Disabled family & pet recovering from loss of work

[Hi everyone, I'm posting this GoFundMe for a dear friend. Please consider donating if you're able. –Rebecca]

Hey, my name is Joshua; in the last few months, I have been facing a lot of struggles and shame around the fact that I am struggling. Originally, this GoFundMe was anonymous to protect our privacy as my fiance and I are looking for jobs and cannot risk anything negatively impacting our job search. However, with recent events, We decided that our family's needs are more important than privacy.

I [Joshua] am neurodiverse, and I struggle with seizures triggered by anxiety and stress. 2021 marked a year of great successes. I got hired as a software engineer and punched above the poverty line for the first time in my life. I moved into my first apartment to myself at 26. While I was employed, I was able to manage my health extraordinarily well. I was laid off twice in the past year and lost critical physical and mental healthcare.

Job searching this time around has been brutal. On top of looking for a job during thousands of layoffs in the tech industry, I experienced numerous additional challenges.

Recently, I've been struggling to maintain focus in my job search between taking care of myself, home, and my family while managing chronic pain and anxiety.

My fiancé is also neurodiverse and disabled with several debilitating autoimmune diseases that she battles daily. She is also struggling to get hired in the tech market, unlike myself, she's starting fresh and is looking for Junior or Mid-level roles. We're holding one another tightly, and it hasn't been easy. ‍❤️‍‍

At 12 weeks old, I started seizure/psychiatric alert training for my dog. Training was going really well, unfortunately my dog was attacked by two dogs that were let off leash, despite the owner being told that were weren't interested in a greeting. Since then, I've been doing what I can in the meantime, and yet, his rehabilitation needs have far outpaced my capacity and he cannot render the services I need.

Recently, we discovered that my fiance's dog, Freckles (9mo puppy pictured) has a heart arrhythmia and we need to do diagnostic testing with a vet cardiologist.

We have identified a trainer for both of our dogs, she is awesome and very flexible, and it'll cost $95 an hour for training support and private lessons.

I'm asking for donations to help take care of my health and family so we can fully focus on our job search and future. We've mostly used up our combined savings and only have 9 unemployment payments left between now at 7/2024.

Donations will go towards:

Thank you for your support, time, and consideration. ♥️