I am stunned. We. have. met. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<p>EDIT 2: An incredibly generous individual just shocked us by catapulting us to our goal.</p><p>We.. may actually be getting into our own place for the first time in two years.</p><p>A permanent residence.</p><p>It feels like Christmas morning.</p><p>EDIT: We got approved for the apartment, but we now need to scramble to raise enough cash to qualify for a huge move-in discount.</p><p>I realize this is an absurdly large sum to ask for, and I'm sincerely hoping we *won't* need that much in the end but I'm a realist (okay, I'm a pessimist) and want to try and be prepared.</p><p>Ultimately it should help everyone because it would further reduce our living expenses (and by extension less begposting) but I fully acknowledge it's a.. preposterous sum. I'm sorry. I've divided into three steps in order to make it seem slightly less daunting.</p><p>We've decided on which apartment to apply for, but we've got to act fast. The staggering total amount I've listed in the CW is worst-case scenario. Supposedly we'll get about $750 knocked off of that total if we qualify which will help significantly but because their website says "up to $750" I'm trying not to consider that in my calculations.</p><p>I should have started this last night as soon as we got home but I just didn't have the spoons. Which unfortunately sets us back that much further on time.</p><p>Anyway.. here's the itinerary as of now:</p><p>Phase 1: Application fees and "Admin Fee" (because it costs soooo much money to type numbers into a computer and hit "print"). Total: $350</p><p>Phase 2: If we somehow qualify, we'll need to pay the deposit. It could range from $500 to a full month's rent depending on credit, so once they run ours it'll be a month's rent plus our right arms for the deposit. Total: $1400</p><p>Phase 3: Pet deposit is an unpleasant $525, and the first month's pet rent is $45 plus $60 for the "media" package. Total: $630</p><p>Grand total: $2,380.</p><p>Any help you can give is is appreciated. I'm respectfully requesting that my followers blitzkrieg every social media platform to which they have access to help spread the word and the burden.</p><p>They say it takes a village, and for a project this size we're going to need every villager's help with this.</p><p>LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!</p><p>Thank you everyone so very much for your help, kindness, encouragement, and generosity.</p><p><a href="/tags/poverty/" rel="tag">#Poverty</a> <a href="/tags/housing/" rel="tag">#Housing</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/bpd/" rel="tag">#BPD</a> <a href="/tags/cptsd/" rel="tag">#CPTSD</a> <a href="/tags/lgbtq/" rel="tag">#LGBTQ</a> <a href="/tags/solidarity/" rel="tag">#Solidarity</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://ovo.st/club/mutualaid" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>mutualaid</span></a></span> </p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a><br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a></p>
Edited 142d ago
#MutualAidRequest UPDATED I'm sorry to ask for even more generosity, but we're more than halfway to our goal! ($210/$350)
<p>UPDATE: Good morning, everyone. Here's a breakdown of our progress so far, thanks to everyone's incredible generosity:</p><p>Storage unit: Paid. Our possessions are safe.<br>Phone: Paid. My partner can now still reach me if urgent.<br>Motel room: Tonight and tomorrow paid.<br>Groceries: We have a modest amount on hand (which is a huge improvement)</p><p>We've accomplished all of our original goals with this fundraiser and then some, but now I must humbly ask everyone to rally with us to get our car insurance reinstated.</p><p>I realize that doesn't sound as urgent as everything else but it makes me incredibly nervous. It's the biggest hurdle we have right now, it keeps us even more isolated than our usual hermit lifestyle and is probably exacerbating our various mental ills.</p><p>Plus there seems to be a slight bump in hours at work which might help us stay current if we can just get this huge initial payment out of the way. It's obscene that we're paying almost 50% more because of my credit history, but it's still the cheapest policy around so what choice do I have?</p><p>Therefore I've reset the goal and included what was left from the original. I'm sorry this is such a big ask but it would mean the world to me if we can meet it. (UPDATE: Halfway there. Only $140 remaining!!)</p><p>Tldr; I need the community's help getting our car insurance reinstated. It would bring us huge peace of mind and -- barring any unforeseen disasters -- might be slightly more likely for us to keep current thanks to (cautious) optimism about our situation.</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>Hi everyone.