I’ve had the absolute privilege of working with this young person for over a year now, and if anyone deserves a break, it’s them.

Despite being handed an incredibly tough start in life, they have shown up time and time again. They are one of the most forward-thinking, agile, hopeful, and resilient people I know. They never stop learning or growing, even when what they truly need is time to rest. But life just won’t let up.

They live in a regional area and need a car to get to work. They saved up, bought a car, and then it broke down beyond repair. Since then, they’ve been relying on Ubers to get to shifts, which has swallowed all of their income and made it impossible to save for another vehicle.

At the same time, they were told they need surgery for a tumour (we’re still waiting to hear if it’s benign). They also live with hypermobility, which means ongoing joint dislocations, pain, and hospital visits. The only jobs they can get right now, retail and cleaning, aggravate this condition, but they keep going because they need to work. And they need to work so they can save for a car, for surgery, and for the physio appointments keeping their body functional. It's a brutal, exhausting cycle that would break most adults, and they’re still standing.

They also need an autism assessment, which costs over $2,000. I’ve been trying to ease their burden through the NDIS, but that help is contingent on this assessment. And they can’t access the assessment without the income from work. And they can’t keep working without a reliable car. It’s all connected, and no matter how hard they try, every solution seems to rely on another piece they don’t yet have access to.

Still, they stayed hopeful. They’d nearly saved up enough to buy another car. And then their beloved dog got sick, and they spent every cent they had on emergency vet care.

Honestly, I’m over it. I cannot imagine how they feel.

So I asked today if I could make a GoFundMe. Here’s what they said:

"I would be okay with that idea. I'm kinda upset too. I have been so restrained and saving is something I've never been good at but I've actually been doing it and saving and making sure I don't touch it and shit just keeps happening. It's like all my effort is for nothing. I was so close too. I'm happy that [dog] is getting better and wouldn't dream of not paying for her treatment, but it's frustrating."

They are doing everything right, and life just keeps taking.

We’ve found a reliable car for $3,000, and it would be a turning point. It means independence. It means access to work, to healthcare, to an autism assessment that could unlock vital disability supports and long-term stability.

We’ve tried every other route, including grants, scholarships, and systems that are meant to help, and we’ve come up short every time.

So now we’re turning to the community that so often steps up when systems fail.

Can you help us throw a hand out to someone who has worked so hard for so long? Whether it’s a donation, sharing this with your network, or just holding space for this beautiful human, it all helps.

Let’s show them that their effort hasn’t been for nothing. Let’s get them back on the road and back into a life where they’re not just surviving, but finally starting to thrive.