Help Merc Get to 2021?

Hi friends. I am not doing well, and I need some help. 2020 has utterly crushed me, emotionally and financially, and I am in desperate need of aid to pay rent next month (January 2021).  

tl;dr version: I need to get my bank account out of the negative in order to pay rent, which is due on Jan 1st; due to furlough and unemployment I'm buried in unpaid bills and looming rent with no way to afford it. Although I just got a part-time retail job, my first paycheck won't show up until first week of January. 

Rent is $1,650, and I'm $-450 in my bank account for two weeks now, which makes it a void I need to bring solvent so rent check won't bounce. The extra money is for unpaid bills which I have been unable to keep up with due to, you know, being unemployed and struggling constantly to make ends meet. There are a lot of gaps between those ends, though.

So I'm humbling asking for your help. I've set a goal of $2500 in order to cover service fees from GFM as well. 

I need to raise funds in 10 days, by December 31st, in order to avoid late fees on rent (on the 1st) and so I don't fall even further into this pit. 


full story:

So, I've been out of work since March due to COVID-19, since I work(ed) in the AV/hospitality industry. UI has dwindled, and it's only in mid-December that I was finally able to find a new, part-time retail job (which sadly doesn't pay much, but it's all I can get).

I support my chronically ill roommate, and have been trying to also support my sister since she moved in with us in October (and then we all moved because the old place was detrimental to my roommate's health and unfeasible for three people—i.e. the landlord objected to us letting my sister stay on the couch for a few days at a time, let alone long-term).

When I was working, it would have been fine! But, well. Capitalism and zero help from the government at this point. Plus apparently any unemployment benefits stop after December 26, which is...a thing. (No one needs to pay bills or buy food after that date, right?)

This year has just been constantly crushing—I had major car repairs earlier this autumn, which wiped out all the tiny savings I'd been trying to amass for covering bills/rent when we did get a stimulus check. We had emergency vet bills for one cat (Asher, who sadly didn't make it; and my sister lost her 15yr old kitty shortly after.) (Like I said, I've been trying to support my sister, too, who has had a hell of a bad year.))

I just. I've been trying so hard to keep going, and honestly it is only because of generous, kind, compassionate people like you—friends and strangers alike—who have helped me get by. And as much as I don't want to be a burden to anyone else, I'm at my max limit. I can't get through the rest of this year without some financial help.

And I know everyone is struggling and I understand. Please don't feel bad if you can't chip in; a signal boost is more than enough.

But if you can help me out, I will be so incredibly grateful. Anything and everything helps. Thank you so much for reading, for understanding, and—if you can—for helping me get through this last part of 2020.


Here's a photo of Tater Tot, our 1yr old house tiger, who is baby and also says thank you for helping his parent out. <3  

Sincerely,

Merc Rustad (I write under the name Merc Fenn Wolfmoor)