</p><p>It's once again time for me to plead with the Fediverse for <a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a>. I'm reaching the end of my rope trying to keep up with everything. We've been even more isolated than usual due to having no car insurance which isn't helping our <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> (es). I'm still being scheduled lower hours at work -- just enough to rob me of any spoons for anything besides work, but not quite enough to actually survive.</p><p>Our storage unit with all our possessions is past due and in danger. We're almost out of groceries. My phone service just got cut off which makes my vulnerable partner nervous in case there's an emergency. My shift at work tonight won't be quite enough to cover tomorrow's room payment. And I'm apparently going to need to just pop ibuprofen like candy indefinitely for this broken molar.</p><p>One small spot of good news: My partner has been incredibly brave having run out of edibles for his <a href="/tags/ptsd/" rel="tag">#PTSD</a>. He's been out for nearly a week now which in the past would be unthinkable, his anxiety would become so severe he'd vomit until he was dehydrated after only a couple of days.</p><p>I swear I'm trying, everyone.. I really want to just give up but I'm trying my best despite this stupid fucking <a href="/tags/bpd/" rel="tag">#BPD</a> and <a href="/tags/adhd/" rel="tag">#ADHD</a>-addled brain of mine. (I really wish I could get the hang of dissociation.)</p><p>Anyway.. to get us back to not feeling like we're totally drowning would require closer to $800, but I realize that's outrageously excessive, so instead my goal is to at least get our storage unit current and my phone service back up which sadly is also still excessive.</p><p>Please forgive me for the thousandth time, but if anyone is willing AND able to help us please donate to any of the links below. </p><p>If you AREN'T able to contribute, I beg you please DO NOT feel guilty or ashamed. Obviously I couldn't help you any more than you can help me, if our situations were reversed; so if all you can offer is a boost then boost away with a clear conscience because sometimes <a href="/tags/solidarity/" rel="tag">#Solidarity</a> is literally the best folks like us can do right now.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP:
[email protected]<br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a></p>
Edited 1y ago
I suppose I shouldn't be doing this, but.. #Housewarming #MutualAidRequest ($125/$600)
<p>tldr; we need help getting a couch and a mattress with a box spring.</p><p>WARNING: Incredibly long-winded diatribe ahead. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery while reading this.</p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p>I try to be respectful and use CWs when fundraising to avoid unnecessary cluttering of the timeline unless incredibly urgent. I never, *ever* want to make people feel pressured or scammed, and if I have inadvertently done so, I sincerely apologize.</p><p>Having said that, I realize it's very arrogant of me to request this after all the help we've been given on our journey already. There are countless other people in far more dire circumstances. There are even people on the Fediverse who are flat-out homeless, so how can I justify such a frivolous plea for help?</p><p>My counter-argument to that is: regrettably, I don't have one. I have no idea how we've been so lucky when there are so many others also in need.</p><p>Ever since an encounter I had recently, I've tried to think of how I would feel about other people raising the kinds of funds that have been donated to us. Would I feel jealous, or that it was just "getting old", despite them going to great lengths to not seem pushy or yelling and to just be as unobtrusive as possible?</p><p>Obviously I'm biased, but my answer to that question has always been "Absolutely not". I would feel excited and happy that they were being helped. I have helped a couple of people fundraise and I was just as thrilled seeing us hit goal for a total stranger halfway across the country, as I am when *we* hit goal.</p><p>Where am I going with this, you ask? Well, perhaps I'm still a little rattled from the aforementioned encounter. I try to look at our situation as if through the lens of others but somehow I can't always muster as much sympathy or excitement for *us* as I would for literally anybody else.</p><p>I don't honestly have a valid justification for making this request and I'm struggling like hell to get past that because personally, I wouldn't fault anyone else for a humble CW'd request as this yet it feels vain to write this.</p><p>Alright, none of that had any point. Yay cannabis!