Hello family, friends and possibly new friends that I genuinely care for. As a man and father, this is the hardest thing in the world to do.  I never thought my life would ever take me down this road and put me in a position of having to ask others for help, but with mouths to feed I have to do whatever I can for my children, Sara (11) and James (7).     I have exhausted every resource, and I don't know what else to do. For those of you that don’t know me personally, I'm a single father and a Class A truck driver by trade. The events that led up to me becoming a single father was a long heartbreaking situation that ultimately ended with the tragic accidental death of my children’s mother, Leslie.  The last few years she battled with addiction and mental illness. This was especially hard being on the road for days, not knowing if my children are safe.  In the summer of 2013, I made the decision to take the kids and separate.  Hoping the time apart would give her time to sort out her addiction and get the care she needed.  Unfortunately, her life was tragically cut short when she was struck and killed by a drunk driver.  Now, there will never be an opportunity for her to be a mother to our children.          I have been driving professionally for 19 years as a Class A truck driver. Most of my career has been on the road. That is how I used to support my family comfortably.  Now, being a single dad I'm limited to local work and available hours. It's extremely hard to balance work / home schedule with school-aged children and no immediate family at my disposal to step in. The trucking industry wants you to start 2 to 5 a.m. and work 12 to 14 hours a day. It's hard to find childcare during odd hours and when you do find someone willing to be up at 2:00 am with your child, it is simply not cost permitting. It’s been very difficult landing a good job locally. My last job just laid me off the Monday after Thanksgiving because the company could not make payroll.  After the layoff, I thought I would be able to find something again quickly, but things didn't go as I had hoped. The holidays are a bad time of year to be unemployed. Everyday, I sent out applications only to get a few calls back. Two of them are good leads, but I have yet to be hired by anyone as of yet and I’m down to the 11th hour before my children and I are out on the streets.          I have stretched out the money and food as far as I can. I have tried going to others before coming here. Including the state. We are down to $50 and maybe 2 days of food. I am very afraid of what's to come. If it were just me without children, I wouldn't be here asking for help. But here I am swallowing my pride and asking my family, friends and sympathetic readers for help with anything they can afford to get us through this difficult time.    Thank you so much, all of you, for reading and understanding that sometimes life throws you a curveball.         Love you all,   John