We are asking for help to leave an unsafe and inaccessible living situation and move into a home where we can actually live safely.

This is not something we wanted to do, since we know how much everyone is struggling in the world right now, but we have reached a point where staying here is no longer an option, and we need help to leave.

My name is Will Saville [Legal Name is Andrew, currently working on a legal name change], and I am disabled, on Social Security, and a full time wheelchair user who now relies on oxygen. My fiancé is also my full time caregiver. We live together with our three cats, who are our family and emotional support. We have been trying to make this apartment work for far too long, but the reality is that this building has become dangerous for me in multiple ways.

I want to explain clearly what has been happening and why we need help to move.

First, our apartment and building are not actually accessible, even though they are supposed to be.

The leasing office, community room, computer lab, and laundry center all have heavy doors with no automatic buttons. That means I cannot independently access basic parts of the building. On our floor, there are two sets of swinging doors that are extremely heavy and not propped open. I cannot push them one handed, so I have to ram into them with my wheelchair just to get through. This has damaged my wheelchair and caused injuries to my arm over time (I have a deep permanent scar)

The trash area is another ongoing issue. The chute is frequently broken for days at a time, which causes trash to pile up. The room itself is extremely small, and the chute door is very heavy, making it inaccessible for me. They did briefly change the door so it opened more easily, but then added an auto closing mechanism that made it heavy again. So once again, I cannot use it safely.

Inside our unit, the problems continue.

The oven has never worked in the entire time we have lived here, despite multiple attempts to get it fixed. We have had to rely on alternatives that are difficult to use because of electrical issues. The wiring in the apartment is so bad that we cannot run more than one appliance at a time without blowing a fuse. Even plugging something into a different room does not always help because the circuits are connected in ways that make no sense. At several points, we had to run an air fryer in the bedroom just to be able to use it.

The kitchen was also modified in a way that made it less usable. Cabinets were lowered without our consent, which created a dangerous and impractical setup with the stove hood. There is now barely any space to cook safely, and we had to get rid of many of our kitchen items because they simply no longer fit (can't even use a regular sized spatula correctly since there is not enough space between stove and hood)

The bathroom situation is one of the most serious issues.

The built in shower chair broke shortly after I moved in, causing injury and damaging the wall. That wall was not properly repaired for nearly a year. Instead of fixing it correctly, it was just covered over. Now, when we shower, water leaks through the wall and comes out near an electrical outlet on the other side. This is a serious electrical hazard.

On top of that, the shower itself is not truly accessible. It is narrow, has a lip that prevents proper wheelchair access, and does not drain correctly, which leads to standing water. There is also concern about mold due to the prolonged moisture and improper repair, which directly affects my breathing.

Speaking of breathing, I am now on oxygen full time. That has made everything more complicated and more dangerous in this apartment.

The layout does not allow for safe storage or use of oxygen equipment. The elevators are especially dangerous. The doors often malfunction and close on people. Recently, the door nearly closed on my oxygen tank while I was inside with my wheelchair. Oxygen tanks are pressurized, and my wheelchair uses a lithium battery. If either of those were damaged, it could cause a fire or explosion. That is not an exaggeration. That is a real risk.

The elevator situation is ongoing and has been for years according to other residents. Sometimes there is only one working elevator in a nine story building. The elevators are also too small for safe wheelchair use, which forces me into dangerous positioning every time I enter or exit.

There have also been serious building safety issues.

At one point, a door was locked from the inside, trapping residents. Security told people they would have to wait until morning. The fire department had to be called to resolve the situation. This is a clear violation of safety codes and could have ended much worse.

There is also a major issue with theft in the building. Packages and belongings go missing regularly. Management tells us to contact the police, but the police say it is a building management issue. Nothing gets resolved.

Another serious issue was the fire alarm system. The alarms had flashing lights that triggered my photosensitive seizures. I had provided medical documentation before moving in, but nothing was done for nearly a year. My fiancé had to physically cover the lights to reduce the impact until it was finally addressed.

We have also had repeated issues with management entering our unit without proper notice. For a long time, they did not give the required 24 hours notice. One time, maintenance entered while I was undressed and unable to move quickly due to my disability. That was an extremely violating experience.

On top of all of this, we were served a notice to quit while I was in the hospital. The notice claimed our apartment was in terrible condition and had odors, which is not true. No one had inspected our unit in months. When management had previously come in, they saw that we had cleaned and improved everything after we had had Covid. The claims in the notice do not reflect the current state of our home, and the state that they are overdramatizing only existed for a single month during our time battling covid.

We are doing everything we can to survive in a place that is actively working against us.

Financially, things are very tight. I am on Social Security. My fiancé is my full time caregiver, and their income was already limited. On top of that, a large portion of their wages is being garnished, about six hundred dollars from each paycheck, due to an unemployment “overpayment” issue during the pandemic. That has made it even harder for us to save anything.

We are trying to raise money for a security deposit and moving costs so we can get into a safer and more accessible apartment. The housing authority no longer covers security deposits, so we are responsible for all of that ourselves.

If you are able to donate, it would mean everything to us.

If you would prefer not to send money directly, we also have wishlists linked in my Linktree (https://linktr.ee/TheTransgenderTRex) Buying groceries, cat food, or household items for us helps just as much. Every dollar we do not have to spend on those necessities is money we can put toward moving. That support directly helps us get out of here faster.

Our three cats depend on us, and we are doing everything we can to keep them safe and cared for through all of this. They are a huge part of our lives and our emotional support.

We are not asking for luxuries. We are asking for a safe place to live. A place where I can move freely, breathe safely, and not worry about basic things like using the elevator or taking a shower.

We have tried to work with management. We have reported issues. We have waited. We have adapted. But at this point, staying here is putting my health and safety at risk.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Even sharing this helps more than you know.