</p><p>So my exceptionally long-winded immediate digression aside, I'm hoping people might consider the following scenario as a "housewarming" gift:</p><p>We're coming up on Black Friday. (Yes, I know this is supporting bloodthirsty capitalism. I am a hypocrite, okay? They've got some good deals and I don't know what else to do.) </p><p>We haven't owned a bed since we had to abandon it due to poor planning and a very urgent need to get the hell out of a toxic situation. Since we'd been living in motels for just a couple days past a full calendar year, I was making due with what we had in the motel rooms but now that we're in an apartment finally, we've been sleeping on 4" foam padding on the floor. Let me tell you how great that is for my allergies with a prolifically shedding border collie, and how relaxing it is after a full shift of pushing carts. (That's a negative on both counts.)</p><p>One of our local furniture stores has a bed I would love on a Black Friday deal, and they do delivery. It's the cheapest I've been able to find with the features I need.</p><p>Why not a used mattress, you may ask? What's my justification? Why do I seem to be asking so many rhetorical questions so as to rival Rumsfeld?</p><p>The answer to the first two questions in the previous paragraph is multi-pronged: my incessant, never-ending allergies, and a brand-new mattress allows me to put a mattress protector over it and then an hypoallergenic, waterproof liner over that. My allergies are fucking ridiculous.</p><p>Secondly, for some inexplicable reason, I seem to do better with back problems if I sleep on a *firm* mattress rather than a fluffy pillowtop. Weirdly, it seems rather difficult to locate a used, firm mattress in good condition in our area.</p><p>Thirdly, it gets our bed installed in our apartment. We let the professionals lug those suckers up a narrow flight of stairs to our bedroom.</p><p>Alright, if anyone has managed to make it this far, there's another part to this:</p><p>We haven't had a full-size couch in six years. God I miss having a couch. I've always used second-hand sofas because pets. Plus brand-new couches cost a fortune. The problem is transportation; usually when a couch we like comes up on the free classifieds section, we have no way to get it home.</p><p>I found a local couch - god I hope it hasn't been sold and the seller was just too lazy to take the ad down - that, as far as I can tell from studying a handful of pics of it seems to be in great condition. And the seller is willing to deliver it, although I doubt they would be interested in scaling the above-mentioned stairs.</p><p>These two items would make our apartment truly feel like home. And I'm pretty sure I can have them both transported here if not set up inside as well, for $600. Sadly, despite the large price tag I'm afraid this is probably one of our cheapest opportunities.</p><p>I promise you we are trying so damned hard to become self-sufficient, despite this request and a gnawing fear that I won't quite be able to make December's rent, which I really *really* don't want to happen during our first month here in the complex.</p><p>In closing, let me just say once again that we are insanely grateful for all the help everyone has given us these past few years, and I mean that from the bottom of my cold, cynical heart. We would've lost all our possessions and risked entering a vicious cycle of bad situations. I will never understand why we were chosen to be so fortunate, but thank Cthulu you've kept us alive nonetheless.</p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a><br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a> </p><p><a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/bpd/" rel="tag">#BPD</a> <a href="/tags/cptsd/" rel="tag">#CPTSD</a> <a href="/tags/mutualaidsaveslives/" rel="tag">#MutualAidSavesLives</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://ovo.st/club/mutualaid" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>mutualaid</span></a></span></p>
Edited 130d ago
CW: mental illness, death, ideation, ennui, obligatory profanity ( Part 1 of ∞)
<p>Disclaimer: Fuck it. I’m never going to get this essay to a point where I’m satisfied with it, so I’m going to post it in parts like a serial because I don’t have the spoons to set up a proper blog. I’m sick with what is probably covid (again [yay retail life]) and I’m just so goddamned tired.</p><p>The following will delve into matters quite dark and gloomy such as mortality and severe depression; but it also will allude to positive developments born from this same gloom and doom.</p><p>I hesitate to share this because it describes some very personal feelings and experiences, but my hope is that by doing so, it will resonate with and provide comfort to someone else out there on this gigantic blue marble.</p><p>I began drafting this prior to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election from a place of darkness edged with optimism; however, since that time it’s become difficult to return to my former writing stride in the face of.. well, the results of said election, becoming functionally homeless, and so forth.</p><p>I had intended for this to be one of my most polished writings – a triumphant manifesto of sorts; regrettably, like most aspects of my life, present circumstances have forced me to accelerate preparation and release of this essay prior to what I would consider an acceptable result.</p><p><a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/ideation/" rel="tag">#ideation</a> <a href="/tags/despair/" rel="tag">#despair</a> <a href="/tags/profanity/" rel="tag">#profanity</a></p>
