Need Help Staying Afloat and Car Repair

For the past 3 years I have been house/pet sitting full-time on top of my teaching career of 7 years. I did these house sits mostly without pay, as I saw it more as a trade situation, where I could offer something valuable in exchange for a place to stay, rent free. I started doing this just after my Dad passed because I was in serious need of something life altering (aside from the grief I was already working through), so this was a brilliant way for me to save up so I could travel on my teacher’s wage. And it was working so well! I travelled to Vietnam, I purchased a reliable car for the first time in my life and built up good credit, which was a brand new experience. I, for once, felt like I was truly in control of my life and happy, and I did it all on my own. If you know me, you know that, even though these things may seem small, for me they were pretty significant. 

But then COVID hit. I had recently been digging for answers and running lab tests on some new health concerns that I later found out places me in the high risk category. So when the school where I teach reopened, there were no opportunities for remote work so I could stay safe and still make money, and that meant I had no other choice but unemployment. Thanks to a proclamation from the governor for high risk employees, my school is required to offer my job back once it’s safe to return, but that could be a while. 

Because of some confusion around my separation from work, there are two unresolved issues with my unemployment claim since June, and I now haven’t received a payment in 6 weeks due to an update in the type of benefits I’ll be receiving. And the payments were so minimal to begin with that I was already barely making it by on my weekly claims. It is impossible to get a hold of anyone at ESD who knows what to say besides, “you’ll just have to wait.” So now I am completely on the verge of losing everything. Since I didn’t have an actual address when COVID hit, and since barely anyone is traveling, I’ve had to be creative about where to stay, some nights Airbnbs, some nights with friends, some in my car. Unemployment has wiped out my savings and I’m $100 away from maxing out all my credit. Luckily I have wonderful friends who are offering their homes for me to stay in, so I think I’ll be okay with having warm beds through the winter, but I really don’t want to lose all that I have worked so hard to acquire and I would love to be able to eat without depending on the people who I stay with.

Here are the things I’ve got going on:
• Since I don’t pay rent and since I technically am supposed to be bringing in a weekly payment, I don’t qualify for EBT. 

• My car payment is coming up on the 20th and I’ve requested an extension with BECU, but they said they are so backed up that they may not get to it in time.

• My cell phone bill is due now

• My storage rent is due at the end of the month.

• My car insurance is also due soon.

• Also, someone broke my car window a few weeks ago and I still need to get that repaired. I’m going in for a quote soon. 

These things are seriously my lifeline, since I don’t have an actual home and I don’t know what I will do if I lose one of them. 

I know things are very tight for a lot of people, so it feels very surreal and vulnerable to be reaching out like this, but I had to listen to my friends who reminded me that I shouldn’t feel ashamed of my situation and I also shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, even if it opens up some old childhood wounds.

Thanks for considering. Sending so much love no matter what. ❤️