December 8, 2025

Meet Cynthia

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She had a rare disease and got cheated by her roommate. Season of Sharing Fund came to her aid

Cynthia Colindres had always lived an active lifestyle, so when she found herself clutching a light pole, struggling to catch her breath at the end of her U.S Postal Service route, she didn’t know what to think.

After ruling out other causes, doctors surmised Colindres might have COVID. But the San Francisco native knew deep down that there was a larger issue brewing.

That 2019 incident and its aftermath marked the start of a medical battle that had Colindres in and out of the hospital over the next four years.

“I thought I was gonna die,” she said.

It wasn’t until 2022 that Colindres finally received a diagnosis from a specialist in Oakland: microscopic polyangiitis. The rare autoimmune disease causes inflammation in small blood vessels that, in her case, affected the kidneys and lungs.

“No matter what has been wrong with me, I just keep being resilient and get back up.”

Not long afterward, she got a pacemaker and began dialysis. She retired in 2022 and continues the treatment three days a week.

“I haven’t died,” said Colindres, now 70, “and no matter what has been wrong with me, I just keep being resilient and get back up.”

Though she said that USPS’ medical plan for retirement has been “fantastic,” by the time she received her diagnosis, she was running out of money.

“I got rid of all of my gold jewelry … anything of value I gave my children because I was pretty sure this was it,” she said. “I had no money.”

To make matters worse, she discovered her roommate was deceiving her.

Colindres’ daughter and granddaughter had lived with her in San Leandro for five years, but after they moved into their own apartment in 2017, she turned to Craigslist to find a roommate to help make the rent.

In April 2024, that roommate (whom Colindres chose not to name) was hospitalized with heart issues and put in a medical rehabilitation facility. That’s when Colindres discovered the roommate had been lying about her financial stability — and hadn’t paid her portion of the rent for months.

Colindres has been struggling to catch up on roughly $10,000 in back rent since.

“It was just anger, that’s what I remember most,” she recalled of that time of her life. “I felt like, ‘Well, this is not fair.’”

Colindres said she has visited her former roommate several times in rehab in an attempt to get her to sign a 30-day notice to be removed from their lease. But she said the roommate has refused, leaving them both at risk of eviction.

Luckily, Colindres said, she has a good relationship with her landlord, who doesn’t want to displace her. But Colindres still wants to make things right.

At the same time, despite how badly she was struggling, Colindres said she hesitated to seek help — even from her own family.

“I did not want them to know I was struggling because they’d probably give me money and I didn’t know when I could pay them back,” she said. “I was real ashamed.”

Her dialysis social worker eventually encouraged her to seek assistance from the Season of Sharing Fund, a donor-supported nonprofit that since 1986 has offered financial relief to Bay Area residents struggling to afford housing or food.

“I keep getting up with the help of my doctors, my family, my friends.”

Season of Sharing caseworker Andrea Wong helped Colindres apply, and the fund ultimately covered a portion of her back rent.

“Cynthia’s attitude and positive outlook really did stand out to me,” Wong said. “I think really what seems to be pulling her through this is her hope and her ability to look forward to the future and believe that things will work out.”

Colindres credits her teenage granddaughter (who declined to share her name) as one of the biggest reasons she stays hopeful. Since moving back in with her grandmother in May, she’s been helping with household chores and has given Colindres “a new lease on life.” The two are inseparable.

“She has been a light in my life,” Colindres said. “I do believe she is a gift from God.”

Meanwhile, Colindres said she’s been working on her résumé and is looking to apply for a part-time remote job to help pay down her remaining debt.

“There are so many good things in my life,” she said. “Yes, I keep getting knocked down by this disease, but I keep getting up with the help of my doctors, my family, my friends.”

Reach Zara Irshad: zara.Irshad@sfchronicle.com

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