Hi y'all, I hate to have to do this, but it's been a tough year so far. Some of you closer to me may know that my housing arrangement for the past 8 months has been stressful, to say the least. One of my two roommates ended up leaving the house, increasing my rent by a large portion.

This alone wouldn't have been a problem, but unfortunately, my remaining roommate, Chry, has been out of a job since she stepped down from her supervisor position at the Suicide Hotline due to the position's enormous strain on her mental health. It has been four months, and despite having a master's degree and applying to every counseling and therapist position she can find in the area, she hasn't found a position yet.

As a result, I have been covering her rent for the past three months. I do not blame Chry for the situation we are in, and I know she would have done the same for me if the roles were reversed. She has, as of today, been hired as a barista while she looks for work that lines up with her career goals, and I know she's doing her absolute best to get out of the position we've found ourselves in.

Had that been all, I wouldn't have had to make this post. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Due to my lack of a vehicle, getting to work out in the suburbs alone would cost me the first hour and a half of my wages every day in solely Uber charges. About a month ago, my old electric company put me on leave for two weeks due to a lead scare at a major project halting work. Afterwards, they gave me about 32 hours of overnight prep work, another week of waiting, and then let me go. Upon returning to the union hall, they had no new companies for me to work at for another week before finally placing me at my current company.

In that time, however, I lost out on a month's worth of wages that I desperately needed. I gritted my teeth and sold my treasured antique French horn from my professional musician days and took out a loan so that we could avoid eviction, but with the payments and debt stacking up, I've been slowly drowning. I bought an old car from my parents and have been making monthly payments that add up to less than half of what I was paying for Ubers to work, but even with that boon, I've still drifted so far into the negative that I'm behind on last month's rent payment and the debt repayment despite working overtime whenever I have the opportunity. Element thankfully didn't cost me anything, but I also only broke even at the end of the day.

If you could find it in your heart to help us avoid eviction in my time of need, it would mean the world to me. I am back to making money with a raise expected in the coming month, and I would be more than happy to pay back every penny pledged to us through this drive. Every donation adds up, and even if you can't afford to donate, sharing this would still be incredibly helpful! I just need to find the stability to get back on my feet for one month, and we'll be able to make ends meet, if not thrive, until I finally get into the Electrician's apprenticeship this summer.