Marfia Family in Need of Help

After everything we went through last time, I promised myself I wouldn’t have to ask for help like this again. I was determined to find a way to support my family on my own—and for a while, it seemed like things were finally turning around. I landed a job with an amazing progressive firm and worked through the season until November. But when the off-season hit, things started to unravel.

Our entire tax return was taken by the federal government due to an old filing error in Jazmin’s past. On top of that, I’d already used up my unemployment benefits during my previous job search, which left me without any kind of safety net until I was able to reapply two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, work in the progressive sector has slowed dramatically due to the current political climate, and I’ve been job-hunting nonstop since last year—filling out close to a thousand applications. But responses have been few and far between, maybe 5–10% at best. It's the toughest job market I’ve seen in nearly 30 years.

On top of all that, Jazmin’s health has taken a frightening turn. She’s been mostly bedridden since her difficult pregnancy with Damien nearly five years ago, and despite fighting for disability support, she’s been denied again and again. Now, she’s started having daily seizures and even suffered a stroke recently. She’s been in and out of the hospital, and the earliest MRI appointment they could schedule isn’t for over a month. Every day we wait feels like a gamble. I’m honestly terrified we may not have that long.

With me being the sole provider, and now without a car, things have only gotten harder. We’ve sold what little we had of value—our car—to buy some time. Friends and family have helped us stay afloat this long with incredible generosity, but now we’re facing a deadline we can’t outrun. Our lease is up on June 26th, but we’ll be evicted by June 1st if we can’t come up with $2,400. We’ve come close to eviction before, but this time there’s nothing left to sell, and no work lined up.

Our only hope right now is to get back to Michigan—where the cost of living is lower, where we have family who can help with Jazmin and the kids, and where I might have a better chance of finding stable work. We don’t have housing lined up yet or a guaranteed job waiting, but we do have a support system that won’t let our children end up on the street.

If we can raise enough, here’s what the funds would go toward in order:

1. Getting the four of us (and our cat) to Michigan as cheaply as possible—currently, flights are surprisingly the most affordable.

2. Putting our few remaining belongings in low-cost storage so we don’t lose everything.

3. Paying off the final two months’ rent to avoid an eviction on our record, which would make it nearly impossible to find housing again.

We’re not looking for handouts—we’re just trying to survive and rebuild. If you know of any job openings—especially remote work or something in the Grand Rapids, MI area—I would be incredibly grateful for a referral. I’m looking for something at $25/hour or higher so I can support my family without losing our newly reinstated unemployment benefits.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Even just sharing helps more than you know.