Making the decision to reach out for help has created quite the internal struggle in me. I have never been big on asking for help - especially financial help - and knowing that times are really tough for everyone right now makes this even harder than it would be during “normal” times. That said, I finally decided to swallow my pride and ask for the help I need right now.

So here’s the issue; I work in Vancouver, WA but live in Portland, OR. My office moved locations right before the pandemic which made it significantly more difficult to get there via public transportation. I used to have a co-worker who lived close enough to me to carpool, but they are no longer with us. The bus from my house to my work takes 2.5-3 hours each way and requires 3 different buses and a train. My partner gives me rides when possible but he works out of town regularly. His current job has him out of town for the next 6 months. My sister works in Vancouver but her start time is much earlier than mine. Currently, I am catching rides with her but that means I arrive at work at 6:30 am even though my start time is at 8am. I then work till 5pm and then catch the bus which gets me home around 8pm. If I catch the bus to work I need to be at the bus stop at 5:45 am to get there on time. A cab ride is a minimum of $30 each way.

I've been saving for a car for the past two years but it seems that every time I manage to save a decent amount of money something comes up that depletes all those funds. My cat getting cancer was the first, my dog's emergency vet visit which ended in her dying was the second, a health issue was next, and cremating my cat that was eaten by a coyote was the latest. On top of this, if I am often paying up to $60 per day to cab to work when scheduling doesn’t allow for me to spend 6 hours in transit. That makes it nearly impossible to save money for my own car.

Again, I know times are really tough for everyone. I also really hate to ask for help; if you know me at all, you know that I almost never do. But if anyone is in the position to help contribute to this I would be eternally grateful. I'm not looking for anything fancy at all. Just something safe to get me to and from work.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

All the mahalos,

Ali