It is always so difficult to admit to yourself that you need help and even harder to reach out. But I am really in a situation where I need my community to come through for me.

I have lived my entire adult life paycheck to paycheck. I'm the first person in my family to go to university, the first to get a passport, the first to move out of our poor community in the South. I have always made it work, putting in so many hours at work just to scrape together the cash I need to pay rent in this expensive city and only getting to go out and have fun because I work in the bars and clubs or rely on the kindness of my friends who do. I have never really had disposable income.

Now I have some big expenses coming up that are going to affect my ability to remain in this place that I now call home and I need help.

It is time to renew my visa so that I can remain in the Netherlands. The fee to pay an accountant for the documents that I need and to pay to the IND just to submit the application amount to almost 700 euros. I would also like to take a Dutch language course so that when I am eligible for citizenship this fall, I will be able to pass the language exam. The course costs 600 euros. I wish I could take the free course from the gemeente but it is only available to EU citizens. In addition to these costs, I owe a debt of 500 euros to a generous friend who helped pay my rent when I was low on funds last fall, and 400 euros for a used phone I had to get because the one I have been using for the past six years has finally died on me.

Any small amount will be helpful and sharing will be helpful as well! Thank y'all in advance <3