Hiya, I'm May, and I am a transgender woman who had been unemployed for over a year and a half - until recently! However, while securing something in a job market unfriendly to entry-level experience, and me as a minority, is a triumph, the excitement was rather short-lived. I got the job right as I reached the breaking point of my savings, and the reality is that my casual minimum-wage shifts cannot help me from the financial hole that has swallowed me after a string of bad luck back-to-back.

I am currently only able to afford the bare essentials to live at the moment, such as food and rent. Even then, I've had to take out debts just so I can squeak through each month due to life hitting me with massive unlucky. It's gotten to a point the amounts owed are piling up to a point I have negatives left in my account days before pay from work comes in.

My amazing partner Jess, who I moved in with nearly 4 years ago, owns the house we live in, so I help to pay rent to her and she helped make it my new home. She has done her best to shield me from the financial stress while I've been getting back on my feet. But regrettably, a little over a year ago, she sustained a ongoing hand injury that affects her ability to work. This has severely hindered her abilities to both make home loan payments, but, because of how much I earn, there is also the struggle that she can't consistently receive rent from me and has to keep covering my half of the bills.

This leads to the unfortunate circumstances that we have just been informed Jess' hardship assistance on her mortgage has been cancelled out of the blue, and we have been threatened to pay that entire period of the home loan back. Which is money we do not have. While this is something that can be delayed, it is a scary and overwhelmingly stressful wrench in our lives that makes us worried that Jess could lose her house, and we could lose our home we've shared for nearly 4 years now.

I'm really proud of what I've achieved and where I am in life despite my financial instability. I'm proud to be living who I am and the opportunities in life I can afford to have despite what I've had to go through as a trans person. I am at the point where money issues are one of the only main issues impacting my mental health. If I get back on track with my financials, I personally feel I can start getting myself back to a healthy mindset and begin living a stable life again without the baggage of feeling I'm about to lose it all. And I then can actually start saving, which may make the idea getting gender affirming surgery something possible and help me even more.

Despite doing everything that can be done on my own in my situation, I have come to terms that it's not enough which is why I am asking for your help. This amount would at least help me live debt-free and be a stepping stone to my job allowing me to save money.

I understand that this isn't a small amount of money, but to me, helping me get back on my feet and have some financial stability again could be a life-changing step to improving my life by a lot. I have had people in my community say they want to help me if I truly need it, so I'm swallowing my pride and taking that advice. This fundraiser won't be taken for granted and, if nothing else, even the smallest amount could help me feel a bit less sad on my birthday on the 31st.

I appreciate anyone deciding to donate and literally anything helps. Thanks for reading!