Hi, I'm Jen and I've been having a rough go at life the last few years, and I could really use some help.

I've always been an independent and strong-willed person. I've always tried to do the right thing, be a good person, and share kindness wherever I could. I have struggled with mental health issues my entire life but was able to build a beautiful life and family despite this.

I was blessed to be a stay-at-home mother of 3 amazing daughters for 13 years. My kids were my everything, my light, my joy, my reason for being. Unfortunately, my marriage ended in 2020, and my whole world changed. In the process of coping and adjusting, I found myself in the world of addiction that led to my ex keeping my kids from me. Despite no abuse or neglect on my part, I understood. But it only fueled my addiction along with the unexpected grief and loss of my father and my attachment to an abusive relationship. I became homeless after I lost my job due to an injury at work, which left me without work, and I had used all my savings keeping the house going while I tried to find a new job. I've been trying to climb out of the hole I've created for quite some time, but it always seems something jumps in my way any time I make progress.

In this last year, I was so blessed and grateful to be donated a new car after my previous one caught fire and burned up along with everything I owned. I finally landed a good-paying job I enjoyed, got into rehab, got sober, and even had a real roof over my head again. In March of this year, I was diagnosed with a highly aggressive breast cancer that has metastasized to my lymph nodes and my lungs. My lungs were unable to be biopsied, so my doctor kept the 3b staging and treatment level, hoping for the best. A wreck earlier this year has left my car in serious need of work to be safe and legal so I can continue to drive to work and appointments. Although treatment started off very well and I was almost done with my chemo and on my way to getting the needed double mastectomy, side effects landed me in and out of the hospital for a few weeks. This prompted my employer to force me into part-time status and ended all of my benefits without warning, in turn stopping all of my cancer treatment, which left my physical and mental health suffering greatly and once more on the verge of homelessness.

Between my struggles with addiction and my cancer diagnosis, most everyone in my life has turned their backs on me. Through all the chaos my life has thrown at me, I've always kept hope in my heart that things would get better, that I would overcome all of this, but that hope is fading quickly, and my fight for life is tired and dwindling fast. I'm not usually one to ask for help, but I'm just not sure what to do or where to go anymore. So, I'm reaching out now. I need help if I'm going to survive this. I need help if I'm ever going to stand back up and reclaim a fraction of the life I once knew. So here I am, vulnerable and afraid, asking for anything that may help me stay housed, keep my car running, continue my cancer treatment, reignite my hope, and my fight to keep my head above water and to find joy again.