Anyway, I am a Knox native living and working in Los Angeles. I have a good friend who has also registered on these boards under the name "aridaine". She has hoped to make it out to a Sanctus or perhaps a Black Friday, but circumstances have unfortunately kept her from it. It is in large part because of those circumstances that I appeal to the community now.
Without going into terrible detail, aridaine is being forced from her apartment due to actions of neighbors that are being blamed on her. Not only is her environment generally unpleasant because of this, but certain things she needs to maintain any sort of basic lifestyle have turned up missing. A check she requires to live on has disappeared. Her car was stolen and, while it has been recovered, it has sustained tire and suspension damage that may make it difficult to drive. These are not the only things, sadly.
I am planning to visit home, partially to assist aridaine, but I cannot be there for another week at least due to my job and commitments in Los Angeles and about.
What I am hoping for is that someone/someones from this board may be available next week to assist aridaine in getting around, running some errands and especially to help her visit and apply for new housing. She also needs a few basic staples, such as laundry detergents, paper towels/TP, toothpaste, and rug cleaner.
If anyone knows of any apartments with vacancies, please let me know. They would need to meet the following criteria, and can be anywhere in the Knoxville area (I believe she hopes to stay in North Knoxville, but that is being debated):
1) One bedroom apartments with a vacancy open before August 8-9.
2) MUST accept a single cat in the apartment.
3) Perhaps most importantly, the apartments must accept KCDC rental assistance vouchers. Rent should not be more than about $425 a month.
I am doing some research myself, but things are obviously slow going being three time zones away. At this point, all I can offer is to at least partially reimburse people for gas and such on my visit home.
Aridaine is very shy around new people, and is very ashamed that her situation has steamrolled to this point. She is very reluctant to accept help, especially from people she doesn't know, but I have convinced her that it wouldn't hurt to ask. Neither she nor I would have hoped that our major introduction to the community would be in such a way, but I have seen this group offer such sympathy and support to so many that I am hoping you can include another in that number. Aridaine has few friends, fewer reliable friends, and can't trust what family she has in town to do much of anything. She's now scared to trust people because of the treatment she's received from her neighbors. However, once you get past the fears and defense mechanisms that she's had to grow over the past several weeks and months, I think you'll find her to be smart, talented, and sporting an appealingly crass sense of humor.
If anyone would like to help in any way, please contact me through e-mail or PM, and I can facilitate putting you in contact with her. Aridiane doesn't currently have access to a computer. If all you can offer are encouraging words or heartfelt thoughts/prayers, those are appreciated, as well, and I will be sure to read each post to aridaine so that she can gain strength from the fact that people in her city care about the fact that this is happening to her.
When I'm in town, I hope some appropriately decadent event will be going down to offset all of this stuff. Who knows, maybe there will even be a moving party, if I can arrange such a thing. On my current budget, such a party might only consist of a halfrack of Pabst, a quarter of a pack of stale barbecue Frito's, and a stripper who happens to be the night-shift drive-thru attendant at a particularly downscale Krystal as I blaze through to be sure everyone has a Corn Pup for their evening repast. But a party, to be sure, is a party.
Thanks to everyone for their time and energy,
AgtCoop aka Paul
