Help Postal Worker Erica Vidal Keep Her Home and Heal

Hi, my name is Erica Vidal and I’m reaching out with a humble and hopeful heart.

A little over two months ago, I was injured on the job as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. I was leaving for my route with a full mail truck and struck while driving by another driver. She hit me pretty hard and I was transported by ambulance to Henderson Hospital. I’ll never forget the kindness of the ambulance crew who unbuckled my seatbelt, wiped my tears, told me it would be ok, and helped transport me that day. The staff there at the hospital took great care of me and I am now being seen by a great doctor for my injuries and doing physical therapy 3 times a week with continued improvement!

I’ve proudly worked in this role as a mail carrier for the past few years and I truly love what I do—serving my community, connecting with my customers, and staying active. It’s more than just a job to me; it’s part of who I am.

Since the injury, I’ve been on light duty (I can only work 2 hours a day in the office prepping routes) then I clock out and leave work and attend physical therapy three times a week (driving 20+miles from my home). My injuries have been significant, and the healing process has been slow and painful—but I’m pushing through and doing everything I can to get back to full duty.

I miss being out there, working hard, and connecting with the people (and dogs!) on my routes.

In the meantime, the financial impact has been overwhelming. All of the charities I’ve applied to have had to turn me away due to limited or exhausted funding. I’ve applied for eviction assistance through the county, but my case is still waiting to be assigned to a case worker so I’m not even sure I’ll get help. *** UPDATE: Found out today 4/16/25 that the program is 5 months behind and unless my apartment complex will work with me that long-I’m not going to benefit from waiting for a case worker…I’m also still waiting on my lost wages compensation from the Department of Labor (they say it can take another 10-24 days and I’ve already waited so long!), and without that support, I’ve fallen behind on everything—my rent, my car payments, even basic necessities.

I’m facing the very real possibility of losing my home and my vehicle. I’m having trouble paying for basic things we need and things are looking grim. I’ve always done my best to manage things on my own, but right now, I can’t do it alone. The struggle is real for a lot of us now and has been for some time but this time-I have truly hit rock bottom. I have never been so scared.

I’ve always been a “paycheck to paycheck”person, relying on overtime and scraping by every two weeks but somehow figuring it out, but now this is some scary stuff I’m dealing with and I need help!

If you’re able to donate anything—no matter how small—it will help me keep a roof over our heads, maintain transportation to my appointments, and continue providing for my daughter and I. And if you’re not in a position to give, even just sharing this would mean the world.

In all of this chaos, I am truly thankful to my friends and family for the love and support and words of encouragement they’ve offered so far. I know their prayers and loving words have helped my spirit in so many ways. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for any love or support you can send my way. Even if you can’t help financially, maybe you can share or send good vibes or prayers my way-It truly means more than I can express.

With gratitude,

Erica