Hello everyone! If you don’t know me, my name is Alana. And if you do know me, you know how hard it is for me to do something like this. So I’ll get right into it. I have been independent and mostly financially responsible for myself a good majority of my life. At the age of 14, I was kicked out for being gay, while simultaneously dealing with sexual assault at the hands of my father. I was hopping from couch to couch, never feeling whole or wanted in one space. From that moment on, I knew that nobody had my back the way I did. And I promised myself I would get out. At the age of 18, I moved to North Carolina and discovered what home truly felt like for the first time. I fell in love with North Carolina, and I started building my own life out here. There’s been good times and there’s been bad times, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. At the end of last year, I had a mental break and ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks, ultimately putting me back money wise. I couldn’t work, and I suffered greatly from it. Since then, I haven’t been able to ever catch up. Between housing, groceries, and literally ANYTHING to live, I have been stuck living paycheck to paycheck. Recently, I got into an accident, and I am now $5,000 in debt. I have pulled all my money out of my savings, I have been consistently working, applied for loans, set up payment plans, and it still isn’t enough. This really is my last resort before I’d have to move back home. Anything helps, even if it’s your support or resources that can help me. Thank you for taking the time to read this.