UpATE #2: It’s Official — As of 11:50 EDT, $680 has been raised. Thank you, generous donors. HOPefuLLY It Is Enough to at least fix the serious overheating BuT CAN WE MAkes $1000?
Update: aT 11 PM edT, I ESTIMATE THAT WE have about $500 donated so far. Good start aND THANKS! tHAT’S oNE tHIRD OF THE wAY TO SUCCESS.
The old car has died. Just when he had started a new good-paying job!
That’s what has happened to DKos member DEM. It has been a hard road this past year but Dem is approaching self sufficiency at last. He had a new job paying up to $18 per hour that started late last month. Then his 2002 Mercury Sable conked out and now he can't get to work. Sadly, the company had to let him go but there is a good chance he can be rehired if he has reliable transport. Dem is pretty discouraged but he is trying to remain optimistic. He really didn’t need this to happen at the very moment that his life seemed to be turning around for the better.
DEM says:
The 30 mile each way trip to my job was too much for my older car and it overheated. :-( Not a good way to celebrate my upcoming birthday...I want to believe that I still have hope.
Public transit isn’t an option for Dem. He lives in San Antoine. His medications make him nauseous and sometimes cause headaches. Even if a bus was available, it would be torturous and likely result in more lost work hours. It isn’t a luxury to get the car fixed immediately.
When you are living on the edge financially, barely able (or sometimes not able) to meet your everyday expenses for shelter, utilities, and food, even a modest unexpected expense becomes an emergency. What if the emergency will run to well over a thousand? It seems insurmountable.
Luckily, the shop can begin repairs as early as Friday with an estimated two-day turn around! With luck, Dem could be back on the road, and possibly back to work, as soon as early next week.
Can You Help? Today’s Goal: $1500-2000
$1,500 — Repair Car Cooling System & Make It Roadworthy
$375 — Meds ($17 per day for up to 21 days) until paycheck resumes
$125 food + gas until paycheck resumes
Paypal address: robertallenproctor4 at gmail dot com
All donations are gratefully received — even $5 will help.
Recs. tips, comments, words of support are all ways of helping too!
Thanks so much.
It’s heartbreaking to be so close to self-sufficiency and then have the rug pulled out from under you — again. Still, his prospects for employment are good!
The good news is that the company STILL needs workers. They like Dem, they have hired him in the past, he knows the work and excels at it. He is fairly confident he can get rehired almost immediately if he has reliable transportation. His long-term prospects for full employment are good.
If for some reason Pearson doesn’t rehire him, Dem has another nibble from a past employer who is looking to hire (although the pay isn’t as good). If he must augment his salary, Dem can earn money as a tutor, just as he has this entire year. With his advanced degrees and teaching certificate, his bilingual skills and experience, Dem remains positive about his future job prospects.
The thing is, Dem is actually a pretty positive guy. Despite the abusive relationship that contributed to his opiate addiction, despite his financial woes because of it, despite fighting depression as the emotions remerge because he doesn’t hide them behind the drugs, despite everything. Just read his political diaries here DEM's profile and you’ll see a kind and positive person even in the face of DKOS pie fights! I want that Dem to reemerge whole and productive — and he is on his way. I want that positive Dem to see how valuable he is and what he contributes to the community — here on DKos and as a tutor and educator.
Transitioning back into the community is expensive, too.
Many of you have followed Dem’s story of his battle with substance abuse. A battle he is winning. It’s imperative that Dem regain a decent-paying job as soon as possible. And it can only happen if the car is repaired NOW.
Dem is in transition. He is leaving his year-long opiate-addiction program and will be looking for a room to rent in the community (he lives in San Antoine). If he can start back to work at Pearson by the end of next week, he will have approximately five weeks to save for his re-entry into the community. He needs to find a room to rent by July 1st. With the good salary offered at Pearson, that is still very doable. His expenses are modest; his current rent and utilities are paid up. He does still need to pay for expensive meds, food for himself and his beloved cat Fluffy, and gas to get to work.
Dem is excited about his transition. He is optimistic about his continued recovery, although of course it is daunting to be out on his own. He will still check in with his recovery team as his anti-opiate medicine is gradually reduced to zero dependency over the next two months — a process that has already begun. Zero dependency and financial stability — that is what Dem is so looking forward to achieving after a year in treatment.
DEM again:
I dread writing diaries to raise funds. I am grateful to the community for its kindness. ...I know it will go well because I have worked on projects just like this with Pearson many, many times. So, I [will soon] have my own income that will start coming in and it will be enough to support myself...I will continue to try to earn additional money through tutoring. I will go to my doctor’s visit as well which will get me in good health so that I don’t have health issues that set me back.
Can You Help? Today’s Goal: $1500-2000
$1,500 — Repair Car Cooling System & Make It Roadworthy
$375 — Meds ($17 per day for up to 21 days) until paycheck resumes
$125 food + gas until paycheck resumes
Paypal address: robertallenproctor4 at gmail dot com
It really does take a village, and this generous DKos community is a mighty village in action. Thank you, everyone, for anything you can do to help DEM — even a $5 donation will add up and make a difference. So will a kind word.