One Last Ask to Get Me Through This Tough Month

Update for 9/3/2022: The other day, my mother surprised me by picking me up to take me to an optometrist to get my eyes examined and get a fresh set of glasses. I couldn't afford an optometrist visit in years, and my previous glasses were over a decade old. They were hazy, fogged up, scratched, bloomed, yellowing, and the visibility through them was horrible, so I've not been wearing them for the last few months. That changed last week, and now I can see again.

And that wasn't all. When we pulled up to my apartment, she asked me how things were going. I told her I'd applied for a few dozen positions, and the ones that decided to call back for an interview were taking their sweet time to get back to me post-interview to determine if I was the one for the job. I told her I'd put out a GoFundMe and, up to that point in time, made $300, but I was days away from being evicted. She told me, "You don't have to ask me; I'll pay for your September rent because I don't want any of my children to be homeless." I had no intention of asking my parents for help because I knew they had bought new houses in the last couple of years and they had no money to spare, but my mom really stuck her neck out for me this one time to give me some breathing room and more time to find a job. In reflection of this, I have lowered my initial ask by several hundred dollars.

Because while my mother's generosity that takes care of the September rent, and I have 30 more days to find a job, what I'm sorely in need of now is the security of my Internet, electricity, gas for my car, and food, all of which are close to being shut off/depeleted. Without these things, I won't have the necessary resources to keep looking for work. I am desperately trying to get a job and have put out nearly 100 applications to get something going, but this waiting game consists of too much waiting. If I can't get anything by October, I'll have no choice but to face the music because I can't keep begging for the kindness of strangers. But if you're able to help me pay for my necessary bills this month, it's the last possible thing I can ask of you.

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One week ago today, I was let go from my job after eight years following an intense argument with my supervisor. I'd been employed for eight years and dealt with a lot of unnecessary ridiculousness during that period, including having co-workers who physically threatened me be allowed to keep their jobs and a former manager mocking me for leaving early due to a panic attack.

Unfortunately, this also happened about three weeks before the rent is due on my apartment. I've since applied to several jobs, but many haven't gotten back to me, and two of them were initially very keen on hiring me but are going through the hiring process at their speed. Even if I were hired at this point, I wouldn't make enough money in time for a paycheck that would afford my rent, and I have two weeks to scrounge up the money to keep a roof over my head.

The initial goal of my fundraising is $1800 to help pay for the rent and the bills I'm falling behind on now; that will give me one solid month to find employment because things are moving very slowly. I'm also attempting to find work as a delivery driver for Uber Eats and DoorDash in the interim, if only to ensure I can get some form of income until I find a more stable job.