Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Kind Strangers,
Asking for help like this is my absolute last resort to stave off a decision to file bankruptcy in next two weeks. This would be nearly impossible to recover from at this point in my working life with a few years left to retire - if any and as a single mom. I have worked non-stop since 1978 and have always prided myself on pulling my own weight, maintaining a strong work ethic, but an unforgiving tech job market combined with several acute family crises has pushed us to a breaking point. There are many more compounding factors that I can't go into here or publicly due to forces out of my control and privacy concerns.
One year ago, I was hit by a sudden corporate layoff with no severance or safety net. If this were a standalone crisis, I could recover. But over the last decade, I have endured five separate corporate layoffs due to mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, and geopolitical industry shifts in economy but never due to my performance. This is irony at its lowest point. This escalation created a vortex of feast or famine conditions in how the market recovered or how I could even try to recover in the gaps. The amount here in request is just partial need but will match the numbers the collectors are demanding now. This would help me buy time.
The latest reports in reputable news organizations and Linkedin have put the latest flush of high tech workers being laid off at 5 million nationally. Once out the door they cannot seem to get back in from two key groups - the older experienced and the younger just graduated.
Senior Experience technical professionals are now taking up to (1) one year "on average" to find similar level roles in their fields or are now leaving the fields altogether due to latest digital disruptions in emerging automation and AI. I am now over a year myself with endless applications out. The current recruiting systems are in flux on hiring and are black boxes now in how they filter experience to roles. It has not been this bad since 2008 great recession. I had been laid off even then as witness. It is well documented in the news cycles.
As the sole income earner, I have been fighting to survive while carrying profound caregiving responsibilities. During these recent layoffs, I have had to take care of terminally ill family members. Without health insurance, I have had to personally absorb the staggering costs of their medical bills and chemotherapy prescriptions just to keep them cared for. There are numerous other stacked challenges that have contributed to me asking for help that I can't go into here. I can say that keeping my home stable is my number 1 concern as I do not plan to leave it. I bought it only in 2023. I was laid off then too just before closing after I qualified on my salary and down payment at that time. DM if you wish to understand details.
Now, the compound financial toll has finally pulled our emergency brakes:
The Immediate Crisis: My unemployment ran out months ago in Dec 2025. While I have been doing fractional supporting work for a startup waiting to go full time, investor delays mean we haven't been paid yet. As of this week, my debts are now heading to collections, and the home I worked so hard for is hanging by a thread. I must pay my mortgage loan as it was just re-modified for me after negotiating in good faith that I thought I'd have salary again by now. It is now late again but I must make it before end of July.
Daily Survival: Our car is broken down. My adult disabled daughter and I are dealing with our own worsening health issues without insurance. We are relying on a local bakery's leftovers, delivery for essential medications, and our backyard chickens for food.
Every Bit Helps
Please know that no donation is too small. Even the smallest gesture offers a bit of relief and lets us breathe for another day. Your support will help keep food on our table, the utilities turned on, and a roof over my daughter’s head while I continue my relentless search for a full-time role.
I promise to carry your kindness with me and pay it forward to others in need the moment I am back on my feet.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, sharing, praying or contributing.
With deep gratitude,
Cat
