Some background

This is one piece of the story. I'll be adding on more details as I take breaks from packing up my apartment.

Emily Brown
emilyholiday@gmail.com



11/12/07
I’ve just received an eviction notice dated 11/09/07 which gives me 6 days to vacate the premises. This creates an emergency situation for me because I’ve been out of work for quite a while, although I’ve been very actively looking for work for many months. I’m in the middle of a divorce; my husband and I have been separated for over a year. He was paying my rent on my current apartment until March of this year, but then stopped paying my rent with very little notice (basically, a week before the April rent was due, he told me he wouldn’t pay it). I fell into arrears with the rent because I don’t have any savings, have no friends or family who can help with expenses, and to make a long story short, I applied for public assistance over the summer. However, they lost the paperwork in late July, and in early August, I had to go to Housing Court. I wasn’t able to get a lawyer to help represent me, but was offered a stipulation agreement by the landlord and his lawyer that forgave the arrears on the rent and gave me until the end of October to remain in the apartment rent-free while I made arrangements to relocate, with the option of staying through to the end of November provided I paid the November rent of $1,248.89 by October 31. I still haven’t been able to find work, so I haven’t been able to pay the November rent, and although I’m in the middle of reapplying for public assistance, they won’t provide me with an emergency loan to cover the November rent because they’ll only provide emergency assistance if you haven’t already been essentially evicted. Meanwhile, I’m scrambling to get my property packed up as quickly as possible; I need the full month to finish getting everything packed up and make arrangements to either get it into storage or find another apartment. I’ve sent the landlord a fax telling him I’m seeking a loan to cover the month’s rent. I’ve been calling every social service agency I can find trying to find out if there’s anywhere I can get an emergency loan to cover this month’s rent as soon as possible, and I’m in a bind because I’ve left dozens of messages and haven’t been getting many responses.
Briefly, can you advise me what to do? This is a real emergency for me; I don’t want to lose my property, I’m living in dread of having the marshal show up at my door, and I’m doing everything I can think of to find work, get a loan, and pack simultaneously. I’m also terrified of becoming homeless. HRA has told me that they can help with the first month’s rent, security deposit and possibly moving expenses on a new apartment PROVIDED I find a new place, obtain a written estimate for these expenses, and have an income to cover subsequent rent payments after the first month.
I’m also concerned because my husband has temporary custody of our 8 year old son; I worry about the impact this will have on him, and on my ability to gain shared custody of him, which was what we’d planned to do.
Thanks for your assistance, and I look forward to hearing from you. I can be reached by phone at 718-832-2310, or by email at emilyholiday@gmail.com.
Sincerely,


Emily Brown