Hi, my name's Cristina and I never thought I'd be making something like this!

Five months ago I moved to an apartment on my own to escape a lifelong abusive home situation. With tight funds but a stable full-time job, I had no other choice but to make it work.

I immediately started looking for a second part-time job, but the job market is in one of the worst places I've ever seen for any kind of work. After nearly maxxing out my credit card and emptying my savings in order to cover moving costs, a deposit, and bare minimum essentials, I was stressed but motivated.

Three months ago we had a major layoff at what I thought was my stable job, and even though I wasn't affected, I immediately started panicking.

I finally landed a second part-time job just one week ago, but the paycheque is no where near what I need to bring in, in order to cover rent and monthly bills.

Today I was laid off. With an empty savings account, a mountain of credit card debt, no family or safety net to fall back on, and a job market that's in the gutter, I'm one month away from my soul cat and I becoming unhoused.

Things have not panned out for me in terms of my career and where I thought I'd be at my age, and it continues to become worse in this economy. I completed five years of post-secondary, finished with two degrees, and have almost five years of marketing and communications experience. In the last few months with all of the changes at my job and the state of the world currently, I started to consider making a career pivot to education, health and research, or nonprofit to begin to take concrete steps towards a more meaningful and impactful career.

I'm terrified and completely at a loss, but I'm going to do everything I can to try to work hard and secure a new job. Any contribution will help me make ends meet in the meantime.

If I have ever made your day or added some kind of positivity to your life, please consider donating or sharing to boost reach.

Thanks so much for reading this far and stay well.