URGENT UPDATE: We are reopening this fundraiser. After successfully using your initial support to get back on our feet last Fall, a sudden, severe medical crisis left me unable to work. We are currently living day-to-day in a motel while I face a cash-flow lag from returning to work. We need a short-term safety net to help us survive the next few weeks.

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In February, life threw us another unexpected curveball. Overnight, I became severely, physically ill. I ended up bedridden, went to the emergency room 3 times in a single month, and lost over 40 pounds in eight weeks and I am still fighting to get an official diagnosis or clear answers.

Because of this medical crisis, I was unable to work for months. We were forced to rely 100% on Rae’s modest income from UberEats and DoorDash, all while she was pulling double duty as my caregiver at home.

With our lease ending in Connecticut and my health deteriorating, we made the tough decision to move back home to Philly so we could be closer to my support system. Unfortunately, the timing and the lack of a financial runway caught up to us.

Right now, we are in an incredibly tough spot. Since mid-March, Rae has been working over 12 hours a day, seven days a week, doing food deliveries just so we can survive. We are currently living out of a budget motel, paying day-to-day because we cannot afford the upfront weekly rate. Rae literally cannot come back to the room until she makes enough to ensure we aren't locked out the next morning. The physical and mental toll this is taking on Rae is unsustainable, and on top of it all, we are drowning in expensive medical bills from the period I was uninsured.

The good news is that I am finally back to work so the path forward is there! However, because of standard business payment processing delays and the time it takes to bill for my hours, we are facing a massive cash-flow lag. We won't see the income from my work hit our bank account until late June/early July.

We are fighting so hard, but we are still stuck in survival mode. We just need a little support to get us across the finish line to that first paycheck so Rae can stop working herself to exhaustion and we can stop living day-to-day.

All donations will go directly toward:

1. Our daily motel costs for the next few weeks so we can have stable housing.

2. Managing the immediate medical bills and debt incurred while I was sick.

If you are able to contribute again, thank you. If you can only share this link, that means just as much. Thank you for believing in us and for being our community when we need it most.

With love,

Jessie & Rae

How Your Previous Support Helped Us:

When I first posted this fundraiser last Fall, I never imagined that we would get the kind of support that we did. Your generosity raised over $3,200, and that money was a complete lifesaver. With your help, we successfully reclaimed Rae’s car from repossession and we fully caught up on the back rent we owed and were able to stay in our CT apartment.

Your donations gave us our lives back. This current situation is another mountain we never expected to climb, and we appreciate you standing by us as we clear this final hurdle.