My name is Matthew Malecki. I've spent my life doing and being many things. The stress of finding a job, applying/waiting for disability, raising 2 teenagers, staying sober, and the separation from my wife has become unbearable. I'm asking for your help in paying some bills and essentials so my children and myself have a safe and stable environment to live in. While my wife and I sort things out.

11 years ago I met my wife and fell madly in love. We got married, I adopted both of her kids and began my life as a family man- a husband and a father. This was new to me and it felt right, it felt good. Up until this point I had never been very stable or stayed in one place for very long. I had no education past high school, no car, and no job. I had just moved back home to the small town I grew up in to start a new life. I got a job as a painter and worked as many hours as possible to support my new family. Life seemed to be perfect.

This is where it gets painful and more difficult to continue. I struggled with alcohol and drug addictions most of my life. After severely breaking my ankle with multiple surgeries spanning several years, I was fully addicted to opioids. My loving wife stuck by my side as everything took a turn for the worse. By the time I went and got the help I needed, that beautiful and magical love that brought us together had been damaged. Fast forward three years to today and that relationship is now damaged beyond repair. We've decided that it's best if we go our separate ways.

If you know me, I hate to ask this, but I need your help paying my bills for a couple of months. In 2020, our whole family got Covid and I never fully recovered. After years of doctor visits and blood tests, I've been diagnosed with Long Covid. The physical and mental struggles from Long Covid, along with my broken ankle, make it impossible for me to work meaningful hours. I have a strong disability case being reviewed by the state, backed by both my doctor and the therapist I've been seeing for over 2 years now. But even if my disability case gets approved, they will still withhold payments for 6 months after the approval date. In the meantime, I continue searching for jobs that can accommodate my physical and mental limitations, along with my transportation needs and kids’ schedules.

With no job, the bus as my only transportation, and no immediate place for me to live that’s close to our kids, the best option we agreed to is for me to stay in our house with the kids while she navigates her own place to live. We’ve tried several options and know this is the best for the kids and our relationship. I'm asking for your love, compassion, and donations as an urgent and short-term solution to my immediate problem. I'm utilizing local social services and recently completed some courses working towards being a peer recovery coach. My goal is to find a way to help others who find themselves struggling with a substance abuse disorder.

My monthly bills: $1170

Benzie Bus passes- $70

Mortgage/insurance- $650

Phone- $50

Internet- $100

Electric- $150

Essentials- $150

Any donations are welcomed and appreciated. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or other ways to lend a hand (maleckim22 at gmail.com). All I'm trying to do is get through this transition in life without losing everything I love. I hope to come out of this in a solid position and be able to help others who may need help. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. If you can't donate, please consider sharing my story. For me, just reading someone else's story brings me courage, courage to reach out and ask for help. We all need help and a friend at some point in our lives. I need it more than ever now.