It would be an understatement if somebody says Marie is going thru hell. I sincerely hope that something works out for her soon as the job market seems to be picking up. The fact that she is taking care of her parents and daughter how strong and resilient even under the most difficult circumstances speaks volume about her personality and the American spirit that permeates thru CSA and other helping agencies.

I heard you can get 1000$ per month for taking care of parents who can't take care of themselves through a governmenr program

Marie: sell the house, let it go. Unless you put something extraordinary down (like half), you're paying a lot more on your mortgage than you would be for rent. Even if you have to walk away from it or its underwater, give it up.

In fact, until you rid yourself of that unnecessary expense and pay rent instead, I would suggest you shouldn't get help at all. You shouldn't be taking charity while you still build equity. That on its face is wrong and shouldn't be tolerated.

Great story. I bet half the people you see on the streets have a backstory like this nowadays...

I know of no special rule of etiquette that says you shouldn't receive chartable help if you own a house. Don't listen to John the Man, listen to an actual financial planner and do what makes the most sense financially.

"John the Man" speaks like the voice of Wall Street. Do not submit, Marie. Providing you with a safety net is much more important than transporting narcissistic psychopaths to LA on a high-speed toy.

Marie, do NOT sell your house, You will wind up paying more in rent and have nothing to show for it in the end. You made the right move by finding NOVA. Stay with it!! The theory that one should not be allowed to receive charitable help if you own a house is absurd, (I've never heard of such a thing!!. Your story is sad, but lets face it, times are hard all around, even for those with college education. Good luck to you, and god bless!!

John, you are just flat out wrong on this. I 100% guarantee you that noone at CSA would blink at providing their services to someone in real need that happens to own a home. Keeping her world together is the best way to assure that Marie's tough time is just that- a tough, but finite, time.

Nice story. Maybe someone will hear about her story and offer her a job.
Does anyone out there have an opening suited for this nice woman.
Lets see what some of us can come up with. Tell a friend.