Hi, my name is Rich. I was recently evicted and I am now homeless. I had some funds that I was saving up for emergencies, and I was using that to stay in an affordable motel, which I'm still staying at. I'm on SSI and SSDI. My funds are running out.

I've been applying for income-based housing in the area I am in now, but the property management companies that manage those properties tell me that they do not rent to people who have been evicted for any reason.

I'm physically disabled. I have Psoriatic Arthritis, and my lower and cervical spine are arthritic. My SI joint is arthritic, and I'm also experiencing stenosis in the area.

I was living in my former neighborhood, which was a public housing neighborhood, for 13 years. Since around 2022, my arthritic condition has worsened. I can't clean my stove the way I used to. In 2023, a new director of housing was hired. She started asking for more strict housekeeping inspections. They gave me three inspections, and I failed all three. I had a hearing with the Housing Dept with my lawyer present. The director said that she has worked in public housing for 15 years and said this was the first county that didn't have support services set up for elderly and disabled tenants. If services were available, I would qualify. I told the director I had a bad back and had Psoriatic Arthritis. No matter how much I did, they still failed me. They originally were going to help me, and I tried to get help but was unable to long term. So I lost my case. It turns out my lawyer fought it as a rent case and not a tenant with disabilities case. My lawyer said they took my rent when they were not supposed to. I was told my lawyer should've fought it as a rent and disability case.

Anyway, I lost and decided to appeal it myself because my lawyer abandoned me. So I appealed it to the Alabama High Court of Appeals. While there, and for reasons that were not explained to me, the lawyer for housing filed a motion for eviction based on a rent issue from last year that I'm still confused about, but my lawyer won't return calls or emails.

So, I'm trying to raise money to help pay for my hotel stay, food, and transportation costs as I try to find a more permanent roof over my head.

This eviction along recent losses. I'm overwhelmed. Thank you for reading my story and for thinking about helping me.