With one bump in the road after another, my wife and I have reached a point we never thought we’d be in.

After our vehicles became too costly to repair around the holidays, we were forced to scrap them. That loss created a chain reaction we couldn’t recover from—losing transportation meant losing reliable access to work, which impacted both of our full-time jobs. From there, everything started to break down: childcare, employment stability, and the basic structure we relied on to keep our family stable. This all began around the New Year, and we’ve been trying ever since to pull ourselves back up and regain stability.

Even now, we are doing everything physically possible to keep things together. Each day, we walk between 6–8 miles—taking our children to daycare (about a mile each way), then continuing on to work, only to repeat the trip in reverse later in the day. We use the bus when we can, but at $0.80 per ride, those costs add up quickly—especially now that our food assistance has been reduced significantly due to recent federal cuts.

We’ve been doing everything we can to handle this on our own. We’ve reached out to 211, United Way, the Salvation Army, and other local agencies and resources. At this point, we are being told that funding is depleted, and the only option left being offered is homeless shelters. We have also had close friends try to help where they could, but we don’t want to put their own stability at risk while they’re already managing their own responsibilities.

Right now, we are facing eviction with no remaining assistance options to stop it. Our landlord has been understanding throughout this process, but they are also running a business and can’t carry this indefinitely. We are now on the cusp of either losing everything or getting a chance to finally breathe and rebuild stability for our family.

We are doing everything we can to avoid family separation and keep our children together while we figure out next steps. Some of our children have special needs, including ASD and ADHD, which makes stability and a consistent routine especially important for them.

Thankfully, our four older children (Nevaeh, Alexander, Lilian, and Theodore) were in school, which helped provide structure during the day. However, now that summer is here, things have become more challenging with disrupted routines, childcare gaps, and balancing work while trying to remain stable. If we cannot secure housing in time, we are looking at a very unstable temporary living situation while we continue trying to rebuild.

I am currently working while completing side work where I can, while also attending school full-time in the final stretch of earning my degree. I am working toward stable long-term employment and a way to break this cycle. My wife, Monica, is doing what she can through baking work, is also in school herself, and is actively searching for permanent employment. Our youngest just returned to daycare on June 15th after a long stretch without consistent childcare, which made the last six months extremely difficult. For Jefferson, that meant about four months without care, which significantly impacted our ability to stay stable and maintain consistent work.

Any support would go directly toward preventing eviction, securing stable housing, restoring transportation so we can return to full-time work, covering childcare costs not fully supported by MDHHS, and meeting immediate needs like food and basic bills.

We are not looking for a handout—just a chance to stabilize, keep our family together, and get back on our feet. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for any help or support you’re able to give.