A CAREER RESTORED!!!
When I first asked for your help, my goal was simply to survive long enough to rebuild my life. Today, I am incredibly proud to share that my dream is gently easing into reality.
Following my final interview last Wednesday (February 18), I received and accepted an official offer for a clinician position at Pittsburgh Mercy. My tentative start date is set for March 16.
Because of the sanctuary you helped provide, I was able to recover from COVID-19 in a safe, smoke-free environment. Having a quiet space allowed me to finalize my credentialing and walk into that interview as the professional I am, not just a person surviving a crisis. My dog, Riko, has been safe and grounded by my side through it all.
MAKING IT THROUGH THE FINAL STRETCH
We are at the absolute final stretch of this journey, but there is one last "pickle" to navigate.
The funds we raised secured my current, safe housing until March 2. However, my new career does not begin until March 16, leaving exactly a two-week gap where Riko and I will be without a home before my first day of work—and several weeks before my first paycheck. This problem is compounded by the following issues:
- Phone: My phone has been cut off due to non-payment and requires $56 to turn back on. This part especially sucks because I'm expecting a callback from Pittsburgh Mercy to let me know how to proceed with background checks and drug testing, and so I'm pretty anxious about that right now.
- Post Office Box: Because I've had to move so much, I have a PO Box. I have to renew the payment on it, and that's $10.
- Food: Riko is gratefully not out of food, but I am. I've got food stamps, but carrying groceries several blocks uphill is impossible for me, so I need to get it delivered. Ergo non-food-stamp money is needed.
To cross this final bridge without losing the stability we’ve fought so hard to build, I need to finish raising my GoFundMe goal, which I've dropped to $2,500. This will cover:
- $900 to extend my current housing through the start of April, allowing me time to get my first paycheck, to potentially argue for a relocation stipend so I can get an actual rental apartment, and to stay safe—and more importantly, psychologically stable while managing severe PTSD—until I can do all of that.
- $395 to ensure food security for Riko and me and to pay necessary bills until my first paycheck arrives.
CROSSING THE FINISH LINE
You didn't just help me escape a dispiriting, life-threatening environment; you bought me the time to reclaim my career as an LPC. I am now just weeks away from being completely self-sufficient and returning to the frontlines to serve the LGBTQ+ and Spanish-speaking communities.
Please help me bridge this final month. If you cannot donate, sharing this update is just as vital.
Thank you so much, community. I would never have been able to do this without you, and I plan to spend the rest of my life making sure folks I come across don't have to go through what I've had to. :purple_heart:
Thank you for being the steady foundation I needed to start anew. Riko and I almost home.
#MutualAid #MutualAidRequest #Pittsburgh #LPC #Therapist #LGBTQ #HousingCrisis #EmergencyFund #DisabilityJustice #PTSD #COVIDRecovery #FoodSecurity #JobOffer #MentalHealthMatters #SiberianHusky #MutualAidPA #PovertyTax #Venmo #CashApp
Achim D. Brucker
ACDH
Ellis C. A. Arcwolf (Author)
Tatjana Scheffler
Lassijoy
Jutta Kister
Thomas Gerdes
