Hello everybody and thank you for taking the time to read through this message. Whether you’re able to donate, send a prayer or even share this, we appreciate everything you’re willing to do. My family includes myself, my wife and our 4 beautiful children age 11(f), 9(f), and 5 year old twins (m). Back in January my car was totaled leaving me without transportation. I had to find ways to get back and forth to work. I had the help of great coworkers and public transport. Aside from having to cancel many appointments, the headache without having a vehicle seemed almost impossible to get rid of. About a month after that I was fortunate enough to use my income tax to finance a newer car. However my family hit a major hardship in May when we lost our apartment. My wife and I lived paycheck to paycheck and rent was hard to keep up with. We fell behind trying to pay bills and be financially stable with 4 children. Unfortunately my job ends in the summer due to working at a school. I could no longer even make payments towards rent to get us caught up to help my wife. We left our apartment and went to a hotel which I’m sure you can all assume isn’t any cheaper than an apartment. My wife was financially responsible for the weekly costs because I was on summer break. She was spending $500 a week from May until about mid June. Because a hotel was a lot more stable than a shelter, we did have our children with us. They all packed one suitcase and that was how we lived for a month or so. I am grateful there was a full kitchen for us to be able to provide hot meals for our kiddos. Unfortunately in June, a situation arose and we had to leave the hotel. My wife just paid for a weeks worth and we ended up leaving there on a Tuesday. She was not able to get a refund for the whole week even though we weren’t going to be staying there so we had no clue where we were going to end up that night. We packed up everything that could fit into our car and decided it was best if we took our children to their father’s apartment so while we go through this transition, the kids would have stable living. We got a hotel for the night and for the next 2 weeks my wife and I slept in our car as we had no money to pay for a hotel rate every night. The weekly rates were way too much for her to afford alone. I knew something had to be done so I applied for a summer job in nursing and have been working with this company since June. As the days went by I thought even with sleeping in a car, things would get better because I was able to work. Unfortunately, things went south and June 19th my wife totaled my car. I was completely devastated. We were now left without our temporary “home” we were sleeping in. I panicked because I haven’t even received my first check from the new job and the car was being financed so everything started going through my head about what to do. My wife sadly went to jail due to this accident and I was left to figure things out alone. I wasn’t able to go into a shelter while staying at the hotel because we had to be completely homeless (tent, car, on the street) I called shelter after shelter from Lancaster to York county the whole way into Hanover and Carlisle. They all said the same thing, “we don’t have any open beds but, keep calling.” I was exhausted and I wanted to give up. While my wife was incarcerated, I ended up staying at my grandmas house. I’m sure before even getting to this part of the story you’re wondering why I didn’t reach out to family first. One family member said she didn’t have room anywhere and no other friends or family offered to take us in. My grandma owns her house and she has a duplex but, only one side is livable which is her side and that side includes her and my mom plus my brothers room. There is one spare room on that side and when I decided to come back, I gave it to my children. The other side where my I stay is not deemed fit to live in. There isn’t electricity on that side, the bathroom sink doesn’t work and the stove only works if I use a lighter to bring the flames on. The wall in the area I sleep in is molded and falling out and I have an air mattress to get us by. I was allowed to run an extension cord from my brothers room to the side I stay on to use a fan so I don’t get too overheated in that room. I’m not allowed to plug in more than one thing or else a fuse can blow so I have to unplug the fan to pump up my bed and so forth. It’s not an ideal living space for anyone. My wife has joined me on that side when she was released from jail and has been job searching since. She is still employed with her previous employer however, it’s hard to work with the circumstances we’re in. (Her record since being in jail) I’ve had my children back since being at my grandmas house but, their father does not help me financially. I am not able to afford school clothes, supplies or even bills I still have to pay. Because of the accident and my wife not being covered on my policy, I now have to pay back the $16,500 left on the car that was totaled, the $4200 tow lot fee where the car is sitting at because insurance isn’t covering that either, a monthly car payment of almost $600 because by the grace of God I was still able to finance ANOTHER car even after mine was totaled in June and finally a new rate of car insurance for $500. Every check goes to something with the car and I just cannot get ahead. I will be in debt for a long time. I do go back to work for the school in a few weeks so I will have 2 jobs but, even that’s not enough to get me ahead and financially secure. I am desperately asking for help in my family’s time of need. If I am able to raise these funds I will be putting them towards a stable and safe place to stay for my family. I understand times are tough for everyone and we are all at different stages in our life. I have reached out to 2-1-1, non profits, family and friends, rental agencies, shelters etc. I don’t know where else to turn. In the midst of these struggles, I was diagnosed with cancer of the kidney in August. After having my gallbladder removed in January and the surgeon finding a suspicious lesion on my right kidney, I was able to get answers. I waited months, missed appointments due to no vehicle and went through days of feeling sick with anxiety. I know the world doesn’t stop due to one’s sickness and hardships but, I pray my family and I can get the help we need. This fundraiser isn’t just about money. My children are in need of clothes and food. The sizes are as follows: 11 year girl- large woman clothes, size 14 ladies jeans, 11 woman shoe. 9 year girl- 12/14 tops and bottoms in children, 7.5 woman shoe. 5 year boy (twin 1)- 5T tops and bottoms, 11c shoe. 5 year boy (twin 2)- 8 tops and bottoms in children, 13c shoe. As I mentioned in the beginning, if you’re even able to send a prayer or a share, we appreciate everything. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story and in the end, God has the final say.
