I have until the 1st of December to make this goal! (Monday) The last few months have been some of the hardest of my life. I lost my job after being pulled into a situation I had absolutely nothing to do with. I want to make it very clear that I had no involvement in the issue that started any of this.

A parent simply communicated to me what their child told them about something another teacher did. When the parent felt their concern wasn’t being taken seriously, they went to higher leadership — and that is when everything changed.

The same leadership who became angry that the parent went to the higher-ups (after nothing was done when they complained the first time) assumed that I told the parent to do that. I did NOT. But once they formed that assumption, everything shifted.

Before this happened, I was a dedicated worker.

I worked long hours, opened the center, closed the center, and was always the first one there waiting to start my day for a long time. I went over a year without calling out . I loved my job.

But after the situation with the parent, I was retaliated against.

I was singled out.

Talked about behind my back.

My hours were suddenly cut.

My full-time schedule dropped to almost nothing.

My work email and communication access were removed.

I felt bullied, isolated, and pushed out because of something I didn’t do.

This wasn’t a misunderstanding — it was clear retaliation meant to damage me and make me suffer.

Then everything got worse.

I had already been hired for a new job. My references were positive, (as they always are) and I had a confirmed start date. But leadership from my previous job contacted my new employer and asked them to take back the positive reference they originally gave — and replace it with a false and damaging one.

Because of that false information, the new job stopped the hiring process completely.

I have messages, emails, and documentation proving the truth and proving the retaliation. But the damage to my income and stability was already done.

⭐ How This Affected My Education

I am a senior in college — the first in my family to make it this far.

I’ve spent four years working hard to become a counselor.

Part of my program required one simple sheet of paperwork from leadership so I could begin my internship. Everyone else turned theirs in on time. I submitted everything early.

But the same leadership who retaliated against me intentionally delayed my paperwork, even though it was only one page. They waited until after the deadline to submit it.

Because of their delay, I missed my internship placement and had to wait an entire year — which pushed back my graduation date.

I’ve been paying my college fees out of pocket, but after losing my income, I fell behind. Now I cannot graduate until my account balance becomes positive again.

Graduating is my dream. It’s the only birthday or Christmas gift I want.

I am so close — but this setback has pushed everything out of reach.

⭐ Why I’m Asking for Help

I do finally have a new job now, but I do not start until the 1st.

My rent is due the same day.

I am $2,600 short, and without help, I will face eviction.

I’ve been doing DoorDash, Uber, Grubhub — any gig work I can find — but it’s not enough to catch up.

Due to legal reasons, I cannot go into great detail about everything that was done to me that was wrong, but this is the truth of what happened. I only have about two or three days to come up with this amount.

I’m not asking for a handout.

I’m asking for help to survive a situation that I truly did not deserve — one that has affected my job, my income, my stability, and even my education.

If you can find it in your heart to help or even share this, I would be deeply grateful.

Anything helps — truly.

Thank you for reading my story.