Help Jenn Repair Her Car So She Can Get To Work

Hello! I'm Jenn. I am hoping to raise enough to get my car repaired so I can work.

My car has recently had some issues, the latest leaving me stranded and in need of a tow to the mechanic, where she is now sitting. I am unable to turn the key in the ignition - it is locked. Additionally, the blower for heat/front stopped working a week ago. Or the fuse for the blower - I am not sure, which yet. I found myself needing to pull over while driving home in light snow last night to continually scrape my window. Unfortunately, the final time I pulled over, I shut my ignition off. When I went to start it, it was locked and I had to call AAA after 30 minutes of trying everything to get it to turn.

Those are the two pressing issues to make my car drivable. She also needs brakes and either shocks or struts (waiting for them to tell me which - whichever has been making my wheels bouncy). The mechanic will inspect it and call either today or over the weekend with more details and I will adjust the donation amount based on that.

We only have one car for my family. Both of us work and we have two kids. I cannot do my job without my car. I work in the behavioral health field Monday to Friday and have a large caseload. I visit my clients in their homes or in their community and help them access resources, provide mental health support, and assist them in building the independence to rebuild their lives as they work hard to recover with severe mental illness. Not only do I rely on my job for income, but my clients rely on me for their mental health support and missing appointments can be detrimental to them.

I am extremely fortunate to work for a great behavioral health clinic and supervisor that is understanding and I will not suffer consequences in that regard due to my inability to see clients. Unfortunately, I will be losing a lot of pay until I can get back onto the road. I can only bill insurance for clients I see in person, with a very small percentage (and not all clients are eligible) being allowed over telehealth. We already live paycheck to paycheck and experience food insecurity. This also has an impact on my husband's job. However, unlike my job, he has some limited access to public transportation and will be able to maintain the majority of his hours during this time. It will impact my family with regards to some school transportation as well as access to appointments, grocery shopping, etc. The sooner I can get my car back on the road, the better it will be for my family and my clients.

So, to recap. I am seeking donations for repairs, especially to my ignition (I believe it will be the ignition lock cylinder based on my googling) and my heating system/blower/fuse, which are the two primary issues I believe the car has. I will update with the estimate from the mechanic once I receive an estimate from them either today or over the weekend. I am also hoping for some donation support in order to rent a car while I wait. This is tricky as I do not have a credit card, but Enterprise allows - I think - you to rent without one as long as they can put a hold for the funds on your debit. Again, I will update with this information if that is even an option. A small amount of support for lost income would be great, but my biggest concern is just getting my car back.

This will be updated with documents as I receive any estimates, repairs, rental information. I will also attempt to update photos as the only picture I had is this dark one from when she was dropped off at the mechanic.

On extra note -I encourage you all to get AAA if it is affordable to you. I have always maintained my AAA membership and i am so grateful as being stranded last night would have been an extra nightmare. They often run deals - so look into it.

Thank you for either sharing this or donating!!