Help to Stabilize Housing & Expedite Transition

My name is Ursula. I’m a digital media professional with over 20 years of experience, currently working outside my career field in retail after a severe health crisis and a corporate layoff in spring 2023. Like many others impacted by AI-driven job loss and a shrinking market for high-salaried roles in digital media and design, I haven’t been able to secure stable work in my field—or at a livable wage—since then. I’m seeking support to regain housing stability and transition into a new opportunity that will help me rebuild.

I’m seeking assistance in securing stable housing and cover essential costs while transitioning into a new role that restores permanent housing, transportation, and overall stability.

Here’s the short version:

After a health crisis, a premature layoff, and a denied unemployment claim, I lost both income and housing. I’ve been working retail jobs while living in temporary housing—including sleeping in my car and a storage unit—just to stay afloat. Despite these challenges, I’ve stayed committed to upskilling and recently secured a contract role aligned with my experience. I’m asking for funds to cover housing and travel expenses so I can safely transition into this opportunity.

Here’s the full story if you’d like to know more about how I got here and why your help matters:

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From spring 2019 until fall 2022, during a period of more stable employment, I'd been managing serious health issues, including recurring blood clots and excessive hemorrhaging. The long-term condition led to significant out-of-pocket costs for insurance, holistic care, and traditional medical treatments. After five consecutive months of hemorrhaging, lab work revealed my blood volume had dropped to 3.43 liters, resulting in an emergency hospital stay and a four-unit blood transfusion in late 2022. Though the transfusion temporarily stabilized me, I continued to experience clotting and extreme bleeding in the two weeks following discharge.

Standard care failed to address the root cause of my condition. Instead, it focused on reproductive organ removal as a solution. The gynecologist who initiated the hospital admission—a male provider located five minutes from my home, whom I could only see after purchasing traditional insurance coverage—proposed a same-day, in-office procedure to physically remove reproductive tissue without anesthesia, despite my severely low blood volume. I refused. Once admitted to the hospital, the attending physician strongly recommended a full hysterectomy. That recommendation was echoed by three of the four nurses assigned to me over the course of three days. I declined this surgical intervention as well.

The day after leaving the hospital, I sought care from my holistic practitioner and completed a more comprehensive blood panel than what had been ordered by conventional providers. Upon receiving the results, she immediately prescribed a combination of targeted supplements and nutrients, which I began taking as soon as they arrived—within 24 hours. She also advised a strict nutritional regimen tailored to my blood type and based on two genetic markers inherited from both parents, which predispose me to clotting. After two weeks of consistently following the nutritional plan and supplement protocol, my clotting symptoms ceased entirely. My holistic practitioner, who is a UNC School of Medicine graduate with dual training in traditional and holistic care, provided this treatment based on a deep understanding of both systems.

In February 2023, I was placed on a mandatory one-month furlough between contracts. I had been applying for work during that period, but no new contracts materialized. I had planned to use the time to rest and continue recovery, but a state audit of prior tax filings revealed I owed more than $7,000 to Maryland. I used COVID-era savings—money originally set aside to visit family, cover living costs, and continue medical and debt repayments—to pay the tax in full. Tragically, I was not able to see them before they passed: my aunt died in May 2023, and my mother passed away a year later, in May 2024.

At the time, I was not concerned. I had just caught up on five years of back taxes in 2020, and I had secured a new one-year contract that was set to begin the following month. That contract would have allowed me to recover financially within a few months and continue progressing toward a long-term goal: purchasing a home. But the contract ended prematurely. With it, so did all those financial plans.

In May 2023, I was laid off from a six-figure senior-level corporate role—only one month into the renewed agreement. Because I worked remotely for a Maryland-based employer while living in North Carolina, my income was taxed in both states. However, due to how employer tax IDs were filed, I could only apply for unemployment benefits in North Carolina. Since most of my state taxes had gone to Maryland, I was denied benefits. The Maryland Treasury Ombudsman confirmed this in writing.

Had I received Maryland UI approval, I would have been eligible for 14 weeks of support at nearly $300 more per week than what North Carolina offered—enough to preserve my housing and delay or prevent deeper setbacks.

Following the layoff, I registered a freelance business with the state and applied to field marketing, admin, and retail roles as backup income. My first freelance client defaulted on payment, and I had no legal recourse. Shortly after, I was evicted from my residence of three years.

I stayed with a relative from September 2023 until March 2024 but had to leave after exhausting the full seven-month stay. I commuted from Goldsboro to Smithfield for a part-time retail job. In March 2024, I moved in with a friend 1.5 hours away from Smithfield. I transferred my retail job from Smithfield to Mebane—45 minutes from their home—which was the closest location with openings. Later, I secured a second part-time role that eventually became full-time. Both jobs paid less than $15/hour.

When that housing arrangement ended, I lived in my car while commuting between jobs. After three months, my vehicle was repossessed. I took leave from the more distant role and began sleeping in a storage unit, commuting via ride-share to my full-time role.

During this time, I enrolled in a certification program and reactivated enrollment at Arizona State University to complete the final two semesters of a degree I had begun during COVID. I applied for financial aid to support my studies and living expenses.

Living in the storage unit reduced costs and helped me regain some mental clarity. Just as freezing temperatures hit, my financial aid was disbursed. I used it for hotel lodging and to settle a remaining balance on my spring 2023 ASU tuition, which I had been unable to pay after my layoff.

When the weather warmed, I returned to the storage unit until management informed me that overnight stays would no longer be permitted. I’ve since had to rely on hotels full-time, which has severely impacted both my mental health and my ability to focus on my education.

To regain control over my housing situation, I’ve shifted focus to finding higher-paying, professional work. I’ve now been offered a contract role that directly aligns with my skill set—the most promising opportunity I’ve had in over a year.

The $2,500 I’m requesting will cover temporary housing, transportation to and from my current retail role, and travel to the new contract’s training location. While the role is paid, it does not include relocation or travel reimbursement, which is typical for independent contractor arrangements. Any remaining funds will serve as a modest buffer to help me stabilize during the transition.

This is not a request for indefinite support. It’s a one-time bridge—to move from surviving to sustaining. I have a clear, achievable plan and am ready to execute it.

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To those who have helped along the way: thank you. I believe in making things whole, and when I’m in a position to give again, I will return the same care I’ve been shown.

With gratitude,

Ursula