My husband and I have always tried to be self-sufficient, but this year has tested us in ways we never expected. In July, my husband lost his job, and we relied on our emergency funds while we both searched for new opportunities. The job market was tougher than we imagined, and the search stretched on for months, so our emergency funds started to run out. On top of that, I had to receive emergency gallbladder surgery in late August which set us back even more. After some time, I was finally able to start a new job in November, and my husband was finally hired around the same time as well—but his new job is at a restaurant that still hasn’t opened, with the opening date pushed back again and again.

On top of our jobs, we own a yoga studio that we opened to be a beacon of hope for our community. While it brings us joy to support others, it does not provide us with any income, and we continued to pour our hearts into it despite our own struggles. That is starting to become an overwhelming struggle itself.

During this time, we’ve fallen behind on our rent and basic bills. We’ve maxed out our credit cards just trying to keep the lights on and food on the table. We’ve even had to sell our few luxury items, our wedding bands, and now we have started selling our furniture and other household items just to get by. We are doing everything we can, but right now, we are truly struggling to stay afloat.

We are asking for help to catch up on our rent and pay our major utility bills—things like internet, phone, water, and electricity. We just need a leg up to get back on our feet. Asking for help is not easy for us, but we are at our wits’ end. Thank you so much for reading our story and for any support you can give. Your kindness means more than we can say.