hear gunshots on a regular basis, or find bullet shells in my driveway. It is very scary here. A ton of drugs and prostitutes all around me,( I feel sorry for the woman i see out there it is so sad what these drugs and pimps have done to them. This is no place to raise children!!! The apartment we are due to move into is in a very nice town, a cozy seaside community, very family oriented. and hardly no crime. This is an oppotunity of a lifetime for me right now, being so ill I would never be able to afford to get out of here with out this voucher. Sorry so long, I just had a lot to explain. Thank You So Much In Advance For Any Advice or Help of Any Kind ! Christine Bailey
