Hello All,

I have had no other choice but to set this up since I have been dealing with a serious financial setback, and I do not have family (outside of my mother) or anyone else to ask for help.

My issue is that I am behind $5,000 in rent, and I am close to facing legal action from my building, which I am desperate to avoid.

I have held my position as Senior Writer at American Songwriter since 2019, which has been my main source of income since then, in addition to other publications and projects as a freelancer, but several things eventually caught up to me.

Most of you know that I have been living in the East Village apartment since 2012, which I also shared with my late husband, and have managed to survive on my own fine here all these years. Unfortunately, the past two or so years have been particularly difficult, between being the only caretaker for my mother, who has had multiple surgeries since 2022, and keeping up with my work responsibilities, monthly bills, etc.

As other expenses popped up along the way, I found myself a few months behind on rent. My landlord has been patient for months while I tried to figure something out—until now. I have a deadline to pay coming up soon, and I want to avoid further legal or other action if possible.

I've asked other friends individually, which has helped to shave a bit off the amount I initially owed, and I am immensely grateful for their help. I've also taken on extra work, sold things, and even tried to dip into my 401 (k) and pension, which I'm unable to touch at this time.

It's very difficult to have to write this, but I don't have family outside of mom, and I honestly do not know what else to do to get out of this mess. I did not want to do this or ask others, or even let anyone know I was in this situation. I know I will get out of it, but at the moment, it is a heavy burden I've been carrying for quite some time now.

I do know everyone has their own expenses these days, and things are just insane in so many respects, but I just wanted to give this a shot and reach out in case anyone could help a bit.

Though I have set up a GoFundMe, which is fairly public, I am personally only sending this to a group of people I know and trust, and want to try to keep this somewhat confidential. I decided not to spread this around Facebook or other social media or email, since there are specific work and other colleagues, acquaintances, and others who do not need to know about this personal situation.

Obviously, I need my home because I also have nowhere else to go at this point, but time is running out for me. If anyone can help with anything, I would appreciate it and plan to pay everything back once I get back on my feet. I do have some exciting things at work. Unfortunately, they just haven't kicked in yet to help me get out of this financial setback.

Thank you for reading. I also appreciate your time, and I apologize for the long message.

Tina

*PHOTO: My mom and I from a few years back, before her medical issues began to creep up.