Sharon's Survival Fund
Donation protected
This is a serious desperation move... I NEVER would have considered doing something like this were it not an insurmountable emergency!
I am an average person who has enjoyed an extraordinary life. After growing up in a family of modest means, hard work, determination, good friends, and luck propelled me into the ranks of the "middle class." I earned a good income from a solid profession, travelled all over the world, achieved many of my dreams and live today with few regrets.
Three years ago, I transformed my life in pursuit of one last dream "” that of being a full-time writer. I paid up all my bills, reduced my living expenses drastically, socked away enough money to live on for two years, relocated to a rural area and totally changed my lifestyle.
I believed I had everything under control....And then: things changed:
My urban house was foreclosed. Freelance work dried up. I exhausted my savings. I have been unable to pay rent for a year. I can't get job (though God knows I've tried). Although I am awaiting publication of what I hope will be the first of many books, there will be no income from that until 2013. I presently rely on SNAP to eat and Medicaid to keep me well (which last month saved me me from going blind by paying for cataract surgery). I am not eligible for Social Security until 2016.
Most days, I am fine with my situation, knowing full well that I am responsible for what my life of carefree oblivion has wrought. But then, there are days when the depression I feel over my circumstances is so overwhelming, I can barely get out of bed.
My grandmother used to speak of people who were so so poor they didn't have "a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of." As a child, I didn't understand what she meant: it was just another one of those colorful things she used to say. Well, today, I understand her meaning EXACTLY "” now that I have become "piss poor" and face the prospect of not having a window.
My experience with being piss poor is documented on my blog: www.pisspoorinamerica.com. I know there are many people in my same situation and even more who are even less fortunate than me. But we don't want to talk about it...
Well, I am driven to do that because I am facing eviction; just received a notice of termination for my telecom services (telephone, internet and TV) which will cut me off from the world; am unable to service my car so I can do the media tour that will put my book on the map, and don't even have gas money to fetch my grandchildren from the train so they can brighten my life with a visit.
I used to look at people on the street and say "that will never be me." Thanks to friends and family who have carried me through the last year, it wasn't. But today, I am tapped out and don't know where to turn except to GoFundMe.
This is the last gasp on any pride I might ever have arrogantly embraced.
If my funding goal is reached, I will send my landlord some money to keep me in my house ($1000); pay living expenses for the next two months ($1200); fix my car so I can get on the road for the book tour ($1500). If my goal falls short, I will accept my fate. If it exceeds the goal, I will pay it forward.
Organizer
Sharon Morgan
Organizer
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