As hard as it is to admit, I need a hand up

Hi friends… for those that don’t know me, my name is John Doubleday. First I have to say that asking for help has never been my easy for me, just ask anyone that knows me! I prefer to be the one helping. This past year has been incredibly hard for me though, as it has for so many. My 24 year marriage ended just over a year ago. I had only been working part time as most of my time was spent being dad to 5 awesome kids!! So I was starting over with basically nothing. COVID complicated things even more. With no credit or savings and a very competitive market, finding an apartment quickly became impossible. By September, I was homeless. I got by living in a car that I had borrowed with the best little dog anyone could ask for, Ted.

It wasn’t easy, there were a lot of bad days. Many nights feeling lost and alone. There were also good days… I went to work with a smile every day at a place I love, Reeds Ferry Elementary School. As part of that, I continued volunteering for I believe my 6th year on the Reeds Ferry Parent Faculty Association. For the past couple years as the president, a role which at times is challenging but in the end, seeing first hand the things we are able to do for the school makes it so worth it. In November I found a church that I love, Movement Christian Church. Both of these places became my primary support groups, although I don’t think many really knew just how bad things actually were at times. I was getting more time with the kids, which I cherished every moment of!! I started doing Doordash to increase my income while I tried to find a place and a car of my own. Even though I was still having no luck finding a place, things were looking up. In May, I started having car problems though. Everything that could go wrong did… 4 new tires, alignment, gas mileage decreased and strange noises started, battery kept dying, windshield broke… it was a mess! In June, the car died completely leaving me with no place to stay and with school out for summer and no way to do DoorDash, no income… I am currently staying at Southern NH Rescue Mission. My ability to see the kids has been limited, which is so hard… I miss them so much.

I miss Ted, who is currently with my son. Lack of transportation is a major challenge, which is one of the primary reasons that I am giving in and asking for help. I’m working on getting another source of income, if I am unable to get a car soon. Then starting the hunt for a safe place to live where my kids can come to visit and hopefully I can have Ted again. As many of you know, this week I came very close to losing my storage unit, which has what is left of the things I own in it. I know it is just stuff, and I could have let some of it go but there are other things that are irreplaceable, my kids’ Christmas ornaments, photos, the few things I have that were my Gram’s. I was heartbroken… without the generosity of an amazing family, I would have really been starting over from nothing. I am not afraid to admit that I am broken. I still have hope though! I know someday things will be better and even though I can’t see it now, I will be better because of all this. So I am humbly asking for help, please only if you are able. Know that I will pay it forward every chance I get! With thanks, John