My name is Joe, and on behalf of my mom, who I am a caregiver for, and my dog Bella, and myself, I am reaching out for help. I care about their well-being more than anything. This is what keeps me up at night. I've always hated asking others for help. Its truly humbling for friends & family to find out just how precarious our situation is, however I will need to swallow my pride and seek help.

Shortly after COVID, I developed severe lower back issues, forcing me to use a cane at 43. I can barely stand without it. My physical problems combined with caring for my mom --who is in medical distress, often in and out of the hospital-- around the clock, I haven’t been able to replace my income since losing my online job in December 2023. My savings and investments are depleted, and for the first time in my life, I can’t afford rent. I’m working on short-term solutions to stabilize us, but I need time to make them happen.

My mom relies on an oxygen machine 24/7 and has painful open wounds on her legs due to diabetes, making walking excruciating & nearly impossible without my help. I’m with her around the clock. We’re now facing homelessness with no backups or safety net, and she wouldn’t survive outside of a home without access to oxygen and medical supplies.

After my job loss, I wasn’t too worried at first. I had savings, assets, a 750 credit score, and business plans to fall back on. My back issues were minor then, and I supplemented my income by reselling auction goods on weekends. But my condition has worsened, stopping my side gigs and any work to keep us afloat, and my business plans didn’t pan out. We planned to sell my late grandparents’ home, which needed major repairs. I spent nearly $10,000 maintaining the property before the interior burned out on my mom’s birthday last year. It occurred due to homeless individuals breaking in and starting a fire—a devastating blow.

Recently, my van, which I considered selling to help us, was broken into, leaving a $500 deductible to fix it.

I’ve never been one to ask for help unless it was an emergency situation. I can think of a few situations throughout my life where good friends helped in one way or another when times got rough. I believe in doing things for myself and my family, however this current situation has left me with few options, so I must reach out to family & friends once again.

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My initial goal is to raise enough funds to cover 2 months rent ($2400) to give me time to sort out our short-term problems and get back to a stable situation. My hope is to raise additional funds, enough to also cover the $500 deductible to get my van serviced through my insurance after it was broken into, as well some food costs, and enough to keep the electricity on. That would be a baseline I can rebuild from.