Help Us Stay Alive/Keep Our House
Donation protected
Jillian and Chad are brother and sister. They've been that way for Jill's entire life, actually. By the time they reached their early-to-mid 30s, Jill & Chad had lost both parents and all their grandparents. This ended up making them become roommates, and that ended up making them become best friends.
This year, Jill & Chad decided it was time for a change. Jill & her BFF wanted a better quality of life and Chad was instantly taken with the Denver comedy scene and the city itself, so Colorado was the top choice.
In September, with only the money they had in the bank and the stuff they could cram into a truck, they all three caravanned to Denver, CO to start over. They had another friend on the way, so things were going to be fun. Or so they thought.
Three months in, here's a chronicle of our "adventure" since moving to Denver:
- We subletted a place for a couple of weeks while looking for work/permanent housing.
- Chad got a pretty good IT contract job right off the bat, and that kept the bills paid & allowed us to pursue housing.
- Jill was doing temp. work and working p/t in a coffee shop. She's since landed a full-time job that will turn into the career she's always wanted, but not soon enough to help us.
- The plan was for all 4 of us to get a place together, but that didn't work out so Jill's friend got her own place, leaving us to find a 3br instead of a 4br
- Our 3rd roommate was still in Oklahoma, saving up money & waiting for us to find a 3BR house. We found one & he moved up that weekend. It cost us nearly $4000 to get into this house.
- Chad unexpectedly lost his job after only six weeks, while the 3rd roommate could only find p/t work, contributing nearly nothing. Jill continues to work her butt off 7 days a week, but it isn't enough for all the bills.
- On Christmas Eve, Chad tried to buy groceries just so they could have a nice meal at least (never mind that there wasn't a single present under the tree for the 1st time in our lives), but his card was declined at the register, triggering the saddest 30-foot walk of his life.
- Christmas 2014 was the worst we've ever had, including the year we lost our mother. In keeping with this theme, the day after Christmas the 3rd roommate informed us that he was moving out. In 1 day.
We've run out of options and we don't have anyone to turn to. We're currently maxed-out on all credit cards & voicemail space from bill collectors' messages. Chad has already sold the only things he loved to pay the rent and as a result, can no longer make add'l income through music or photography. That hurts. Bad.
We don't need much, but we need enough to keep the lights/heat/wi-fi on (wi-fi sounds like a luxury item, but I'm not sure I can look for work without it) and to keep our cars on the road to get to/from and/or seek work.
We're good, smart, hardworking people who have hit every bump possible on our road to getting our lives started over in a place that really feels like home, regardless of our struggles. If you know us personally, then you already know that we need to catch a break. If you don't, then now you do. Typing & posting this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
Anything helps. Thank you in advance.
Chad & Jillian McNaughton
This year, Jill & Chad decided it was time for a change. Jill & her BFF wanted a better quality of life and Chad was instantly taken with the Denver comedy scene and the city itself, so Colorado was the top choice.
In September, with only the money they had in the bank and the stuff they could cram into a truck, they all three caravanned to Denver, CO to start over. They had another friend on the way, so things were going to be fun. Or so they thought.
Three months in, here's a chronicle of our "adventure" since moving to Denver:
- We subletted a place for a couple of weeks while looking for work/permanent housing.
- Chad got a pretty good IT contract job right off the bat, and that kept the bills paid & allowed us to pursue housing.
- Jill was doing temp. work and working p/t in a coffee shop. She's since landed a full-time job that will turn into the career she's always wanted, but not soon enough to help us.
- The plan was for all 4 of us to get a place together, but that didn't work out so Jill's friend got her own place, leaving us to find a 3br instead of a 4br
- Our 3rd roommate was still in Oklahoma, saving up money & waiting for us to find a 3BR house. We found one & he moved up that weekend. It cost us nearly $4000 to get into this house.
- Chad unexpectedly lost his job after only six weeks, while the 3rd roommate could only find p/t work, contributing nearly nothing. Jill continues to work her butt off 7 days a week, but it isn't enough for all the bills.
- On Christmas Eve, Chad tried to buy groceries just so they could have a nice meal at least (never mind that there wasn't a single present under the tree for the 1st time in our lives), but his card was declined at the register, triggering the saddest 30-foot walk of his life.
- Christmas 2014 was the worst we've ever had, including the year we lost our mother. In keeping with this theme, the day after Christmas the 3rd roommate informed us that he was moving out. In 1 day.
We've run out of options and we don't have anyone to turn to. We're currently maxed-out on all credit cards & voicemail space from bill collectors' messages. Chad has already sold the only things he loved to pay the rent and as a result, can no longer make add'l income through music or photography. That hurts. Bad.
We don't need much, but we need enough to keep the lights/heat/wi-fi on (wi-fi sounds like a luxury item, but I'm not sure I can look for work without it) and to keep our cars on the road to get to/from and/or seek work.
We're good, smart, hardworking people who have hit every bump possible on our road to getting our lives started over in a place that really feels like home, regardless of our struggles. If you know us personally, then you already know that we need to catch a break. If you don't, then now you do. Typing & posting this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
Anything helps. Thank you in advance.
Chad & Jillian McNaughton
Organizer
Chad McNaughton
Organizer
Denver, CO