I am creating this GoFundMe for my longtime friend Craig Mingus so that he does not become homeless since he has been out of work for a long time. Below is what he originally posted on his Facebook News Feed about his current financial situation and state of mental health. He originally did not want to use a GoFundMe because he insists on paying people back. Still, I convinced him that crowdfunding would be better, as some people would prefer to help anonymously.

This is his story that he originally posted . . .

Yesterday, I received a blow to my job hunting adventures when I finally heard back from a company owner about a Chief Marketing Officer position that I had interviewed for, starting back in June. The job was put on hold for personal reasons and most likely will not be resurrected down the road. I felt like I wasted a large amount of time on a position that probably did not exist in the first place.

I have been sitting on talking about the rut that I am currently in, or that I am on the verge of being homeless. Yes, actually losing my current place to live because I cannot come up with the money needed to pay rent, to pay car insurance, to pay car registration, to pay the electric bill, to pay for the much-needed maintenance my car needs, etc. It's never an issue when money is coming in, but when you have been out of solid work for well over 2.5 years, the struggle gets more intense as the weeks pass by. *As a side note, I have been doing side work for a friend’s husband, but it’s nothing consistent to keep up with the rent and bills.

Why I have had horrible luck landing a job is the big question with no answer. I have been applying for marketing jobs for which I am qualified, as well as for all the lower-level titles that are related to them. I have registered with every single employment agency in the entire Sacramento region, but that has led to nothing, neither permanent nor temporary work. I have applied to fast-food locations, grocery store chains, big-box store chains, Costco, Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and every available job I am qualified for on the CA State Government job board. I have come very close, but something has always prevented the job offer from happening. I have met with multiple company owners, multiple groups of C-Suite Executives, multiple Hiring Managers, multiple recruiters, and about 45% of the time, I get ghosted or the infamous message, "We've decided to go a different direction."

As the days pass, my low-grade depression has grown into a daily battle to just get out of bed. Trying to do a full gym workout is a joke because I cannot gather enough energy to get through one set of my workout before leaving. Also, add the crazy next-door neighbor who threatened my life because he thinks I called his girlfriend "homeless", so now I have to be on constant alert every time I leave my apartment building because he's a level of crazy that might use a knife or gun in a fight.

Somehow, I still manage to barely push through each day and make it to Napa weekly to look after my 95-year-old grandmother, but I am worn out, stressed, and wondering if I will land a job in the current job market, which is leaving many people scared. You smile through the day, but then sob more than you should as you watch some animal rescue video. This is not a healthy life I am currently in.

I have been sitting on the following because I always start to get intensely nervous when I have to ask for help. I don't shy away from knowing when to ask for help; I just get a nervous pit in my stomach that makes me literally shake. What I am about to ask is a patch and not a resolution to my current situation. I am just looking to avoid being a homeless person, because once you step into that hole, it is extremely difficult to crawl back out and get back on your feet.

If you have been out of work for over six months, then you understand what runs through the mind of a person trying to land a job, any job, just to have a paycheck coming in again.

That's it. I just want to be working again to get financially back on my feet, to buy Mr. Tibbles, my cat, wet food, and to be able to look after my grandmother regularly. Life is a mystery, and no one should ever have to stand alone.