Hello, my name is April Blackburn. I want to just be raw and real. It is extremely difficult to ask for any kind of help. I have been pretty independent since I was really young. I had to grow up quick. And I DO NOT like a handout I went through decades of addiction and other struggles, but I have been sober and been on a different trajectory in life for 5 years in September. I have kept the same career since 2 months after I got sober. I have a home. Handled everything as soon as I got sober. I payed my debts, I got my license back, and got a vehicle. I have been living a fairly normal life for years now. The reason I am reaching out for any type of support or help is because several events took place back to back that have kind of flipped my life upside down. I took a short leave from work recently because of some medical things that I needed to work through. I expected during that period to still be recieving 60% wages. My leave started on July 11th of this year. It ended August 9th. The problem is, they just now approved the disability pay and we don't get paid for almost 2 more weeks. For a month and a half I have had either no pay at all or only a small partial check. I was not prepared to go without pay for that long. I was not in a position to do so. This past month and a half has been extremely difficult. I have no reserves. My car was also totaled on Saturday and because it was a situation where the car in front of my partner slammed on their breaks and there was not time enough for her to stop and she hit the car in front of her, the other party's insurance says they will not be covering it, so I am without a car now while starting the process to see if my insurance will help. Ubering was my other way of helping alleviate the extreme financial distress I am in. My partner was pretty banged up from the accident and because she couldn't work, doing manual labor for the first 2 days after her accident, her job let her go. The storms have been hitting back to back over here. One tragedy or hardship after another, and although I know that is a part of the journey of life, I am growing weary. I am at the end of what I feel I can do. I have been selling things, making posts, was Ubering when I could, on top of now being back at work full-time and trying to deal with my medical issues. These are a very small drop in the bucket of the tribulations I have been facing. I have been praying. God has been extremely graceful and good to me. And I know He is a provider. At times I just don't know where the help could possibly come from. At times I am feeling a little hopeless because I'm tired and I am trying. I spend most of my day trying to figure things out and I am running out of ideas and options. My second half of rent is due by the end of the month (I split it in half using the Flex app) that's $500. My car insurance has to be paid by the 28th about $180. And then my first half of next month's rent is due September 1st. If anyone can find it in their heart to help in any way, I cannot express my gratitude enough. I know most of us are going through hard times. I want you to know that even $5 helps more than you can imagine. A meal, a ride, anything. And I am deeply thankful for any kind of help no matter how big or "small" you may think it is. It is big to me. Thank you, if you took the time to read this far. Even just giving your time to do so means a lot.
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