Since my second job laid me off, I've been living off of a shoestring budget - well below even $10k/year. I have since tried to expand my first job's hours, applied to additional jobs, and taken on several side hustles, but none have panned out into sustained increases in income. After a little more than two years of being underemployed, I'm now firmly in debt and unable to keep up with monthly bills and rent. Applying to low skill jobs hasn't helped either, and my only living family member with income - my brother - has had to pay for my dad's medical bills and care home after he nearly died from a cluster of strokes. He's well past his own limit and has had to rely on his wife's family just to keep gas in the truck.
I have nowhere else to turn at this point. My roommates are sympathetic and helpful in the day to day, but they're struggling as well with medical issues and bills. Depression has further complicated everything, as my main antidepressants have more or less stopped functioning and the last 13 months have been a consistent slide toward struggling to keep up with everything. It's also increasingly uncertain whether or not I'll be able to continue getting gender affirming health care, and extra funds are the only way I can guarantee that.
So, I'm asking for help. I want to try to make something positive out of this year. I want to finish out my legal name change process while it's still even possible. I want to get additional employment to get back over that $10k/year mark and be able to stay in the black. I need to somehow keep paying rent while the job search continues and I try anything I can to make ends meet. I've been selling off everything I can, but it isn't enough. I want to stay housed this year, but it's going to take help, and I need housing to keep my job.
Thank you for reading, sharing if you do, and anything you contribute if you can.
Organizer
Rye Riane
Organizer
Hillsboro, OR