Hello, I want to Thank You in advance for taking the time to read our true story.  I grew up without a father figure, my father left my mom when I was about 3 years old.  I was raised by my Mom and Grandma.My grandma owned a home along with my step-grandfather and they both worked very hard for the State of N.Y. My Grandparents took care of me when my Mom wasn't around(she would travel back & forth between the Caribbean & the U.S. trying to build a home there where her boyfriend lived.Eventually the man had an affair & left my Mom & since she was sometimes in the U.S. working to help put him through College so he would become a Veterinarian & finish the home, he kept the house that she worked so hard for. 

Well my grandma developed diabetes and my grandpa had several heart attacks along with nerve disorder(plenty of times he used to pass out while doing normal everyday things such as walking or eating). This was very hard on my Grandma which used to take care of him. Well although they were both seniors the medical bills kept on piling up due to frequent stays at the hospitals. Doctors began putting liens on their home where they lived for over 40 years. At this time I was living a couple of streets down the road with my Mom in an small apartment she was renting behind a Deli. I had a daughter which was from my 1st marriage. 

Although I was given custody of her, both her dad & I decided that it was to my daughter's advantage if his family would take care of her until I got myself on my feet(little did I know that I would never get her back). Due to my living conditions & lack of funds, my mother & I were unable to care for her. You see my Mom had high blood pressure, & had problems with her eye sight so she was put on disability. Well, we moved into my Grandparents basement to see if we could help out by paying my Grandma rent(which was only about $340.00. By this time ,my Mom met a Real Estate Broker which owned her business near by. 

My Mom became friends with her & even babysat her children at times. The lady had an interest in My Grandma's home because the Town was in the process of building a College & Courts which would then increase the property value. She then was introduced to my Grandparents & was treated like family. Bottom line is that she tricked my Grandparents into turning their home to her with the promise that she would take a loan out to pay their bills & then give them their house back free & clear of debt by transferring it back,(this never happened). The lady kept cancelling every time the transfer was scheduled to take place konwing that my Grandma's health was only getting worse. My Grandma got so frustrated that she got Human Rights Department involved. They began investigation but then on Christmas Eve in 1987 my Grandma passed out & was taken to the Hospital. 

By this time I had a boyfriend(which is now my spouse), He came to visit on Christmas Day and had just brought gifts for the family. As he gave me my grandma's gift(it was a nightgown & slippers for the hospital) the phone rang. It was from the hospital stating that my Grandma had past away.Well the lady took advantage that my Grandma died & that my Grandpa was put in the Hospital. She then got rid of their stuff & rented out the apartment where they lived along with the 3rd floor apartment. She then put my Grandpa in a Nursing Home(by this time he was considered elderly & homesless).While this was going on we were like blind people & according to authorities we couldn't do anything (this was considered her house).We had our hands tied behind our backs. 

Finally, after all this we were allowed to stay but this was after her raising the rent.About a year later we received a letter stating that the house was in foreclosure due to non payment. Later found out that she didn't make mortgage payments. She was taking the money & using it for her Real Estate Business & her other home. By this time my Mom was still grieving the loss of her Mom,compounded by her increasing high blood pressure.I then decided to send her to her family's house in the Caribbean along with my 1 year old son. I then concentrated on working overtime in order to save money to move. I was so desperate that I even went to Social Services to try to get emergency funds for an apartment. 

Their response was that until I had a 72 hour notice from the Sheriff's Department that unfortunately they were unable to help me. I was in my early 20's & felt as if the weight of the world was on me. So-o-o I kept working long hours & getting home late while packing until the wee hours of the morning. Finally they left the 72 hour notice in the mailbox saying that we had to vacate the premises. I took it to Social Services & they told me that it would still be a matter of days before they could do anything due to procedures. Sure enough several days later when I arrived home from work at about 7:30pm, As I approached the house it was very windy & dark but I saw our stuff(papers etc. flying all over the streets).This happened a few days before Thanksgiving Day. 

At the time we lived near a bad part of town where they sold drugs etc(now it houses low income families). Anyway I saw people with my mattress on their cars, others were still taking items. My heart almost dropped from the thought that we had lost everything that we had ever owned. All I needed was items from my room to pack up & I was saving that for last because I was still sleeping in it. Well, I was so distraught & scared because there were a lot of people stealing  that all I could do was stop & ask someone what had happened. They said that someone got kicked out of their home. I took off in tears & screaming from the top of my lungs & asking God why this happened to me. I couldn't understand, it wasn't even our fault, we were paying rent & even had receipts. 

I went around the corner hysterically crying I then phoned my present husband & he told me not to go anywhere because in the condition I was in I couldn't even drive.Anyway I went to work the next day with the same clothes from the previous day. It was very difficult trying to get through the day, it seemed that everytime I opened my mouth to speak I couldn't contain myself from crying. Now more than ever I had to work to try to replenish & start over.Social Services finally called me in & said they had the emergency check ready for the rental deposit, I told them that thanks to all the red tape they failed me & were late, all they did was say how sorry they were & that if they had only known they would have sped up the process a bit. Anyway, we later got a district attorney & sued the lady & her spouse(they were both owners) as well as the corporation. 

