For three years, I've been a full-time editor at Paizo. Unfortunately, due to outside economic forces, I'm one of a dozen staff members laid off as of July 7, 2026 so now I'm searching for work. It's especially daunting for me because of my health. In early 2023, I came down with a severe case of Covid from which I've never fully recovered. I'm living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, a condition affecting my immune system which, among other things, puts me at risk of anaphylaxis. I can work—just ask my Paizo colleagues!—but I have to do so remotely. I can't be in a shared physical office; I can't even eat or drink anything that I don't prepare myself and with specific precautions. This means that in a job market that's already incredibly tough, I have even fewer options.
I'm losing my health insurance after July 31, 2026. After that, I'll have to rely on COBRA. The cost to keep my coverage is more than $1500 / month. Indiana, by law, caps unemployment benefits at $390 / week (!) and will reduce that benefit any week I earn an income. So, instead of unemployment benefits, I'm going back to freelancing while I job search. But I know freelancing won't be enough to cover COBRA, rent, meds, and more. Going without health coverage isn't an option; my current MCAS medication costs $5,000 / month without insurance, and I see my doctors many times per year.
As much as I hate to do it, I need help staying afloat while I search for my next full-time job. My starting goal is enough to cover a month of expenses. Since freelance work is unpredictable, I can't say from one month to the next what my freelance income will be, so this is to give me a baseline that will allow me to stay housed and covered medically.
