I'm 73 & moved to the DC area at the beginning of '08 to take a position with a small consulting firm on what I was told would be at least a 3 year Pentagon contract. Unfortunately 9 months later the Pentagon didn't renew the firm’s contract. Despite herculean job search efforts, I have been unemployed ever since. Social Security & a small annuity cover only 3/4 of my monthly rent for a tiny 1 BR. I have been making up the difference by dog walking & trying to sell LPs on eBay. Both require a reliable car.

Over the past 18 months I have had a series of setbacks that leave me in a very precarious position. 3 accidents, 2 completely not my fault, resulted in my car being totaled. The settlement left me with barely enough to find a replacement. Even though I had the replacement checked over by my mechanic, it proved to be a disaster: a bad wheel bearing, multiple brake problems, having to replace the transmission twice & it still being bad. The last straw was the catalytic converter falling off in the middle of the street.

At that point, my mechanic decided that he couldn't allow me to put any more money into it. He found me a good, serviceable replacement, 2012 Malibu with 163K miles (but he did a lot of work on it) & has been extremely patient but I still owe him roughly half of the cost. & my car insurance tripled as a result.

Now I'm having trouble covering my rent because of these set backs.

Any donations to help me though this difficult time are hugely appreciated.

Any donations to help me though this difficult time are hugely appreciated.