GoFundMe pitch for $40,000 sustainable dream home backfires: Kara-Louise Hoppo

Kara Hoppo started GoFundMe to raise $40,000 to buy her “dream home”.

A single mom of four young boys has been slammed online after starting a GoFundMe asking for $40,000 to build her self-sustaining dream home.

Kara-Louise Hoppo, who co-founded Free in the NT, which has been hosting protests during the Covid-19 pandemic, shared her fundraiser on the Darwin Buy Swap Sell page but later removed it after a mixed reception.

“We’re in a bit of a housing crisis and I’m showing that we’re going to get out of those permanently this year. I found a way but I can’t do it without help,” Ms Hoppo wrote on her Facebook page.

In her GoFundMe, which has raised $3,451 since it launched two days ago, Ms. Hoppo explains that she is “seeking donations to help us buy two swap units and set up a permanent home on a friend’s block that we either rent cheaply or stay by contributing.’

She said the demountable buildings are waterproof, clad in Colourbond steel and fitted with power points and a small kitchen and bathroom, as they were previously used as temporary homes.

The buildings are being sold for $20,000 and Ms Hoppo said she plans to use the rest of the money to buy a third demountable “blank canvas”, outfit it, transport it all to the construction site and set it up.

She said the family had to move out of their current accommodation for health and safety reasons, but she was keen to keep her children at the same school, having moved many times before and her friend’s block is nearby.

Ms Hoppo added that she did not have a regular job as she had to look after her children, but was attending a New Age healing class and expects to open a profitable business in the coming months.

In a follow-up post, Ms Hoppo said she’s now found a company that builds small, affordable “pop-out” homes for $33,000, which she’s now considering.

While many people said Ms Hoppo should “get a job,” a relative defended her, saying she was trying to find dry, permanent housing for her children

Shared by local news outlet The Mango Inquirer, GoFundMe received a range of comments, most of which were unfavorable, calling the pitch “completely shameless”.

“There are people out there who really need and deserve help and aren’t asking for free rides. Help them instead,” said one person.

“What audacity! Maybe she should use the same internet to open Seek and get a job like everyone else,” said another.

“Does she know she has to report the money she gets donated to Centrelink?” added a third.

A relative of Ms Hoppo then defended her, saying: “She is currently living in a leaky shed and is trying to find a solution to her current predicament in order to keep her children permanently dry.”

“She has always helped others whenever possible, including organizing and coordinating donations to feed the homeless at Christmas,” the relative added.