My name is Chad and my friend Hope is in a dire situation. She is single, totally disabled due to a spinal injury that requires an implant so she can get through the day. She gets minimal income and tries hard to find small jobs when she can, but it's not enough to dig herself out of a hole that wasn't her fault.

She has two kids living there full-time and one that splits time at home and at school. Her ex-boyfriend of 24 years walked out with a woman 30 years younger and provides almost no help for his kids. They were never married, so she receives no support of her own, and courts weren't properly involved to garnish wages for child support.

Her ex's irresponsibility resulted in an electric/gas balance over $9,000. She had a hardship payment plan in place, but he defaulted twice (he was supposed to maintain that bill so the kids could have power). Her payment was late by a few days because the Easter holiday delayed her deposit and payment. Central Hudson will not budge in trying to negotiate some way for her to keep power and gas in the house she rents.

She is reaching out to all charities and government assistance, but between budget cuts and bureaucracy, there's no way to gather enough money, and she will lose everything by April 30th unless she comes up with the entire past due balance. School is ending, so she will then have three children full-time, but they will all be scattered, and she will have no place to live if this happens. This is a last-ditch desperation attempt at not losing utilities and losing her home.