Help Recover from Car Theft and Repair Costs

So as most people know by now, my car was stolen from my driveway on the weekend of July 4th this year. This car meant everything to me and had basically my whole life in it, and it was simply gone.

Luckily, the people responsible drove it off the road into a sandy area and got the vehicle stuck, then decided to abandon it while running two cities away. After getting a Facebook message from an off-duty K-9 unit, I paid the tow company (with my own money) and got the car back. However, it had been dented, the paint scratched, and the ignition switch completely ripped out. The car also smelled like beer and weed, with a bunch of water bottles and bottle caps thrown about.

This is essentially where the police stopped entirely on my case. "Perfect, you have your car back!" The thieves were never found, never following up with me the few times I've called and some stolen items from my car remain gone forever. A few items, however, I found in my parking space at my work 4 days later. I have now lived in a constant state of anxiety as the people responsible seemingly know where I live and work, and no police have been able to assist over victim-blaming me. "Are you SURE you didn't leave your car unlocked?" "Are you POSITIVE you don't have a secret second key for your car that was hidden inside? It's highly unlikely they'd sell you a car with only one key."

After almost 3 months, my car was finally taken to the shop to get fixed! Unfortunately, however, my insurance copay is $500, to which I have to pay myself. Could definitely be worse, but being a victim of a car theft, I should really not be the one responsible for paying this fee. According to my insurance company, "we don't have another person's insurance to go after as they were never found, so in the eyes of insurance, it's deemed as your fault."

I am already struggling to make ends meet, so this was really another slap to the face to hear. With rent going up, bills and student loans increasing, and the cost of basically everything rising, I've been worried about how to pay this.

I really hate asking for help like this, however, I really can't think of much else. I've tried selling artwork or commissions, but I really don't get much traction from that.

If anyone is able to spare even a few dollars, this would really help me out. I currently have to put these payments on a credit card, and things are slowly adding up to an almost impossible amount for me to pay off in a decent amount of time.

Thank you so much for reading and sharing. Even word of mouth can help; it's the ONLY reason my car was located in the first place!