Update April 8, 2026: Gigi is officially housed! It was a difficult path but in the end, she had multiple housing options to choose from. For now she’s in an interim housing program and is continuing to work with CORE/211 to manage her transition into a long term stable housing process. We want to thank everyone who donated and offered other support. We couldn’t have done this without you.
Update March 31, 2026: We’re so close! Gigi is working with multiple housing programs and should be officially housed in the next couple of days.
Unfortunately, this has taken a bit longer than expected to work through the systems and we’ve spent more than we anticipated on hotel rooms to keep her housed and buy groceries and other necessities.
Spent so far: ~$4100 on hotel room expenses, food, driver’s license fee, transportation, a simple chromebook to help her work through all the applications and paperwork, and other basic necessities.
One month of housing and social support can give her back her life.
This is a pilot project for targeted support of unhoused individuals to provide short term housing, food, transportation, and human connections to end their personal cycle of homelessness.
We aim to do this by providing immediate shelter in a local hotel and/or assisting with rent or deposit on a rental room or studio space, learning their story, and helping them work through the available resources organizations and support programs. Most importantly, we aim to reconnect them with any existing family or friend support networks.
Gigi’s first memory of her mother is a moment of physical abuse at only 2 years old. When the abuse got so bad she attempted suicide at 16, her mother left her in the ICU to go on a trip to Hawaii. Shortly after, she became pregnant by her 24 year old boyfriend. When her first baby was born, her now husband told her that if she ever left him, he would keep the child from her. He was controlling, emotionally abusive, and after her fourth child was born, he began beating her as well.
Then it all went very wrong. Her father died, and he was her anchor, the person who taught her what love should be. Her grandma died, too, the only other parental figure she trusted. Her husband threw her out. Suddenly she was alone, homeless, and without support.
The next 10 years were rough. She’s lived through more violence and trauma than anyone should even have to read about in a novel. But she’s still hopeful and smiling and actively caring for those around her. When she gets back on her feet, she wants to help other people like her.
For the last three years, she’s been clean and sober almost the entire time (one short relapse as a result of a domestic violence incident and clean for almost 6 months since). She has financial resources available for long term housing if only she has temporary stability long enough to get a replacement ID, show up for the appointments, file the paperwork, find housing, etc. And most importantly to her, if she can show her siblings and adult kids that she’s really getting it all together, she thinks she’ll have their support again.
Right now, we are giving her that chance. Gigi is currently staying in a local hotel, but we need help to cover that cost while she does the work of rebuilding her life. She is working with local organizations that are helping her move into stable, long?term housing.
This pilot aims to cover approximately one month of housing, food, and transportation until she can stand on her own in a stable housing situation and reconnect with her family. Any excess funds will be used to support other unhoused individuals in a similar fashion.
Will you help Gigi stay safe and stable this month so she can secure housing and reconnect with her family?
Donations to this campaign are tax deductible.