Edited 1y ago
<p>The DOJ has halted lawsuits accusing Louisiana of keeping prisoners locked up long after they were meant to be released and South Carolina of institutionalizing thousands of mentally ill people — sometimes for decades — in violation of federal law.</p><p><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doj-civil-rights-lawsuits-halted-louisiana-south-carolina?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.propublica.org/article/trump-doj-civil-rights-lawsuits-halted-louisiana-south-carolina?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.propublica.org/article/tru</span><span class="invisible">mp-doj-civil-rights-lawsuits-halted-louisiana-south-carolina?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/law/" rel="tag">#Law</a> <a href="/tags/doj/" rel="tag">#DOJ</a> <a href="/tags/civilrights/" rel="tag">#CivilRights</a> <a href="/tags/prison/" rel="tag">#Prison</a> <a href="/tags/louisiana/" rel="tag">#Louisiana</a> <a href="/tags/southcarolina/" rel="tag">#SouthCarolina</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/news/" rel="tag">#News</a></p>
Edited 249d ago
Okay. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
<p>I realize the staggering audacity of me asking this considering I was literally just saying within the past day or two that I wouldn't want to place the onus on anyone to be a <a href="/tags/guarantor/" rel="tag">#guarantor</a> or co-signer for us on an apartment and potentially leave them liable for my debts in case I was disabled/fired/died/etc.</p><p>I think I also said it because I don't really think anyone who is *able* to co-sign safely would be *willing* to for us.</p><p>After all, I have zero proof of ability to pay -- I have a CSV file with a list of <a href="/tags/venmo/" rel="tag">#venmo</a> transactions to the hotel we were at for nine months, which total substantially more than wages I earned for that same period because most of that was covered by <a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a> from the pockets of fellow Fediverse users.</p><p>Then there's the shame of it all -- our own families refuse to co-sign for us on anything at all. Understandably so. We both have a horrible track record.</p><p>Not to mention countless others are in much more dire circumstances than us and can manage their lives without constant panhandling to exist.</p><p>How can I expect a complete stranger to blindly co-sign someone who has very clearly indicated they're unreliable for paying bills? I could be a scammer. I could be a Nigerian prince. I could even be AI. I could be the ghost of Margaret Thatcher, and you'd have simply no idea.</p><p>If I had money, would I co-sign on an apartment for a perfect stranger with whom I'd interacted solely online? Probably not.</p><p>Whatever.</p><p>Clownish antics aside, ultimately I'm just tired. So very, very tired.</p><p>I'm tired of my <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> interfering with everything. I'm tired of not being able to care for my family.</p><p>I'm tired of seeing my partner tremble with fear of whether we'll be living out of our car just in time for the Gestapo to start rounding up the <a href="/tags/homeless/" rel="tag">#homeless</a>.</p><p>I'm tired of hotels and tyrant hotel managers. I'm tired of not knowing whether we have a place to live from day to day.</p><p>I'm tired of not having any goddamned hot water.</p><p>I know there is so much ugliness in this world and I'm being incredibly myopic about my own petty concerns, but in all fairness I'm *always* incredibly myopic with my own concerns. (It's not something I'm proud of, it just.. is)</p><p>So.. I'm while I'm immensely ashamed to be asking this -- I think our families would be mortified if they knew I was even considering this, and again understandably so..</p><p>Desperate times call for desperate measures and I'm running out of options.</p><p>Here we go...</p><p>**If anyone is of the ability, willingness and means to potentially co-sign or act as guarantor on an apartment for my partner, our border collie, and me, please DM at your earliest convenience.**</p><p>Thank you everyone.</p>
Edited 219d ago
Another day, another housing #MutualAidRequest ($495/$700)
