Struggling Family in Need

WHO I AM

Hello. My name is Riley. I am an agender queer person. I am the founder and moderator of Project Queer  - a blog dedicated to collecting and posting action alerts, resources, & world news regarding: human rights, politics, intersectionality, art, entertainment, religion, (sub)culture (& more) involving: queer, transgender, & gender non-conforming communities - all in one safe and accessible place. 

I use Project Queer as an outlet to inspire, motivate, and help educate fellow activists - and even those who oppose our movement(s). My goal is to help others who are struggling in whatever way that I can. However, over the past couple months, my family and I have been hit with a lot of bad news and a series of horrible events that now has us struggling quite a bit to get by. And although it is very difficult for me to  ask for help, I must do so now. 

WHO WE ARE

My girlfriend Tara and I have two teenaged kids and three cats. We live in the rural midwest, in a small town.

WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON

I have made a few posts online about my family's past and current situation, which are outlined here:

Tara and I had a lot of unexpected expenditures occur this past March 2016. Her truck died. She had photo shoots cancel - which is her way of making income. Tara now owes over $700 to folks who paid in full already. She owes thousands of dollars to a divorce lawyer from a previous marriage. She owes thousands of dollars in hospital debt from when she was hospitalised and uninsured. Things around our house broke. Work, in general, for both of us has been slow. My car needed tires and belts replaced that cost $400.

In April, my car (currently our only vehicle/mode of transportation where we live) started acting up again badly - to the point where I do not feel safe driving it - especially with our kids in the car. It needs a new alignment and serpentine belt installed. It is way overdue for an oil change.

Our cat companion Deg became horribly ill and needed to be rushed to the vet. (He has a dietary issue which requires presciption food and medication - sometimes even surgery). The vet cost $290 for the visit, prescription, and a bag of his food to last the month. 

Tara's abusive and manipulative ex is refusing to pay child support that he owes for the children and is now more than six months late on payments.

As a result of all this happening, bills are way past due.

We are now starting to get final notices on our bills. Both of our bank accounts were overdrawn by over $150 due to automatic bill payments and overdraft charges. I am now running low on my testosterone prescription, and my doctor is almost two hours away in Chicago. To tide us over, we have resorted to selling stuff in our home, starting a salvage company out of our garage, and making art pieces and furniture to sell. 

To make matters even worse, we were in a car accident (IN OUR ONLY VEHICLE - with brand new tires) at the beginning of July. Our car is totalled, and Tara was hospitalised with severe whiplash, a concussion, and has had multiple tests done to show that she is suffering from neurological damage. She has lost reflexes in her entire left side. My insurance does not cover anything since I only had liability insurance. We now have no transportation and have to find rides to even just get groceries when we can afford to.

My family and I are really in a bind. I do not know what else to do, so I am reaching out to anyone who can help. The hospital bills, doctor bills, prescriptions, and ambulance ride bills are now well over $20,000 - and that does not include the cost of replacing my vehicle.

UPDATE: Tara just had a mini-stroke the other night, and will be having an EEG soon to determine what is going on. She is still suffering a great deal of pain and difficulty moving around. She is still not cleared to work or drive, and has to limit her time around lights - which affects her working from her computer or phone or pursuing her career of photography.

We are trying to raise these funds as soon as possible to not only take care of all of our bills and debt, but also food and other living expenses in the meantime.

All of the help that we have received thus far and are continuing to receive means the world to us. My family and I are eternally grateful knowing that folks are there for us in our time of need. And we cannot express that enough. Thanks to all who are spreading the word about this, giving us words of encouragement, and/or donating to us.

Sincerely,
Riley
Project Queer