Hi, my name is Luca. I’m 31, a white nonbinary trans femme and married to my lovely Indigenous/Latine nonbinary spouse. We have a little chihuahua mix named Maple.

I lost my call center job earlier this year and until now we have been barely keeping it together. My spouse continued working their job until their employer began pushing unrealistic performance measures, pushing their mental health beyond their limit. Now they are back in school working on finishing their degree and specialized training for a new career, but it will be at least a year before they are finished and can go back to full time work.

I was approved for basic unemployment insurance, but I have now reached my maximum number of payments. I was under the impression we’d have payments til February, but I was mistaken.

I have been and continue to look for work every day, but as many of you know, the current job market is the worst it’s been in a long time. I apply for several jobs every day. If I’m lucky enough to hear back, it’s mostly rejection emails. I get the occasional interview, but no matter how well I seem to perform, I hear back much later than they advise with another rejection email. It’s utterly demoralizing to say the least.

We’re trying to downsize on the things we have, sell things we don’t need, take up odd jobs when they show up, but it never seems to be enough. The unemployment payments, while small, at least kept the rent paid.

I’m asking for any help you can give while I keep looking for work to support our little family. Even $5 or $10 can go a long way. Whatever you are able to spare means everything. If you’re not able to donate, please share to boost our reach. It means the world to us right now.

Thank you