<p>Hello, my friends.</p><p>I've stared at this screen for five minutes trying to figure out how to write this.</p><p>It's getting to the point where the thought of having to write yet another begpost (especially one of such an amount, again) makes my skin crawl.</p><p>But I must do this because I need to everything I can to keep my family safe.</p><p>My only hope for ceasing this constant digital panhandling is a promotion at work that I really, really need. My family desperately needs an income increase.</p><p>Yet my only hope for that promotion is rest, and my only hope for rest is to be safely housed.</p><p>Realistically, no one is going to co-sign on an apartment for a total stranger so my only practical option right now is to continue staying in hotels.</p><p>Our most reasonable option for a hotel is impractical if we don't pay several days at a time.</p><p>So.. I'm attempting to raise funds for a week's stay at said hotel, and to cover a haircut and beard trim so I look presentable at work.</p><p>Goddammit I hate doing this. Especially such a large amount.</p><p>But I need somewhere to sleep.</p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a><br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a></p><p><a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a> <a href="/tags/housing/" rel="tag">#Housing</a> <a href="/tags/poverty/" rel="tag">#Poverty</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a></p><p>@mutualaid</p>
Edited 212d ago
<p><a href="/tags/shitifind/" rel="tag">#ShitIFind</a> <a href="/tags/mentalhealth/" rel="tag">#MentalHealth</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/chronicpain/" rel="tag">#ChronicPain</a> <a href="/tags/healthcare/" rel="tag">#healthcare</a> <a href="/tags/ushealthcare/" rel="tag">#USHealthcare</a> <a href="/tags/freeluigi/" rel="tag">#FreeLuigi</a></p>
I know folks have a lot on their minds, what with *gestures at everything*, but we're running up against the deadline for #Housing. #MutualAidRequest ($425/$700)
<p>UPDATE: If you've have the means and have been on the fence about donating to us, I hope you'll consider doing so now; the bulk of our funds for this (and nearly all of our prior fundraisers) have come from one (insanely generous) individual, and it breaks my heart to keep relying on them constantly. They have been so unbelievably kind. Please help us spread out the burden a little more.</p><p>Otherwise, please boost the hell out of this so we can reach goal and quit cluttering up the timeline! 🙏</p><p>==============================<br>Good Morning, Friends!</p><p>I mean.. I suppose as good a morning as it can be given the international circumstances.</p><p>Unfortunately I must add clutter to your already-crowded timelines with more digital panhandling because we're running out of time before <a href="/tags/rent/" rel="tag">#rent</a> goes late. I'm trying desperately to avoid incurring late fees and undue attention from the leasing office. Moreso the latter than the former, if I'm being honest because we loathe "rocking the boat" and attracting scrutiny.</p><p>We have received a couple of <a href="/tags/gofundme/" rel="tag">#gofundme</a> donations in response to my previous post which we sincererly appreciate and can definitely use to compensate for my hours at work having dipped now that we're past the holiday season, but sadly we won't see the funds for several days so I can't count them towards our running total (unless we don't make deadline. Going late would also burn most if not all the funds from those donations in rental late fees which would really suck).</p><p>Please forgive me yet again for the constant <a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a> posts. I know it's getting very, very, very old. I want to say "I shouldn't have let things get this far", but the reality is, it's complicated; I tried to do everything I could. I don't really have the mental and emotional stamina to work multiple jobs -- everyone says, "You'll just get used to it", but I literally start to have emotional breakdowns and mental glitches when I try to work that much, and my <a href="/tags/bpd/" rel="tag">#BPD</a> becomes almost unmanageable -- and my partner was struggling so badly with his <a href="/tags/ptsd/" rel="tag">#PTSD</a> trauma.</p><p>I don't want to be a burden to the community anymore, and I promise you we're working as hard as we can to achieve that. But we're not quite there yet. We adore this apartment and don't want to do anything to jeopardize it.</p><p>As an additional incentive for donating, I'm including a pic I took this morning from our balcony. If you donate or boost, you can look at it and vicariously enjoy the view that my partner and I have enjoyed for the past month and a half only because of the generosity of the fine folks of the <a href="/tags/fediverse/" rel="tag">#Fediverse</a>. But only if you donate or boost.. otherwise sorry but you can't look. (kidding)</p><p>You all made this happen, and I'm sorry we haven't yet become self-sufficient. It feels like home here thanks to you. We're really, really trying even if it may not seem like it.</p><p>Thank you.</p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/solidarity/" rel="tag">#Solidarity</a> <a href="/tags/poverty/" rel="tag">#Poverty</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://ovo.st/club/mutualaid" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>mutualaid</span></a></span></p>
Edited 92d ago
Hi. It's me again. It's another #MutualAidRequest for groceries, gas and apartment applications. ($50/$200)
