Help Bella & Eliot get back on their feet!

Pictured: the stack of paper containing all of my legal research and paperwork for the case. Tiny Guillermo Del Toro for scale.

For the last 9 months, myself and my partner Eliot have been the custodial parents of my youngest sibling, as appointed by the family court. The case has concluded, and we have been relieved of our duty and can just be siblings again, but this guardianship has taken an emotional and financial toll on us.

I represented myself and my partner in court, and I have approximately 2,000 pages of legal paperwork and research. I lost count of how many sleepless nights I spent researching and scanning. We transported my sibling to another county daily for school, 370 miles a week back and forth, as well as several court ordered appointments weekly between counties. This resulted in costs upwards of $8k from November 2022 through August of 2023, which combined with family and work stress put a monstrous burden on our mental health.

Halfway through our guardianship, I was laid off. I have applied for close to 250 jobs with no luck. My last job didn't give me a proper title, so I have been trying to piece together what my actual job was in order to find positions that I am actually qualified for. It turns out I did a *lot* of jobs in my time there; data analytics, team/KPI management, routing, logistics software programming, and customer service were all part of my position but I was never credited as such, just "team lead".

My dear Eliot, the Hall to my Oates, has really been put through the wringer in this case. He has helped every step of the way, even when he didn't have to, just to keep me from slipping under. He was there for court appearances, running to different schools, helping with research and paperwork, all while working a full time job with additional on-call hours. To say he saved my butt is an understatement ; he built an entire butt support system! But he was under an incredible amount of stress, which resulted in a trip to the ER after a severe anxiety attack and heart murmurs. He hasn't had an attack since, but we have $3k in bills to pay out of pocket.

My goal is to try and get us back onto our feet, and improve things going forward. So many of you have been so kind and generous already, and I don't intend to make anyone feel obligated to contribute.

Goals:

Medical Bills

We currently owe $3k to Bon Secours St Francis for Eliot's medical bills, which we would like to pay off as soon as possible.

Paying down credit cards

Over the last year, we have spent close to $8,800 on this case. We received approximately $2,800 in child support, which helped, but the expenses stack up more quickly than they are paid down. Gas and printer ink are priced like luxury services, and they add up quickly when you have to make 5 copies of every document. Credit cards became a saving grace when my severance pay ran out, but now the interest has stacked and is becoming difficult in a one income household.

Resume service

I have been trying for months to get a consistent job in my current field, and it has been fruitless so far. I would really love to pay a resume service to help me improve my chances of acquiring a longer-term job.

Household maintenence.

Our house has been neglected over the course of this case and guardianship. So many things were quickly packed to make room for my sibling and have been damaged by weather conditions in the attic, dishes have been broken and lost, etc. We would like to replace any broken items and clean some stained furniture if budget permits.

Dragoncon

Eliot and I attend Dragoncon every year, part for fun and part for work. As I'm sure most of you know, we build and sell costumes and prop replicas, and build props for local theatre. Dragoncon is where we network and make friends, and we are both looking forward to it. Our basic costs were paid close to a year in advance, so no additional funding is needed to attend, but anything over budget would help pay for gas.

Citizenship finalization

If the goal is reached, and other expenses are paid down, my goal is to complete my citizenship within the next 2 years. Part of my family already has dual citizenship between the United States and Italy, but since I am over 18 it was not automatically granted through my parents and I will have to pay separately for my own attorney and filing. Granted, it is much less expensive than starting from scratch with jure sanguinis as I do have family who are already citizens, but it's a cost none the less.