My name is Aaliyah. I’m 24, and I’m asking for help for one of the first times in my life.

I grew up in foster care — never adopted, not because I wasn’t worthy, but because my birth mother was sick and couldn’t care for me. She passed away four years ago. Losing her was debilitating in a way that’s hard to put into words. I had no parent to call, no shoulder to cry on. I had no choice but to push forward anyway. So I did.

I aged out of the system at 21 with no familial safety net, no co-signer, no fallback. Everything I’ve built, I built alone.

I earned a scholarship to Chapman University out of high school, moved across the country alone, and got to work. For the past three years I’ve built a career in politics and public service — work I believe in, work that matters. I worked with the Democratic National Committee on the 2024 presidential campaign. I moved to Virginia and worked with Abigail Spanberger and the Democratic Party of Virginia in 2025. Most recently I was a Field Organizer on a Virginia congressional campaign for Hugh Murray — canvassing communities, mobilizing voters, doing the ground-level work that campaigns run on. I was proud of that work and proud of the candidate I got to work for. Campaigns are unpredictable, and the decision to end the race was one I completely understand — politics is hard, and I have no hard feelings whatsoever. Hugh gave me an opportunity I’m grateful for. But when a campaign ends, it ends — and for field staff, that means the job ends with it, often without much runway.

I had a backup plan. For two months I was deep in a hiring process for another role — two rounds of final interviews, consistent communication, real momentum. I did everything right. At the end of it I was told they decided to move forward with another candidate. That door closed the same moment the campaign did.

I was left with nothing lined up. And the clock was already ticking.

Here is exactly where I stand right now:

My lease ends July 25th. I am already $2,000 behind, with $3,400 still owed between now and move-out (June & July rent). I have applied to over 300 jobs. I have interviews, but no offer letter, no start date, no certainty.

And every single day in between looks like this:

• I eat one meal a day because I cannot afford more

• I have no health insurance. I can’t afford my asthma inhaler or my hormone replacement therapy — even with GoodRx. I also have a ruptured silicone breast implant that requires surgical replacement. This is not cosmetic. It carries real health risks that worsen the longer it goes unaddressed, and I have had to defer it indefinitely because the cost is completely out of reach without insurance

• My car payment is overdue & pending repossession, but without my car I cannot get to interviews or work. My back bumper is held together with tape that I replace daily because I cannot afford the repair

• When I move, I will face an increased security deposit due to poor credit and a prior eviction that was outside of my control — with no co-signer to help me qualify

I am not sharing this for sympathy. I am sharing it because it is true, because I have exhausted every other option, and because July 25th does not move.

What I need — and why it has to be now:

I don’t have the luxury of a slow fundraiser. Every week that passes without stable income is another week I fall further behind on rent, go without medication, and get closer to a move I can’t afford with nowhere secured to go.

I am not asking for a handout. I am asking for a bridge — from where I am to where I know I am capable of going. I have the work ethic, the experience, and the drive. What I have never had is a safety net. Just this once, I’m asking you to be that.

$5 buys me a meal. $25 contributes to keeping my phone on. $100 is a week of gas to get to interviews. Every single dollar has a direct place to go.

If you cannot donate, sharing this costs nothing and means everything.

Thank you for seeing me.

— Aaliyah