<p>Hello Everyone,</p><p>I'm sorry, but it's already time for another <a href="/tags/begpost/" rel="tag">#begpost</a>. We've been safely housed this week thanks to the incredible generosity of our friends here on the <a href="/tags/fediverse/" rel="tag">#Fediverse</a>. What little wages I was able to earn from my shifts earlier this week went to the monthly storage unit bill to avoid a hefty late fee.</p><p>Consequently, we've exhausted our grocery supplies and my "E" (low fuel) light is on in my car.</p><p>While we're somewhat content where we're currently staying, it is a 40-mile round-trip commute and we were a little dismayed to learn that this motel's policy is no more than 30 days in any given room before we have to change so that it can be "deep cleaned".</p><p>I don't feel the policy is unreasonable given the demographics for a low-budget motel, but the thought of having to switch rooms every few weeks is exhausting to even consider. Dragging our microwave and mini-fridge (which I don't know with complete certainty whether we're technically *allowed* to have said items) and our stuff over and over is not the most appealing.</p><p>If we don't stay here, our only other options (besides living in our car) are an extended-stay type hotel that in multiple google maps reviews was referred to as a "trap house", or an apartment complex which I'm afraid could potentially be referred to as the same.</p><p>We were disappointed last month when we tried and spectacularly failed to secure an apartment at a complex we'd fell in love with, and have been sort of floundering on that front since.</p><p>But I think we've both had our fill of motel/hotel life, and it's time to settle down again. We don't want to rent a room in anyone's home, at least not for a very long time, after our past couple of experiences with that.</p><p>So, I'm leaning towards the semi-sketchy apartment complex, if they even have any rooms available now. I can't say I'm very optimistic about living there being a pleasant experience, but we're worn out. We're tired of nearly all our belongings being locked away in a storage unit halfway across the valley.</p><p>Like everywhere else, there's an application fee for both of us. We may have to be creative at addressing the rental history problem. Both our credit scores are atrocious but my gut instinct is that this complex won't be as concerned about that.</p><p>It might save us a tiny bit of money monthly, but the downside is we can't just pay the rent daily or weekly. We'll likely have to fundraise an entire month's rent before we can get moved in, plus any deposits (the specifics of which I can't recall at this moment).</p><p>And, with hours at work being the way they have been and seem likely to continue for the immediate future, I don't know how easy it's going to be to keep ahead of that monthly rent bill.</p><p>I don't know whether we'll actually be able to pull this off. I don't know if we're "jumping out the frying pan and into the fire". But I do know we're pretty burned out and I'm not sure what else to do.</p><p>In summary: we need funds for food, gas, application fees to what will likely be a dirty, musty "ghetto" apartment, so that at least we can resume having a semi-permanent address.</p><p>As always, thank you all in advance for your help and support.</p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a><br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a></p><p><a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/poverty/" rel="tag">#Poverty</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://ovo.st/club/mutualaid" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>mutualaid</span></a></span></p>
Edited 163d ago
Friends, it's once again time for us to humbly ask for your help with getting by.. #MutualAidRequest ($200/$800)
<p>Good Morning Everyone,</p><p>The good news is, it's been more than three weeks since our last begpost!! We're both still employed and it looks like my upcoming average weekly hours are on the mend after the usual first-quarter retail slump.</p><p>The bad news is, we're still struggling a little to get on our feet. The increase of aforementioned scheduled work hours won't happen for several more weeks, so funds will be tight for a bit longer.</p><p>On top of that, we've had multiple one-off expenses; my partner finally convinced me to allow my six-year-old Pixel 4 to rest in peace, which will piss me off til the end of time because I know I could get at least a couple more years out of it if the damned battery weren't welded on. Fucking planned obsolescence.</p><p>It got to the point where it was getting very, very warm during charging and was almost unusable unless strapped to a wireless battery charger (the USB port ceased charging a couple years ago). We figured since I'm walking and/or riding the bus home from work late at night it might be a good idea to have a lifeline.