For the past year, our small family has been trapped in a cycle that we can't break on our own. My partner works incredibly hard — long days, often six days a week — doing physically demanding work that takes everything out of him. He earns decent money, more than many in our situation, but the way his job is set up keeps us stuck in place.
He's required to pay for his own motel room, his own gas, his own food and drinks, and anything else that comes up during the workweek. Only at the end of the week does he get reimbursed. It's a system that looks fine on paper, but in reality it keeps us frozen. Every week we start from zero. Every week we fall behind again.
We left our home to travel with this company, believing it would give us a chance to grow. Instead, we found ourselves in a situation where the company benefits from his labor, but doesn't provide the basic support an employee needs to survive. He was promised a work vehicle of his own — something that would allow him to work independently and give our family a chance to breathe — but that promise was never fulfilled. He still drives a company truck with only two seats, not even enough room for our family to be together on his one day off.
While he works, my son and I have no transportation, no way to get to appointments, no way to do normal everyday things, and often no money because everything goes toward surviving the workweek. We are not on assistance or food stamps. We don't qualify without lying, and we refuse to do that. We've always believed there are people who need those programs more than we do.
But now, after 15 years together, the stress is beginning to crack the foundation of our relationship. We are exhausted. We are drowning. We are trying so hard to stay afloat, but the cycle keeps pulling us under.
We are asking for $2,000 to help us finally break free of this pattern. This would allow us to pay off immediate debts that keep us stuck, secure a personal vehicle so we aren't stranded, move toward stable housing instead of weekly motel rooms, and finally have a chance to save even a little.
We don't need a lot. We just need enough to get our heads above water so we can breathe again.
Any help — truly any — would mean more than we can express.
Thank you for reading our story and for caring enough to consider helping.
— New Horizons Family Fund
