Oh, where do I start?
This is my Beautiful family.



This picture was taken a few months ago, before everything happened. I look at this picture sometimes. It helps me to remember why I do everything I do. My husband and I have two beautiful children. Our son Omid is 8 years old, he's high-functioning autistic.

We also have a  daughter Aisling, who turned 18 this July.  In June of this year she tried to kill herself. I had no idea.... I got a call from St. Mary's in San Francisco, I was at work. It was like being hit by a truck. It took the wind out of me. It shook me to my core. There aren't words enough to describe this feeling.
When my daughter was a child she was sexually assaulted. By someone she was supposed to trust.  She has severe PTSD, and chronic depression. She has terrifying hallucinations.

This photo was taken in October.

I saved for a month to be able to afford that gingerbread kit. They had so much fun putting it together. October was the last month we could afford our rent.

I've had to take upaid time off work to be home with her. She's making great strides, but she can't be left alone. She has a ways to go, but such progress, in such a short time!
We've burned through what little savings we've had and fallen into debt. Our family has helped more than they could....

I tried going to social services, appparently we don't "qualify." As "both parents are in the home, and my husband works more than 25 hours a week."

We are in lower middle class hell....like so many other people.

We can't afford my daughter's medications anymore.
We can't afford the co-pays. 
I've been having them bill me.
She's running out of her meds. 

This is my son's face when we moved in.



He loves it here, his school, his friends.

We are currently being evicted. We couldn't pay our rent for November and December is due next week. We'll have to be out by the 10th of December if we can't come up with the money..

My children will be homeless for the holidays...nevermind any presents.

I need to be able to put a roof over my kids heads for the winter. Motherhood is not a paid position.
$5,000.  it will cover November's rent as well as Decmber's.  It will also allow us to pay some bills and get some groceries and fuel.

Hopefully my husband will get that job he just interviewed for,  it is a much better paid position than his current one.
I can not pin all my hopes on that though. I have been, and I will continue to look for a position I can work from home, so I may continue caring for my children. 
All I ask is that.
I have always tried to help those less fortunate than myself, sometimes to my own peril.
Now, I am the one who needs help. 
For my children.

I am at the end of my rope.
All we need is a little more time.

 If we can get through this, I can go back to school to finish my degree, my daughter can start college, she can get well, my husband can get a good nights sleep, and my little boy won't have to move away from his friends.

We only have a few days.

I've never done anything like this.
I have no one else to turn to...

Over the years since my daughter's assault we have been so busy trying to keep things going, we fell out of contact with our friends. We don't know who to trust anymore.

My little boy told me yesterday that all he wanted for a present this year is for me to smile.
I asked him what he meant.
He said I was allways so worried about him.
He said he's going to be an engineer and take care of me when he grows up...

I just want to take care of them.