Help Jessica move back home
Donation protected
Hi everyone. My name is Jessica: I'm a freelance/contractor artist, art director, and animator, and I am trying to fund a move back home in an attempt to restart a lot of aspects of my life, including things like regaining financial stability, solidifying mental health treatment, and being able to fully and successfully work again.
**IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SKIP TO THE BASICS, YOU CAN JUMP TO THE LAST TWO PARAGRAPHS BELOW**
Since about 2014, I have already been "restarting things" for myself after leaving an abusive partner situation, and working hard to move on and get my life back on track. Unfortunately, all of this has proven too much for me to handle on my own. I'd been attempting to live independently and work whenever and wherever I could manage, but the combination of PTSD from my previous situation, the stress of workloads/living paycheck-to-paycheck, and my already present issues (I suffer from ADHD as well as co-morbid disorders like depression), continued to wear me down. As a result, my mental health has continued to decline, and it's made a huge impact on my physical overall health as well. Not to mention make it increasingly difficult to manage working regularly enough to provide for myself and my two dogs in a big city like Chicago.
I've already exhausted a lot of avenues of help, like state assistance, borrowing money from family and friends, even taking out loans. I currently manage my overall disorders like ADHD, but only just barely. Mental health care is extremely expensive even if you are insured (I am not), and along with things like rent and food, count for one of my major expenses. It's generally the first thing to get cut when money is tight, but doing this always amplifies my downward spiral and makes it harder to climb back up.
In the past year alone, I have also continued to run into more and more issues that pile on expenses (car issues, work equipment breaking down, health emergencies, attending my grandfather's funeral this month, etc) that add to the weight of not being able to recover financially. I've even made a lot of steps to try and reduce expenses: cancel subscriptions, go on food assistance, reduce bills however possible, and more. Most recently, I even secured roommates to share my already small apartment so I could cut rent down. Unfortunately, even that has failed as the new tenants (a couple) recently had a domestic dispute bad enough to warrant their co-inhabitant contract being canceled for everyone's safety. Even after a month of vetting for this, my roommates didn't last two weeks before being asked to move off the premises.
Basically: I'm at my wit's end now. Many MANY people who know me, even well, likely don't even realize how many individual struggles have dangerously piled up for me, as I tend to keep quiet about a lot of it trying to handle them on my own. Sadly, it's just wore me down to almost nothing. I truly believe in working hard and staying the course, but I've had to face the facts this year that I cannot just simply "work harder" any longer on my own.
While I may come across as articulate and calm here, I can't stress enough just how desperate my situation is. Creating this fundraiser is truly a last resort in my book, but spells out just how afraid I am for my own health and well-being. I am determined to make this move and change and try (once again) to restart things and get my life back on track, and any donation amount or sharing this page helps solidify a better future for myself.
For as long as I remember I've been an artist and creator. Friends, family and peers have watched my work grow and nurtured expectations for what I could make and share with the world. I want nothing more than to be able to share my skills and creations with the world, while working as an able-minded person again. But talent and ambition alone doesn't mean anything when enough emergencies, abusive partners, and deteriorating health sideline everything and threaten to push you out on the street with nothing.
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My solution to all this is to move back home with my mom so I am able to share expenses again with someone plus be closer to family for my health and well-being. Unfortunately, this is a move far out of state for me (Illinois to Florida), and moves themselves are expensive. I also have to wait until my current lease is up end of August, so being able to afford my basic living expenses like rent is still a responsibility.
For a breakdown in costs, I've mostly set a general amount in this fundraiser that would help cover mainly a truck and gas for the move, with some padding to account for things like rent in my current place if things get worse with my small income. If more is raised, anything extra will help with things like food/dog food, afford medication/doctor visits (I have to regularly see my psychiatrist to be prescribed anything), and set aside as savings to help anything I need to jump start in my new location.
**IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SKIP TO THE BASICS, YOU CAN JUMP TO THE LAST TWO PARAGRAPHS BELOW**
Since about 2014, I have already been "restarting things" for myself after leaving an abusive partner situation, and working hard to move on and get my life back on track. Unfortunately, all of this has proven too much for me to handle on my own. I'd been attempting to live independently and work whenever and wherever I could manage, but the combination of PTSD from my previous situation, the stress of workloads/living paycheck-to-paycheck, and my already present issues (I suffer from ADHD as well as co-morbid disorders like depression), continued to wear me down. As a result, my mental health has continued to decline, and it's made a huge impact on my physical overall health as well. Not to mention make it increasingly difficult to manage working regularly enough to provide for myself and my two dogs in a big city like Chicago.
I've already exhausted a lot of avenues of help, like state assistance, borrowing money from family and friends, even taking out loans. I currently manage my overall disorders like ADHD, but only just barely. Mental health care is extremely expensive even if you are insured (I am not), and along with things like rent and food, count for one of my major expenses. It's generally the first thing to get cut when money is tight, but doing this always amplifies my downward spiral and makes it harder to climb back up.
In the past year alone, I have also continued to run into more and more issues that pile on expenses (car issues, work equipment breaking down, health emergencies, attending my grandfather's funeral this month, etc) that add to the weight of not being able to recover financially. I've even made a lot of steps to try and reduce expenses: cancel subscriptions, go on food assistance, reduce bills however possible, and more. Most recently, I even secured roommates to share my already small apartment so I could cut rent down. Unfortunately, even that has failed as the new tenants (a couple) recently had a domestic dispute bad enough to warrant their co-inhabitant contract being canceled for everyone's safety. Even after a month of vetting for this, my roommates didn't last two weeks before being asked to move off the premises.
Basically: I'm at my wit's end now. Many MANY people who know me, even well, likely don't even realize how many individual struggles have dangerously piled up for me, as I tend to keep quiet about a lot of it trying to handle them on my own. Sadly, it's just wore me down to almost nothing. I truly believe in working hard and staying the course, but I've had to face the facts this year that I cannot just simply "work harder" any longer on my own.
While I may come across as articulate and calm here, I can't stress enough just how desperate my situation is. Creating this fundraiser is truly a last resort in my book, but spells out just how afraid I am for my own health and well-being. I am determined to make this move and change and try (once again) to restart things and get my life back on track, and any donation amount or sharing this page helps solidify a better future for myself.
For as long as I remember I've been an artist and creator. Friends, family and peers have watched my work grow and nurtured expectations for what I could make and share with the world. I want nothing more than to be able to share my skills and creations with the world, while working as an able-minded person again. But talent and ambition alone doesn't mean anything when enough emergencies, abusive partners, and deteriorating health sideline everything and threaten to push you out on the street with nothing.
---
My solution to all this is to move back home with my mom so I am able to share expenses again with someone plus be closer to family for my health and well-being. Unfortunately, this is a move far out of state for me (Illinois to Florida), and moves themselves are expensive. I also have to wait until my current lease is up end of August, so being able to afford my basic living expenses like rent is still a responsibility.
For a breakdown in costs, I've mostly set a general amount in this fundraiser that would help cover mainly a truck and gas for the move, with some padding to account for things like rent in my current place if things get worse with my small income. If more is raised, anything extra will help with things like food/dog food, afford medication/doctor visits (I have to regularly see my psychiatrist to be prescribed anything), and set aside as savings to help anything I need to jump start in my new location.
Organizer
Jessica Plummer
Organizer
Chicago, IL