Support John's Family Care Mission

My name is John Goddard and I am raising funds to cover expenses while caring for a family member.

Around mid-May 2024 I abruptly gave notice to my very gracious and understanding employers at Classic Foods and Haymaker in Portland, Oregon, and terminated the lease on my apartment. I sold and gave away anything I couldn't carry, including instruments, media gear and my car, which wouldn't make the cross-country trip. I then went by train to my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri to assist my family with daily care and household management for a relative experiencing health challenges.

Other than taking care of a house and a relative, I have not worked since.

Before leaving sweet Portland I'd resolved to immediately find and secure remote employment when I arrived in Missouri. Things got chaotic and they've stayed that way. My mission funds are depleted, bills and fees are mounting, and I'm in free fall. That's exciting from one perspective, I suppose.

"Wow, ain't life wild?"

But I'd feel better respecting my creditors' needs, and they'll feel better about it too. I want them to be happy, not complain about me when I look for my next place to live.

Those of you who know me know that this is not a situation I would let myself get into if I had a choice, and if it was within my power to avoid. This journey was a non-negotiable necessity. The nature of the situation required someone to physically show up, stay put, and keep things moving in a healthy direction. I decided to be that person. And now, here I am, driving, cooking, cleaning, maintaining a not-small household and preparing it for sale, and whatever else pops up. Things pop up frequently.

We are ineligible for federal support programs for situations like this due to the type of health insurance policy in effect.

My employment search continues in a very fractured way, and I have independent media and book projects that will eventually generate a little income once they're completed and released. I have some experience with that sort of thing, but completing and releasing things under the current conditions seems pretty far off. I had hoped to have the first draft of my next book completed by the end of July, and now I'm having a nice little laugh at that projection.

For now I am completely at the mercy of the wind, paddling and kicking hard in all directions at once, and hoping for charitable intervention to keep my own needs and obligations met while devoting my energy to someone else's.

Please know that it is very difficult for me to make this request of my world. Yes, we all need other people sometimes, and there's no shame in asking for help, but this still hurts. I'm a contributor, not an extractor. I do what I can to somehow pay things forward and back, every day. It's part of who I think I should be, and I'm pretty sure it's why I'm here in the first place.

I want to wish peace and relief to those of you who are, or have been in my position. Family relationships may be tested and the emotional impacts may echo into your future while the past haunts you, but peace will return to you. You will be whole again.

I may not know you, but you are valued, appreciated and respected by me, because you are helping. Your presence alone eases difficulty and suffering, and that makes a very real difference in the world.

I thank you for hearing my story, for sharing my voice in your circles, and for any assistance you can afford to share. I'll check in with updates here when time allows.

Warmly and hopefully,

John