Help Jamil's Family Stay Afloat

Hey everyone,

I'm Jamil and I didn't want to have to do anything like this because I hate asking for things from others. In September of 2024, I was laid off from my job at a large video game company. This happened while I was on PTO. I received a work email with a Zoom link and a pre-recorded video from the studio head saying that my position was eliminated. There were many others that received this link as well. Immediately after the video call ended, I lost access to Slack, then my computer was remotely shut down and I was unable to even say goodbye to my team. I received an email from HR and my "manager" (not my manager since he was also laid off). I was told that I would receive severance and final PTO payout 2 months after that day as I would still be on payroll until November 15th of 2024. Needless to say, this money would not be enough to cover more than a few months of rent, utilities, and groceries. My wife still works her job, but it's nowhere near enough to cover all of the things that we need to pay monthly (Rent, utilities & groceries). We also had to say goodbye to one of our cats (Barry) after finding out that he had cancer and it was too far along to do anything about. It's been a very stressful and emotional start to the year, especially since our other cat (Goten) is adjusting to not having his big brother around. Barry was part of our hearts and souls and things will never be the same without him.

Myself, just like many others that were laid off at the studio I worked at, have been applying to jobs since September of 2024. I have received updates for maybe 15 applications that I have sent out with over 100+ others not getting any update or acknowledgment. As for unemployment, I have not received any money as my claim was processed over 4 weeks ago with no issues mentioned by EDD in California and everything is set up correctly. I am hoping that I receive some sort of update or my first payment within the next couple of weeks, but unemployment sends out a max of $450 a week which is still not enough to cover everything. I will be contacting EDD next week if I do not hear anything from them by Sunday as that would be when I SHOULD be able to certify for unemployment hours within their system.

I am hoping that enough money can be raised so that we can pay our rent, utilities, and groceries for the next 4-6 months. Hopefully, I can find an actual job within the next few months but who knows. I know people who have been unable to find work for much longer than me and it's just discouraging and frustrating. I am also waiting for updates on applications that I can actually track statuses of online.

I know this is a lot and many others are going through very tough times (some much worse), but at this point, I just don't know what else to do.

Best Regards,

Jamil