I am making a humbling community ask for assistance. It’s difficult to ask for money and resources when there’s already not enough to go around, and I appreciate any help that can be given to keep me from food and housing instability during this time.
In September of this year I had to leave a dream job because of some serious health concerns. My plan was to carefully budget my savings so I could take a month off to rest and begin the process of creating a care plan with my doctors. I would then work on transitioning to a low-impact, part time job to keep me afloat until I could move out of the hospitality industry to something easier on my body.
When I was ready to return to work in early October, it very quickly became clear that the job I had lined up was not what it had been advertised as, asking much more of me than I was able to give despite my having set hard boundaries for my health. Since resigning from that part-time position, I have been on 5-7 interviews a week but nothing sustainable has worked out so far. With my medical expenses piling up, I’m no longer able to tread water on my own.
I am asking for the community to help me raise $1000 to cover basic costs of living, as well as some of the more urgent debt I’m in. Below is a detailed list of what this money will be used for. My ask is not enough to cover all of this, but it’s a start. Hopefully I’ll have a sustainable source of income within the next two weeks to cover the rest.
Expenses:
- Restore my negative bank balance- I am currently $200 overdrawn which makes my bank account unusable for any virtual transactions.
- Pay for my storage unit- my storage unit with half of my personal belongings inside is currently locked and scheduled to be sold at auction in a few weeks unless I can pay off my $350 balance. This has already happened to me once when I was without housing in my early 20s and it resulted in a devastating loss. I’d like to avoid going through that ordeal a second time if possible, as my tax records, my pet’s medical records, and other personal documents will be difficult if not impossible to replace.
- Pay for my medications- my medications are waiting for me at the pharmacy but I can’t pick them up because I can’t pay for them. Among these are medications for my mental health, my immunosuppressants, and my gender-affirming HRT. These are crucial for my continued health and wellbeing.
- Purchase food for me and my cat- I’ve been paying for individual cans of food for my therapy animal with whatever change I can scrounge up and having to live meal to meal for him is one of my biggest anxieties. I have also been eating very little to make what food I do have stretch as far as I can, which is not ideal at a time when my health is already poor.
- Laundry- I have been unable to afford to do laundry for about a month now, hand washing the most crucial garments in my bathtub. I’d love to get it done all at once, as well as wash some of the larger items like sheets which I can’t do in the tub.
- Transportation- the turnstiles for the MTA have all sorts of anti-fare evasion architecture now and being able to hop the stile is becoming more difficult. I’d like to buy a metro pass so I have reliable transportation to and from my interviews and doctors appointments.
- Buy shoes- both of my pairs of street shoes are being held together with duct tape and a prayer. I’d like to go to the thrift store and get a new pair of work shoes for interviews/trails at the very least.
- Rent/debt- I have rent due in a month and unless I get a job this week I’ll likely be a couple hundred short on it, especially with all of the other expenses I’m trying to catch up on. I also owe my roommate at least $400 of the $1200 I already owe them by the end of the month so they can cover their own rent for next month.
I know that money in the spaces I’m a part of is scarce to begin with, so I’d also be very grateful for anyone who can spare the resources of food/pet food/laundry or other basic needs if they have ready access to them (as long as they are within walking distance of my home since I cannot currently afford public transportation).
You can also make donations on cashapp ($luckypierrenyc) or PayPal (paypal.me/luckypierrenyc) if that’s more convenient. Any amount is appreciated and if you can’t help with resources right now, sharing this fundraiser is also so so helpful.
Thanks so much for helping me keep my head above water during this difficult time