</p><p>The phone replacement was probably the most significant expense this month, but we've also needed to address things or difficulties that we had indefinitely postponed due to our precarious poverity living situation the past two years until the <a href="/tags/fediverse/" rel="tag">#Fediverse</a> gave us the chance to stage a true, honest-to-goodness comeback for the first time in our lives. We finally have all-purpose cleaner and Softscrub again after years of just.. not cleaning anything. Our pantry is slowly becoming stocked. An upgraded Crock-Pot (on a killer sale) gives us much more flexibility than the 2-qt slow-cooker we've always used. </p><p>We still need to get the oil changed, replace the wiper blades to have functional windshield wipers, and get the dog to the vet for the first time in almost five years. But.. one step at a time. We're still recovering and can't do everything at once, much as we wish we could.</p><p>Anyway since I'm off today and tomorrow, I have no daily pay advances to guess about which means I can start fundraising a couple days earlier this time, which is always helpful.</p><p>I realize this amount is even *greater* than what we needed at the beginning of January for rent, which seems like we're going backwards; but as I mentioned above, we had a substantial expense replacing my phone in addition to lower than usual weekly work hours and the cost of replenishing our pantry and fridge and so on. Without those almost exclusively one-time (or at least quite rare) expenses, this amount would be less than half.</p><p>So.. I must respectfully ask for your <a href="/tags/mutualaid/" rel="tag">#MutualAid</a> help yet again. I know things are.. awful everywhere. Everyone needs help right now; I can't begin to imagine what others are going through right now. I know there are so many, many people who need help. But if you can pitch in, we would be deeply grateful.</p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a><br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a></p><p><a href="/tags/solidarity/" rel="tag">#Solidarity</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <a href="/tags/bpd/" rel="tag">#BPD</a> <a href="/tags/ptsd/" rel="tag">#PTSD</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://ovo.st/club/mutualaid" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>mutualaid</span></a></span></p>
Edited 65d ago
:alice_party: ❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️ GOAL MET!! Thank you so much everyone once again. We literally could not do this without you. :alice_party: ❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
<p>UPDATE 2: I was cart pusher this evening at work. We had two call-outs tonight so I am utterly and completely exhausted from picking up the slack.</p><p>However, there was one silver lining to this I guess; a co-worker needed tomorrow off and traded shifts. So I work tomorrow rather than Saturday, which would allow me to use the funds from *that* shift towards rent. It'll be less than $100 but that's still money that would otherwise not be available until next week, which would obviously be too late.</p><p>EDIT/UPDATE 1: Having gotten some rest and can think a little more clearly and actually calculate things (as closely as I can given the circumstances), I am somewhat alarmed to discover I wildly underestimated how much we would need, and now am embarrassed to announce that the goal necessary for us to make rent in time is.. more than double my original guessing. 🤦♂️</p><p>I knew our accounts were low, but I didn't realize just *how* low.</p><p>We've already received a massive donation from an incredibly generous donor (thank you) that already meets my original $500 goal so we're already nearly halfway there which is fantastic.</p><p>I then planned to increase the goal to $1,200, but on second thought, that amount would probably cut it far too closely. Even $1,400 may be a tad optimistic.</p><p>So, to pick a number that is both sort of a halfway point between the two numbers and also incorporate a bit of mild whimsy, I'm now setting the goal to $1,333. Because why the hell not. (I thought about $1333.33, but that's just being pedantic.)</p><p>We have this apartment solely thanks to our community here on the <a href="/tags/fediverse/" rel="tag">#Fediverse</a>. We would like to continue to enjoy this incredible living space you've so kindly given us.</p><p>Therefore, I shall continue to clown around, to dutifully shitpost, and otherwise try to earn your support.</p><p>Please read on below for an excessive and unreasonably long explanation of the situation.</p><p>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=</p><p>Dammit.. I should have posted this sooner; I don't know why I do this.</p><p>Actually, I do know: I hate doing it. And lord knows I will procrastinate until the last possible second if it's an activity I dislike.