Dasha Kelly and her daughters/Photo courtesy of Yahoo! News
On Monday, Dasha Kelly, a mother of three, was interviewed on CNN. The interview was about her looming eviction. Thankfully, though, the at-home audience, who saw her, decided to participate in an awesome act of charity and save this mother and her children from homelessness.
Kelly was a casino employee who lost her job during the pandemic. She and her daughters, Sharron, 8; Kia, 6; and Imani, 5, were down to the wire as the eviction moratorium that saved millions of Americans from certain homelessness last year expired.
“You guys honestly freaked me out this morning when you knocked. I’m not going to lie because I’m really thinking they’re coming at any moment,” Kelly told the CNN crew after they knocked on the door.
It was a fear that millions of other people felt as Congressional leaders left town despite Democratic pleas to renew the moratorium as COVID numbers rise. Many people have not regained lost employment.
But, thanks to caring and selfless viewers, Dasha Kelly can breathe again.
After her segment on CNN, the spirit of charity took over and within hours of her interview airing, $170,000 had been raised for the unemployed mother. At the time of this report, the campaign has raised over $221,000.
“I just want to tell everybody. Thank you so much,” Kelly said as she cried. “I’m still in denial,” Kelly said.
According to a screenshot on the Go Fund Me page, Kelly initially owed her apartment complex a little over $1,974. With the outpouring of donations, she will be able to pay her arrearage and then some.
In another twist, Missouri Representative Cori Bush managed to get the CDC to extend the eviction moratorium for two more months so that people in the same situation that Dasha Kelly was in may have a chance to plan their next steps.
The new eviction moratorium will remain in effect until Oct. 3