Save my Freedom

My name is Elliot J. Montalvo.  I am 26 years old and it's been a rough 26 years. I grew up with an older brother and a younger sister.  She was my world. As a young teen, I got into drugs and the street life, getting myself locked up several times over the past 8 years, being away for years at a time. The last time I went to jail was right after my step-father (who raised me and I consider as my real dad) died from cancer.  When I came home from jail I took a turn for the worst, not caring about myself, my family, or anyone in it.  2 years ago I made a major change in my life, and it was not easy.  After getting out of rehab and staying clean from drugs, I began to work a normal job, got my license back, was paying off my fines that I had accumulated from living a reckless lifestyle. I was also attending AA/NA meetings and volunteering my time to speak at Turning  Point rehab in Paterson, as an Alumni, in hopes to help others save their own lives.   All that changed the day I went to let memorial balloons go for my (step)dad on his birthday (June 6). I had a few beers beforehand and on the ride home, got hit by a van full of kids, who had run a stop sign. They T-boned my car, completely destroying the driver side, and trapping me in it. When the cops came to help me they could smell the beer on my breath and while in the hospital, took blood and confirmed I was just over the legal limit,  .09. That is when I got a DWI, lost my totaled car, which was the last possession I had of my deceased (step)father, and sent me into a spiral of chaos. Less than 3 days later (June 9th), and  3 days before my birthday (June 12) we got the call that my baby sister, who wasn't even 21 yet, had died of a heroin overdose while in a sober living house in Pennsylvania. It was and will always be the hardest time in my life. I began to drink myself into oblivion, not caring who I hurt along the way, just as long as the pain could subside in me for a little while. The denial of what actually had happened took over my entire mind. I could not believe she would never be back to hug or to call "Cubscout" anymore. Several months of this erratic alcoholic behavior led to losing any hope of me being employable, no one wanted to be around me, and my legal issues/fines were piling up. To top this all off, the house my family and I grew up in is in foreclosure, and due to be taken by the sheriffs on Dec. 13, 2017. When my girlfriend could take no more of my behaviors and actions, she too had left. I was left completely alone, in a deserted house day in and day out with nothing but alcohol to keep me company. That's when I had an epiphany and realized my life was never going to get better if I kept up that kind of lifestyle. I got myself together, quit drinking, and changed my mindset completely. Life is too short to live alone, in a depression, with no one to enjoy it with. Now that I have my physical, mental and emotional state of mind right, I am left with the aftermath of disregarded legal issues that are going to leave me with no choice but to be incarcerated right before the holidays. Not to mention I will have nowhere to live when I get out after doing my time, simply for unpaid fines. What I am asking of anyone taking the time to read this is to help me out with anything you can, so I can pay off what I need to, and continue to live my life the right way, working and striving to be the person I had given up on- but found in a new and better way. I was always told to "ask if I didn't have" rather then just take...but I always let my pride get in the way. So here I am swallowing my pride and being honest and open about my past and current situation, in hopes that you will hear my cry for help. My goal is $7,000. My legal debt is $6,253 and I will use the rest of the money to rent an apartment that is close to my current job, which I have a promise of promotion if I can live closer to it.  Any help will be greatly appreciated, even if it is just to share this with other friends, family, or co-workers and get my story out there.
Thank You and God Bless
 Elliot J. Montalvo