ATLANTA, GA — An Atlanta area disabled veteran and her family are in need of help after being scammed in a bogus rental deal, according to a GoFundMe site set up to help the family. Brittnay Davis, her husband and six children are currently living in hotels until they can find a new place to call home.

Davis and her husband signed a lease for a Lawrenceville home in July. When they went to move in on the 31st of that month, they discovered it was a scam after the real owners showed up. They had lost their $2,400 down payment. Their only option was to go to a hotel for the night. That's how it's been for Davis and her family throughout August— full of hotels and uncertainty.

"It feels like somebody wrapped a chain around my ankle and tugged me into the ocean," Davis told Patch. "All I wanted to do was take my kids out of a small three-bedroom and into a nice house before school started."

They've been getting some financial help from the Division of Family and Children Services, according to John Paulson, CEO of the Phoenix Patriot Foundation, whose goal is to help disabled veterans in need.



Click here to donate to the fundraiser.

However, the DFCS won't help them in September, Paulson said. On top of that, he added, they threatened to take her children if she can't get organized. She's angry and scrambling to make ends meet.

Davis told Patch her 9-year-old daughter is afraid to go to school because she thinks authorities are going to take her away from her family.

Women's shelters won't take them because Davis' husband is with them, Paulson said. He added the food bank won't help them because they haven't held a Lawrenceville address for the past 30 days.



What's more, her 11-year-old son's service dog was disallowed from the Villa Lodge and Suites, she told Patch. The boy has severe autism and doesn't recognize danger like many of us. The service dog, Beef Boy, alerts Davis when her son may be getting into trouble. It is illegal for businesses to refuse a certified service dog, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act.