After the investigation, we found out that it wasn't a real corporation, her license had expired 2yrs prior, she acted as the (licensed real estate broker) of the deal, she had sold my grandparent's property to her husband  so she could charge a commission & besides that, she had a list of civil charges that was about a mile long. The judge awarded us $43,000 back in 1989 due to Real Estate Fraud(she didn't even show up at the Supreme Court). The judge also said that we could even take the case to criminal court because it was fraud against elderly. Well we were unable to collect because when the sheriff went to her new place of business, even though she was operating a real estate office/travel agency/car insurance,& was considered the owner, she had her bank accounts under someone else's name therefore they were unable to collect, so she continued to cheat people & go about her business.

Throughout the years as I grew up sort of speak I wanted to let people,especially the elderly know & warn them about her(through our local paper Newsday  and some local TV channels such as Fox 5), but no one was interested. In the early 90's the award had collected interest & an attorney told me it was up to about $76,000, I could not retain the attorney & because they were too expensive. I finally gave up trying & one night as I was praying,I decided to forgive her & her family & to put her & all my pain in God's hands(You see, through my husband while we were dating in 1985 I became a Christian).One night I was at home when my husband called me from work & told me to put the 10pm news (out of all channels Fox 5 the same ones that showed no interest in my story,was on the air)well as I was watching there was the lady being arrested & carried outin handcuffs from her place of business. 

I later was informed that she was arrested for insurance fraud. She was selling insurance & giving people fake Id Cards. Well after all those years nothing happened until I placed it in God's hands.After the tremendous loss of my grandma & then of our personal things & the home that my Grandparents worked so hard for many years it took a toll on my feelings toward people & in my own life it has had such a dominoe effect. Believe me,losing material things is nothing compared to losing personal things such as your children's baby pictures,personal items from when you were growing up,your family's pictures which were all irreplaceable & of course very fond memories of all those things was all that was left. To this day my Grandparents have no stone on their grave site(they are both buried together at different times). You see, my Grandfather died while in a nursing home in 1996, I was their beneficiary but still am unable to collect the money that was due to our family not only for our loss but for the embarrassment as well,(by now it should be in the $100,000's with all of the interest). 

I don't even know where the lady is anymore.(By the way,my mom came back with my son several months after everything happened. I had to 1st get myself strong & build enough courage to be able to tell her  as well as to have a solution to our situation in order to keep her upbeat. When I told her she took it well(so I thought) later I found out that it was  shock,she finally let it all out after several months).  Through it all I Thank God for His Amazing Grace & for sending me this precious man of God,(my spouse), if it weren't for God's Grace & for my spouse I would've been either in jail(for killing that lady) or dead by now (from drinking  & smoking cigarettes-deadly combination). I PRAISE HIM FOR HIS GOODNESS!
PHEW!!!So much for my story!

*********Now to the present. I now have 5 children. My daughter from my 1st marriage she's 22yrs old & has a beautiful  1yr old daughter(yes! we are now grandparents)I just turned 40 & my spouse is 41, we now have a total of 4 children from our present marriage,(a 17yr old son,an 11yr son, a 2yr old daughter,& a 1yr old son). We are truly blessed with them. We now live at my mother-in-law's house in the basement/garage,& have been living here since 1999. We lost our home due to unemployment. Well even though we are cramped up,in a basement that is not in the best conditions almost unliveable due to the house being so old.We are still grateful & thank his mother for taking us in & trying to help us out.

My in-laws lived here since 1962. But in 1992 after battling with illness my father-in-law past away. My mom-in-law made alot of sacrifices prior to that, while taking care of her bed-ridden husband. Recently she found out that she has breast cancer the size of oranges, thats how much it had spread. She then had to go to California where her daughter lives for chemo & for a masectomy (which they performed to only find that she still had traces of cancer left & is now undergoing more chemo),I was unable to tend to her & run in & out of hospitals with her all because I have little children & no one to watch over them, so I couldn't be of help to her. 

After her home was paid off several years ago she had to get in debt by taking a home equity loan to pay for medical bills & all of the regular bills such as electric, taxes etc.although we would love to help, my spouse only makes $24,600 on a state job he started 2yrs ago(this is for a family of 6) Although it has been said that we are way below poverty level, we refuse to go to Social Services.Well, the house needs some repairs such as the roof which is so old that it is crumbling(when it rains we have water coming all the way down to the basement), we've already had floods in the basement,water also seeps through the foundation due to cracking.After that it has left us with termites & all kinds of creepy crawlers. 

