[Felvtalk] Can we try to help this woman who is helping cats??

Amani Oakley aoakley at oakleylegal.com
Wed Jun 1 16:37:45 CDT 2016


Thanks Margo. Any assistance you can give would be tremendous. I think she is in North Charleston if that sounds right to you. She is staying at the Red Roof Inn, I think it’s called, - the North Charleston Coliseum one.

Thanks again.

Amani

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Margo
Sent: June-01-16 5:33 PM
To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Can we try to help this woman who is helping cats??


Amani,

                  I will help, but I can't seem to get back to the posts that tell where she is. I know I saw it, and I'm pretty sure it was towards the coast. I'm in NW SC, too far to actually be of hands-on help. I do have someone near Columbia, but that may not be near enough.

                  I'll check the GoFundMe, that may answer some questions...

Margo

-----Original Message-----
From: Amani Oakley
Sent: Jun 1, 2016 4:06 PM
To: "felvtalk at felineleukemia.org<mailto:felvtalk at felineleukemia.org>"
Subject: [Felvtalk] Can we try to help this woman who is helping cats??


Hi Everyone

A while back, a member of this group posted about a woman in South Carolina who needed help in placing some cats, one of whom was FeLV positive and 9 years old, so obviously would be immediately put down if taken to a shelter. The woman was about to lose her own housing and was trying to place these cats so they would not be homeless too.

The woman, Sharon Follin Jowers, was desperately trying to find homes for her five older cats and her son’s dog, before being forced to live on the street. When I heard about her, my heart went out to her because Sharon clearly was motivated first and foremost about concern for where her animals were going to end up if she became homeless.

I spent quite a while looking into the situation because, frankly, I wanted to know if there was a better answer than placing her adult animals with strangers and her losing her house. I also wanted to be sure that it wasn’t a scam.

I have now spoken to Sharon on a few occasions, and emailed back and forth with her. I think that not only is her situation legit, but it is far worse than I initially imagined. She has severe COPD and was approved for a double-lung transplant, but that is now in jeopardy because she doesn’t have stable housing nor a car to get her to the city where the transplant was to take place, along with the numerous treatments before and after the transplant. She lives on oxygen and can barely move around and is so emaciated it is disturbing. Not surprisingly, this is very much hampering her ability to find new housing.

The issue with the housing, as best as I can understand it as a Canadian and not being familiar with South Carolina, etc., is that she had accommodations which were paid for by the state, but that housing had to meet certain standards. Her landlord refused to fix the plumbing and there was mold found from previous flooding, and so the state refused to pay him and he evicted her. She paid her part of her January rent but the state did not pay its share because of the condition of disrepair. She was evicted shortly after that. She has a Form 8 (I think) certificate which means that if she can find appropriate housing, the state will cover the rent, but she has not been able to find any accommodations which satisfy the state and medical requirements – for example, the place has to have no stairs. This isn’t her intractability – it is what has been written down as a condition of the state funding the rent. Right now, she is in a one-bedroom motel room. The rent is daily (no discounts for longer stays) and it is $41.99 per night plus tax. This doesn’t seem like much until you realize that 10 days is over $400.

The money she had saved to buy an old used car to get to her treatments and to drive to the other city where the transplant was to be conducted, has instead gone to this rent. She only has until June 6th to find suitable housing or her Form 6 expires.

Her son is trying to help, but because of her very debilitated state, he cannot leave her too often as she can’t do much for herself. He has part time job which is paying for the cat and dog food and a few groceries.

I have paid for some rent for her, but I only paid until tomorrow, and let me tell you, the Canadian dollar means that I have to pay 30% more.

I have decided to continue to assist her and I have found a number of excellent options in used mobile homes. I will be hitting up my lawyer friends for donations, and I will underwrite the bulk of the purchase or rent of a motor home until I can get some funds from my friends, but obviously, time is of the essence and (a) I am run off my feet at work and (b) I could really use someone down there to do the legwork. It is extremely cumbersome, and fraught with problems, to try and do this long distance but I will do it one way or the other. Problem is that it will probably delay things more, and I would sure prefer that the money go to the purchase or rent of a more permanent housing arrangement then daily rent at the motel.

I would be so very appreciative if each of you would consider donating to her GoFundMe campaign. Every little bit would help. She is an animal lover like all of us, and the fact that she is putting the welfare of her animals before her own needs and health, really deserves some support from us. I know that not everyone is in a position to donate some money, and believe me – I know what it is like to be strapped beyond belief – but if at all possible, I would consider it a personal favour if each of you would see if you are able to donate something to her. Even $50 will cover a night in the motel room.

https://www.gofundme.com/7rnkx4ry

Thanks for considering my request. I will keep this group posted on my efforts to help her and if anyone has contacts in South Carolina who can help me out, that would be amazing.

Amani


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