Help the Rays Get Back on Their Feet

If you’re friends with Ashley, you already know how wonderful she is, but if not, let me share with you a little bit about her. She freely gives her time and resources – especially when it comes to antiracism and equity work. Her peers and fellow activists will tell you that she is a fierce leader and advocate for marginalized people, but that she also knows when to step back and help amplify those voices. She and her husband, Vincent, who is also a mentor and coach, have three kids: Kori, a freshman in college, Bennett, a high school senior, and Rian, who is in elementary school. Through a very stressful time, the family has done their best, but they need some help. About a year ago, Ashley’s previous employer unexpectedly reorganized, and she lost her job. Vincent remained employed full-time and Ashley was able to find part-time work while looking for another job with benefits, but that work wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the loss of her full-time income. Fortunately, Ashley was able to find a full-time position about 4 months ago, but she is making significantly less than she did in her previous position. With being out of full-time work for 8 months, Ashley and her family fell behind on rent and were assessed late fees, which further added to the amount they owe. They have paid toward this debt every month, but they have not been able to get completely caught up. Their rental company just told them that they will be served with an eviction notice unless they can pay the balance within the next week. Even though Ashley is making less than she did at her old job, she knows that her income will be increasing as she advances in her new job and because she and Vincent are looking for additional part-time work. They are confident they are going to be able to handle their future expenses, including rent, as long as they can get their current rent debt paid off. Ashley also knows that if they are evicted, it will not only be extremely difficult to find a new place to rent, but moving expenses will put them even further in the hole. They have looked into loans to get them through this time, but none of those have worked out. What they need right now is stability so they can finish getting back on their feet. Until then, we want to help alleviate their stress and give them as much financial support as we can. - Friends of the Ray Family