</p><p>To be clear, it isn't the interaction that I loathe. I actually *do* enjoy that. When we meet fundraising goals, it's like Christmas morning every single time. You know the scene in the movie where the Grinch returns the gifts to the citizens of Whoville? It's like that. It feels like a miracle every. damned. time.</p><p>Actually, it *is* a miracle every single time.</p><p>The begposts also give me a chance to infodump to all of you. Sort of like a newsletter or blogpost. A "State of the Goofballs" address, if you will. It's as if I open up the firehose of my mind and just vomit words until I run out of inner monologue.</p><p>I always feel compelled to try and show that we're trying to get our shit together, in a feeble attempt to demonstrate that we're "worth" helping. I think I tend to make them so long (longer than even my standard verbosity) to (hopefully) illustrate that I'm sincere. I'm not trying to scam anyone, and if I learned that I ever made anyone feel taken advantage of I would feel utterly heartbroken.</p><p>On the other hand, I think I hate making begposts because.. well, primarily it's embarrassing. It's surprisingly difficult to allow myself the same grace that I would grant anyone else. But it's also extremely scary because our options are quite limited. And with current (gesticulates wildly at everything on the planet) events, it's downright terrifying because I'm afraid there's going to be a *lot* more people in similar circumstances, and the double-whammy is it could easily be our donors also joining us in poverty.</p><p>In other words, I'm afraid that not only could this cause an exponential strain on the Mutual Aid community, the funds available could simultaneously begin to dry up, further diluting our chances of avoiding disaster.</p><p>Anyway.. I'm babbling and doomering unnecessarily again so I will attempt to place the focus back on the primary matter at hand, which is that regrettably we have failed to become self-sufficient yet again over the course the previous calendar month.</p><p>Hours at work still remain low enough to doom us financially yet high enough to drain me of the will to live or even bother performing basic hygiene, let alone look for a second job and by extension try to once again figure out how to juggle two menial entry-level jobs who both expect you to be available from Open to Close, seven days a week. Further altering my availability risks even *less* hours at my current job, which makes the monumental hassle of securing a second job seem less than ideal.</p><p>I had to drop a shift because my allergies were so bad I was basically sedated by Benadryl for two days straight. My partner had to drop a couple of shifts when his father was hospitalized again due to complications from a fall and head injury some months ago, and my partner was far too emotionally fragile with that happening to be at work.</p><p>Of course the loss of these shifts has not been kind to our bank account. I truly, truly wish we didn't have to keep doing this. Yet I must for my partner and our codependent border collie. Not to mention I think our little clan sort of owe it to the Mutual Aid community to not give up, and to make it seem like the staggering amounts of generosity were a worthwhile investment to help us. I've disappointed far too many people in my life. I want to start doing the opposite of that.</p><p>Hopefully I haven't disappointed you too much, my dear pocket friends.</p><p>I'm up way past my bedtime and the letters are starting to swirl around. Unfortunately since I'm once again just siphoning everything I possibly can from my daily pay advances, I don't know for certain what those amounts will be until the day after my shift. Plus I'm chronically disorganized and trying to adjust to having a legit bank account instead of just venmo or the like. I fucked up and accumulated a couple of overdraft fees because I lost track of pending charges.</p><p>At the moment, I'm confident we're at least $500 in the red for rent and sadly that's an amount that might need to be revised upwards. I'm struggling not to just mentally shut down thinking about how *much* upwards.</p><p>Please forgive me for once again asking for help.</p><p>If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.</p><p>Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>venmo.com/thegizmotwins</a><br>Cashapp: <a href="https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>cash.app/$thegizmotwins</a><br>PP: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1</span><span class="invisible">982</span></a><br>GFM: <a href="https://gofund.me/12171be3" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gofund.me/12171be3</a></p><p><a href="/tags/solidarity/" rel="tag">#Solidarity</a> <a href="/tags/bpd/" rel="tag">#BPD</a> <a href="/tags/ptsd/" rel="tag">#PTSD</a> <a href="/tags/poverty/" rel="tag">#Poverty</a> <a href="/tags/mentalillness/" rel="tag">#MentalIllness</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://ovo.st/club/mutualaid" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>mutualaid</span></a></span></p>
Edited 2d ago
