After many, many years of struggling here, I am on the verge of making aliyah to Israel if I can keep my head above water while I am finishing the required paperwork and making necessary arrangements.

I have struggled after being divorced from an abuser (the police dropped the ball) and being left with no support (he threatened me and I was scared but had no way to prove the threat), and even with education and experience it has been difficult to find long-term, stable work in this location.

This is an area people move away from due to lack of opportunity.

I recently spent 2-1/2 months in Israel at a friend’s house, and I knew I had come “home.”

While I was there, I made the decision to start the aliyah (relocation) process and I came back to the U.S. to no job, and nowhere to live, and to work on the massive amount of required paperwork.

I have not been able to find work, even in retail (and who wants to hire someone who is leaving?) and have been staying in an “extended stay” hotel because I have not been able to find another legitimate location that is clean and safe.

I have looked and looked, and other places were not clean, or safe, especially for a woman. In fact, they were really scary.

I am running on fumes and have been for quite a while.

I’d already donated what was left of my furniture (after my storage unit was broken into) and I have sold anything of value, but I have nothing left to sell and soon will not be able to keep this roof over my head.

My car is almost 40 years old (my ex wanted a BMW, not to update my car), my savings are nearly gone, and my credit card is nearly full. There is no space in homeless shelters, and they are dangerous.

I am truly, truly worried.

Jewish Family Services has helped as much as they can but they are very small and have very few resources. They can corroborate my situation, if needed.

Any contribution is greatly appreciated so I can stay in this little room. I truly fear having to live in my tiny, 1987 Nissan Pulsar hatchback (yes, 1987) and then having no money to bring with me to Israel to tide me over until I find work.

There are some possibilities there, but I need to meet with people face-to-face.

I would be so grateful for any help to keep this roof over my head while I am still in the U.S. (I do not yet have a departure date, but I am eager to go) and anything remaining will come with me to Israel to keep my head above water there as I look for work, find a place to live, and restart my life.

I would be so thrilled to be able to realize this dream, but I am scared that I will not make it that far if I can’t keep a roof over my head and have no money left to make the move.

Please, if you can help me realize this dream of making aliyah and restarting my life after struggling for many years, I would be so grateful.

In Israel I feel like I am finally alive. You are welcome to come and visit this wonderful place!

When I stepped off the plane, I came alive. When I stepped into the Mediterranean for the first time, I came alive. When I saw the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) after so many years, and actually went IN the water, I came alive. When I looked across the Kinneret at Jordan, which Israel has had a peace treaty with for 30 years…. when I looked out of the window of my room at the sunrise at my friend’s house…. when I looked at the fruit trees in her yard….. when I looked down from the hills over Tiberias to the Kinneret…. when I saw the Old City of Jerusalem, again, and a small street in Tel Aviv, again, after so many years, my first falafel, a pet shop in Tel Aviv, and even as I struggled to learn the bus system, I came alive and I knew I was “home.”

$18, $36, three times chai, four times chai, more, or less, any donation, big or small, means the world and will help me keep a roof over my head while I finish the required paperwork here, and make arrangements to go, and restart my life in Israel.

Please, donate today, and share this link with others.

Thank you so much for your support and generosity.

It truly means the world.

Mindy