10/28/25 Update: Today we received bad news about our beloved baby Nyxie. This visit was around $900 and is just one of multiple visits expected in the coming weeks. Cancer is the likely suspect but we are as of today waiting on lab results. This on the heels of losing SNAP coverage for the holidays has been a significant toll on our well being and worsened our financial disaster situation. We open the donations today as we are once again in need of help with rent and veterinary bills. Thank you all, and peace be with you.

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Hi everyone. Never thought I would be here, but I am throwing myself on the mercies of the world. My life partner Daria and I have fallen on hard times, as have so many others in our country today. We both have recently become disabled (myself in 2023 and Daria officially diagnosed this year) and have been struggling financially since I had to stop working.

I started applying for disability right away in the summer of 2023, and my battle for that is still ongoing as of today. I have a hearing with a judge in December where I hope that I will be approved based on medical records and supporting letters from my mental and physical health providers. We will be applying for Daria as well, but as we know, it takes years to be approved. In early 2024, we had to make the difficult decision to leave California as the cost to stay was just too high, and we cashed out our 401ks to make the move and support ourselves until my disability was approved and Daria could get a new job. Unfortunately, neither of those things came to pass, and we find ourselves now in dire circumstances. In late 2024, one of our cats had a medical issue that resulted in his death, and this incident necessitated a hefty bill. We were able to pay for it, but it's just one of many things that have increased our slide into financial crisis.

As of today, we both have SNAP benefits and I have Medicaid. We're working on getting Daria on Medicaid as well, as before we were paying for an expensive ACA insurance for her. Our vehicle payments are behind and the car is in danger of being repossessed, which will only further degrade our situation. We are putting our rent and all other expenses on credit cards, and of course, that is not sustainable. We have an application submitted for housing assistance, but we are in somewhat imminent danger of facing homelessness in the Illinois winter without even a car for shelter.

I am terrified for us. I'm on enough medications to make my head spin, and I don't know where else to turn. We do not have any family able to help us, nor any friends in a position to help. I am trying not to feel ashamed for needing to ask for help this way, but it's hard not to feel it. Thank you to anyone who reads this, and doubly so if you are able to help.

Included is a photo of our sweet kitty Nyxie. She is 12 and the light of my life.