Rebuilding After Setbacks: A Bridge to Get Me Through Until My Divorce Settlement

“I’ve spent years helping others. Now I’m asking for help just this once.”

My name is William Doyle, and writing this is one of the most humbling moments of my life. I’ve always been the one who stepped up for others — in the U.S. and now here in the Philippines — but today, I’m facing a situation I simply cannot overcome alone.

Why I’m Asking for Help

Two years ago, after surviving a heart attack and being clinically dead for 17 minutes, I came to the Philippines searching for clarity and meaning for my life.

Instead, I found a community that welcomed me like family and a new mission and purpose. To help single moms and abused girls.

During my time here, I’ve used my own resources to give back in the ways I could:

• Contributing to community projects under Phoenix Rising that focus on lifting families out of long-term poverty
• Helping build and repair homes for families with almost nothing
• Rescuing several girls from abusive boyfriends, husbands and family
• Creating small family businesses so parents could earn a stable income
• Sending over 30 children to school, many of whom had no other way to continue their education
• Making sure families had food during medical emergencies, funerals, and hard times

Helping people became my purpose.

And I have never once regretted the sacrifices I made to do it.

How I Ended Up With Nothing

Even with careful planning, everything fell apart at once:

• I was financially betrayed by people I trusted. I’m pursuing criminal and civil charges, but that process takes time.
• My divorce settlement, which was supposed to finalize more than six months ago, remains delayed — even though the settlement itself will immediately stabilize everything.
• I’ve been surviving on the incredible kindness of a few friends, but I can’t keep asking people who already have so little themselves.

I’ve reached a point where I’ve run out of food, run out of resources, and run out of options — at least until my legal processes finish.

A Thanksgiving That Opened My Eyes

This Thanksgiving really brought everything into focus.

I loved seeing friends back in the U.S. sharing photos of their family gatherings and beautiful dinners. Meanwhile, my own Thanksgiving meal here was just a couple of hotdogs — and that was the moment I realized I could no longer pretend everything was fine.

I needed to swallow my pride and finally ask for help.

⏳ What I’m Asking For

I’m only asking for enough to survive until the divorce settlement is finally completed:

Goal: $3,000 USD

This will cover 2–3 months of basic needs — food, transportation, and support for the family that shelters me.

And I want to make this promise publicly: I will repay every dollar once the settlement is finalized.

This isn’t charity.

It’s a temporary bridge to get through a difficult chapter I never expected.

❤️ Why This Is So Hard to Write

In the U.S., many of you knew me through Sanctuary, the historic church I helped save and transform into a beloved community center in Maynard, Massachusetts. Creating safe spaces and helping people has been at the core of my life for over a decade.

So, admitting that I now need help — after a helping so many others — is not easy. It's humbling and embarrassing.

But right now, I have no other path forward.

If You Can Help

Anything you can give — even a few dollars — will make a real difference.

If you can’t donate, simply sharing this GoFundMe page also helps more than you know.

Thank you for reading this.

Thank you for caring.

And thank you for being there during one of the most vulnerable moments of my life.

I promise you:

This is temporary. I will recover. And the moment I do, I will repay your kindness — and continue paying it forward, just as I always have.

— William Doyle