Hello everyone!

I wanted to create a GoFundMe for my journey to Chapman while recovering from a collision in November. For those of you who don’t know, Chapman University is my dream school & selective in terms of letting people in with my academic background. From struggling with grades as a result of being unhoused while sleeping in campus buildings, classrooms, & couch surfing-- to becoming a campus leader that has advocated for and is still creating adequate means for unhoused women on my campus, I am also one paycheck away from a bad day.

With this being said, I am still recovering financially & mentally from the collision and from being put on an involuntary hold for my mental health that same week from the stress of school. I am still struggling alot and hate for this to be the way I ask for help, but I want to be as transparent as possible. With my financial barriers still being the biggest hurdle in my academic journey, I’ve missed out on things like national conferences & opportunities that could have put me in the proper places for advocacy.

I am trying to put a wedge between me and this burden so I can afford a pre-used car that has been offered to me by a close friend and their family. This car is necessary for me to commute to school & back so I am not penalized by my school’s attendance policy— I do not plan on changing my 8AM class schedule when I work in the afternoons, so a car would be more ideal than bussing 2 hours go school every morning. Plus, if you live in California, you know how hard it is being busy and working while in school.. It becomes limiting and a huge stressor that triggers my chronic fatigue & insomnia, which have been the two most common reasons why I have trouble with school. Getting this car would literally relieve a huge weight I carry because of the constant inconvenience of not having reliable transportation while being relied on for work, community events, and myself to succeed in school.

Right now, I'm currently side hustling to make ends meet and keep up with everything-- but we shall overcome!

I am grateful to have the village I have and understand that everyone may not have the means to help, but it would mean alot if I could reach this goal by August/September.

I’m capping my GoFundMe at $8,000 and listing where these funds would be allocated in order of priority; I didn't include insurance because my phone line company offers a year of free Triple AAA insurance:

$2,000 — Pre-loved Truck

$1,000 — EVAP System Repair + Service

$400 — Car Registration

<$1,000 — Involuntary Hold Hospital Bill

Total: 4,400.

I’m unsure of the exact prices for my maintenance and car repairs, but in the case it is more expensive I have my GFM capped at 8,000. I understand I may need more, but am just looking for the bare minimum and some change just to get the truck, pass the smog check, & register it. Extra would help cover suprise costs & fees aside from labor and help with rent that will likely be impacted by the dent in my pockets from my last semester at Long Beach.

Thank you lots for reading all of this, I truly love & appreciate my friends, mentors, & community members for being a steady rock for me to lean on and even remind me that it is okay to ask for help. ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