Hi - My name is Julie, and here’s my situation…

My computer was stolen in front of me in a “smash and grab” from the car I was using to get to and from a job interview, a few minutes after 9 pm last Thursday, March 16.

I had put the computer bag in the back of the car a couple of minutes earlier, and was getting ready to get in and head home. I heard the vroom of tbeir car pull up behind mine, and watched and screamed from behind it as the driver smashed the back window, reached in and pulled out the bag. His passenger took it and put it in the passenger’s area. They must have been watching when I put it in the car. It happened very quickly. They were in a gray two-door BMW (that, I learned from an officer in the burglary department of Oakland, Ca. police department, has been involved in many of these).

I called 911 immediately after it happened.. A witness took the phone and gave the dispatcher a description of the car and model, as well as the license plate number I’d screamed out before the car left.

I was on the last leg of the return trip after the job interview, after having stopped to have dinner at a friend’s home on the way home.

Car insurance doesn’t cover this loss. I don’t have renter’s insurance; this is the first time since 1975 that I would have even had occasion to use renter’s insurance.

The computer was pretty new for me, a warranty replacement I received in November 2022. It’s got (had) well over 40 boxes of scanned paper / data that took me a decade and a half to finish, music, scanned and digital books, and loads of other info that’s important to me. I use it for personal, business, and educational purposes, including job searches and credentialing continuing ed courses. At least it was backed up.

Currently I am not working, due to a work-related injury that occurred on a temporary job I took during the pandemic, rather than beginning a new business in this area where I’d moved shortly before lockdown. The injuries involve my upper body from the neck and shoulders to the fingers. I’ve been on leave since May 2021 when, concurrently, I had an exhausting bout of Covid. Recovery from both has involved a lot of rest, avoiding activities that caused the injuries, and physical therapy. That in itself has caused inordinate financial strain.

My living situation compounds everything already described. Three of my four random housemates - we were put together by the property management - are toxic. Multiple times, two of them have threatened me physically from a few feet away, and the third one blasts her tv day and night. My stress levels have been high during over two years of these housemates. Due to exhaustion from Covid (twice) and the financial fallout of my injuries from that temporary job during the pandemic, moving hadn’t been possible. But I’ve been working very hard to get an appropriate work situation so I can haul my fantastic cat and myself out of here.

My computer has absolutely been a lifeline for creating a new life.

Currently I am not in a position to buy another computer. But my initial week of shock and paralysis has settled, and I realize I actually need a new one desperately in order to continue moving forward.

So even though asking and explaining my situation is very embarrassing for me, here I am starting a gofundme contributions page. I’m hoping that with support of my broad community, I can replace my stolen computer quickly, and get back to job searches and revamping my life, with the assistance of a device with a larger screen than an older, moody smartphone. I usually do these things on my computer every day: Job searches; organize my files; scan more to reduce paper so there’s less for me to move, find, and unpack in the next place; update spreadsheets when appropriate; look up info I need to know or use with a device with a larger screen that by virtue of its size doesn’t cause strain to my eyes. Then there’s what fills my heart - listening to my music; occasionally watching movies; reading books that are backlit; connecting with community; checking the news, and so much more. I don’t have (or want) a tv. I use my computer.

I’m getting ready to start working again. In my current situation without a computer, it’s going to be really hard to change my work and living situations. Everything including my resume is in the computer and backup.