Donation protected
It’s very hard for me to ask for help, but I can no longer afford not to. After multiple stints of unemployment and unexpected medical expenses for our little one, we need help getting back on our feet and keeping our home.
John and I have always wanted to have children. About three years ago we decided we were ready. Right around the time we made that decision, John was laid off, so we knew we had to wait. After two years of temp jobs, being unemployed, being underemployed, and constantly bouncing from gig to gig, he got what we thought would be a permanent lucrative job, exactly what we needed to start a family. Four days after we found out I was pregnant, he was fired.
I thought there was no way we’d survive another two year job search in this city. We had exhausted our savings and started to sink into debt during the first one. I started making plans to uproot and move out of state to stay with family. To our surprise, six weeks later, he got a part time, but well paying job with good benefits. It wasn’t perfect, but with overtime and some side gigs, we could make it work. Then, with just a few months left til our baby arrived, he was temporarily laid off again because of union negotiations and construction at his hotel. We had no idea how long this would last, and as the weeks until baby’s arrival dwindled, we knew we would get behind on bills, but we had to stay put.
Our baby arrived the morning of April 12th. At birth he was unable to breath, but they were able to get him oxygen and save him. Following that and some issues with his digestive tract, he spent a week in the NICU. We didn’t get to see our sweet boy for the first five hours of his life, and we didn’t get to hold him until the next day.
John’s lay off period ended a few weeks after baby was born, but he returned to work with minimal hours. When we decided to start our family, our income would have gotten us out of debt by the time our little sweetie got here. Instead, we are in the worst financial state we’ve ever been in. On top of that, I’m unable to return to my previous work schedule, as it will not cover the cost of childcare, and now I’m searching for employment.
Between the job gap, the temporary layoff, added insurance costs due to the job loss, and unexpected expenses from the NICU stay, we’ve amassed a small mountain of debt and are a few months behind on rent. We are now facing losing our home.
It’s very hard for me to admit when I need help. If you ask my mama, she’d tell you I’ve always wanted to “do it myself”, but I can no longer afford to be stubborn. We desperately want to stay in the city. It’s been home for ten years. We want to stay in the apartment we brought our baby home from the hospital to just a little longer. A move with a brand new baby is unimaginable for us right now. We need help getting back on our feet. If you can help in any way, donate, share, anything, our little family would be so grateful!
We’re also more than open to job leads and apartment leads in the area in case we do have to move. Anything helps.
John and I have always wanted to have children. About three years ago we decided we were ready. Right around the time we made that decision, John was laid off, so we knew we had to wait. After two years of temp jobs, being unemployed, being underemployed, and constantly bouncing from gig to gig, he got what we thought would be a permanent lucrative job, exactly what we needed to start a family. Four days after we found out I was pregnant, he was fired.
I thought there was no way we’d survive another two year job search in this city. We had exhausted our savings and started to sink into debt during the first one. I started making plans to uproot and move out of state to stay with family. To our surprise, six weeks later, he got a part time, but well paying job with good benefits. It wasn’t perfect, but with overtime and some side gigs, we could make it work. Then, with just a few months left til our baby arrived, he was temporarily laid off again because of union negotiations and construction at his hotel. We had no idea how long this would last, and as the weeks until baby’s arrival dwindled, we knew we would get behind on bills, but we had to stay put.
Our baby arrived the morning of April 12th. At birth he was unable to breath, but they were able to get him oxygen and save him. Following that and some issues with his digestive tract, he spent a week in the NICU. We didn’t get to see our sweet boy for the first five hours of his life, and we didn’t get to hold him until the next day.
John’s lay off period ended a few weeks after baby was born, but he returned to work with minimal hours. When we decided to start our family, our income would have gotten us out of debt by the time our little sweetie got here. Instead, we are in the worst financial state we’ve ever been in. On top of that, I’m unable to return to my previous work schedule, as it will not cover the cost of childcare, and now I’m searching for employment.
Between the job gap, the temporary layoff, added insurance costs due to the job loss, and unexpected expenses from the NICU stay, we’ve amassed a small mountain of debt and are a few months behind on rent. We are now facing losing our home.
It’s very hard for me to admit when I need help. If you ask my mama, she’d tell you I’ve always wanted to “do it myself”, but I can no longer afford to be stubborn. We desperately want to stay in the city. It’s been home for ten years. We want to stay in the apartment we brought our baby home from the hospital to just a little longer. A move with a brand new baby is unimaginable for us right now. We need help getting back on our feet. If you can help in any way, donate, share, anything, our little family would be so grateful!
We’re also more than open to job leads and apartment leads in the area in case we do have to move. Anything helps.
Organizer
Heather Gibson
Organizer
New York, NY