Lighten Lyra's Load

My friend Lyra was one of the first people to make me feel welcome when I’d moved to a new city and was just starting to get involved in local activities. Lyra is an amazing, brave, loyal, and loving woman. She’s the first person to step in to help whenever someone needs it, and goes above and beyond what’s asked. For example, she drove to Minneapolis to collect one of her friends who became very sick on a school trip. Another time, she dropped everything she was doing to help another friend who was fleeing from an abusive relationship. When the abuser showed up, Lyra protected her friend and her friend’s son from him – and got him to leave the house. She even fostered the woman’s two cats until she could get settled in a safe place. Lyra’s done all this and much more, despite having been through her own roller coaster of life events in the time that I’ve known her. When she’s able to, she really goes above and beyond to help others, and now she needs our help!

Since 2015, Lyra has experienced a very bad series of events, starting with being eliminated from her then-job. She was close to being homeless until she found another job in 2017, then lost that one in 2018, thanks to the economy. She worked in several short-term positions until landing a dream job in September 2019 and finding the stability that she needed to move forward with her plans. She was finally able to begin saving money towards buying a house, and was looking forward to pursuing a master’s degree. For the first time in years, her life was on track. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

In September 2021, pandemic-related budget cuts at her employer led to Lyra’s job being eliminated. She doesn’t qualify for unemployment due to the kind of employer she worked for, and the CARES Act ended before she was eliminated. Now she’s used all of her savings and is struggling to keep up with her responsibilities. Her apartment building is unsafe due to the behavior of new tenants and their guests. She was in the process of searching for another place to live, but will now be forced to stay put until she gets another job. Her vehicle isn’t equipped for winter weather driving and needs new tires and brakes. With her funds running out, she’s afraid that she’ll ultimately lose her apartment. Lyra also suffers from depression and anxiety and has two emotional support animals; she’s afraid of losing them as well.

Lyra has been without an income for a month. As a recent college graduate, she didn’t anticipate being out of work for this long. She’s actively searching for another position and following up on every lead, but hasn’t had luck in landing one yet. So I’m raising money to ensure she’ll be able to continue paying her rent and other expenses until she can find a solid position and get back on her feet. Lyra needs $4000 to get through January, by which time she will hopefully have found a good job.

Will you please help us meet this financial goal? Can you offer other help, like job postings, especially related to Human Resources or Talent Acquisition? Lyra is also open to doing small jobs like running errands and pet-sitting/dog-walking until she lands a full-time position. Please comment below with any such information or requests. Whatever you can offer will help keep her safe and warm this winter, and will be so very appreciated! And whether or not you’re able to give, please share her story. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!