The air is so thick that it becomes difficult trying to breath at times, there is also alot of  years worth of old dust & mold, it is also very dark due to lack of windows. She really needs help due to no income coming in now.Ma has unselfishly given  so-o-o much of herself that we truly believe that God will reward her by restoring her health & her finances.

*********Next family is my 1yr old son's godmother in the state of Georgia. She is also my dear sister in Christ. She is a single parent & single handedly has raised her one & only 13yr old son.A few years ago she lost her job  as an assistant to the president of a financial company. All of a sudden they closed their doors leaving her stuck with a small apartment,bills  & a car loan to pay. Needless to say, she fell behind on all. She had to turn in her car & was evicted from her apartment. 

She then stayed temporarily with one of her 2 sisters in her apartment but due to regulations had to move. Then she moved to another apartment of her own after getting a series of temp work but had to move as well due to lack of funds. She finally moved with her other sister & her family but now her sister is getting a smaller apartment & my dear friend & her son once again have to move. This has all happened in a span of about 3-4 yrs. She has a regular job now but is not making enough to put down on a home & her credit was smeared due to job loss.Altough she has taken care of old debts such as the money owed for the 1st apartment & has been making payments on the car that was repossed, she still can't get a loan because the banks say that she doesn't show that she has any credit cards where she can show that she is able to handle payments.(Go figure!) It is bad if you have too much credit & bad if you don't. Well any way , my friend is a person of excellent character & morals.

When she had her apartments she was always very hospitable, always allowing people to stay over if they didn't have a place to stay or lending her car if someone needed a ride etc.  She lives up to her responsibilities & worked very hard to try to raise that child up without having to ask anyone for help. But sometimes life throws in a monkey wrench, it is then up to the person to either stay down or to pick up themselves & continue to push forward. She has chosen to be a warrior & not to give up, knowing that God is  a good God.

*********Finally,(yeah, by this time you are probably thinking,BOY! It's about time!!)Anyway  the last subject that I want to mention is about my 17 year old son(you know, the one that was with my mom in the Caribbean when all of those other things happened). Well, this child was blessed enough to graduate a year early from High School with a Regents Diploma. They advanced him to the 7th grade because the work was too easy for him. Altough we are very proud of him we are not prepared financially for college. He was accepted to Hofstra University, & wants to major in Business Management.He says that he wants to own his own business,& not have to work for anyone. 

He received Pell grant & stafford loan along with New York State Tap(tuition assistance program), but even with all that he is still short on funds. We tried to apply for a Parent Plus Loan & got turned down due to our fincial situation. The college told us that he could then apply for a student loan which he wouldn't repay until after graduation in 4 years. We then contacted several banks & they told us that he is a minor and that until he turns 18(which is in a few months in January) they would have to turn him down. I then presented the school with the situation & told them that the banks said that the school should not penalize him for being 17, but the school said that they couldn't do anything unless we pay the balance of 17,000. 

Alhough I started a small home based business from this basement in October,it has not picked up yet. I am lacking the funds  to invest in order to be compatible in my field. Ironically, I was licensed in Real Estate in New York  & Georgia but since I didn't have the time or the money to build my business & maintain my licences, they both expired in 2002. Now I am trying to get involved in real estate by becoming a loan officer. This way I can be helping people attain their dreams of home ownership as well as be able to aasist my husband in building our lives. Later my goals are to have an organization that would help people own & retain their homes, by  educating them & connecting them to the proper programs,concentrating on families & Seniors(I don't want people to go through what my family & I went though). 

My husband is unable to help because he was injured at work last year & lost a certain percentage use of his right arm. His muscle came off the socket & he had internal bleeding for a while. He was seen by our family doctor but had to wait for (once agin -the red tape)until he was approved by workman's compensation to be seen by a specialist. Of course by then it was too late for the muscle to be streched out. It had to be pulled by having surgery, this would have prevented my husband from working for several months. Even with surgery there was no guarantee that he would regain full use of his arm so he chose not to have it because of the money situation(Remember,we still have diapers & baby food  along with all the other things to take care of). 

Workman's Comp was only going to pay him a certain percentage of his salary. As of this day he was still seeing their doctors. We are believing for a settlement in the near future. I know that we will be in a better position soon but as for now, we have some needs that have a certain time frame. We are trying to rise above the struggles & working towards attaining a better future for our children & future generations while blessing those along the way.My dear friends I thank you very much for your patience(this is so long that it should've been a novel).Our stories are true stories & are verifiable.      

As you pray and ask God if you should give into our cause, I pray that whatever you decide to give, whether it be $1 or $1000 or more that your return be 1000 FOLD according to your giving.
Even if you decide not to give, we still Thank God For You.

You can send donations through PayPal, or if you wish you can mail Checks, Cash or Money Orders to:
Cathy Boone
1285 Woodfield Rd
Rockville Centre, N.Y. 11570
ID:  give 874


Member #CB7B4D8