Help me start a new life of purpose

Hi, my name is Amina and I'm fundraising for foundational support for myself. I've gone through a decade of silent battles and although they've shaped me into a better person, it has been a bit more difficult to restore my financial security than I expected. The good news is that as of March 27th, I'm once again employed but cannot maintain until my first paycheck which is due over a week from now.

I want to apologize to any and everyone I've hurt during my time of struggle, especially while I was engaged in substance abuse. I'm proud to say I've found my freedom from the chains of addiction and I'm on the path to create a new life for myself. One of the things I dream of most is to tell my story to others and help unleash people from the same demons that I wrestled with.

Many of my local friends and loving family members know about a tragic point in my life. When I was 17, I got into a car accident that left the other driver deceased. This was something that took years for me to recover from mentally, and I'm still journeying with mild PTSD to this day. I always think about The Portillo family and their loss. I had to learn to forgive myself as they had forgiven me.

Early on, I didn't cope well with the aftermath of this accident. I received some negative messages about it, and I sunk into a depression. My father received his Non-hodgkins lymphoma diagnosis around the very same week, and my parents were in the midst of divorce. I was ultimately crushed by the news and went off to college on a downward spiral.

I tried drugs while I was in attendance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a result I withdrew from school, I fell victim to an emotionally and physically abusive relationship for some years that had me in an out of the state and I didn't find full freedom from that until one day I realized more of my worth.

I've struggled with this concept of self-worth for all my life. Insecurity and trauma had affected my well-being and that's when I found myself on an even harder path of drug abuse, particularly when my father passed away in 2022. I felt like once I lost my father I no longer had a purpose and this mindset led me to lose everything in 2023. I ended up sleeping in my car until I'd even lost that.

I really trust that God is looking out for me because even when I was walking up and down the roads of Durham & Wake County and sleeping from pillow to post, he lead me on a path to recovery and found me a safe place to start building again. I'm so happy to be employed once again, and I cannot wait to start working.

I want to send a message out through my future endeavors that inspires and motivates others to change because with God all things are possible and we are more capable than we may know.

I'm humbly coming to you via GoFundMe because there are some personal essential items that I need in order to be ready for my first day of work. I've set the goal at $200. That should really be enough for me.

I want to thank you kindly for taking the time to read a little about me, and I hope that you can find it in your heart to donate whatever you can to help move things along for me.

Peace, love and blessings,

Amina B.