My older sister, Julie Hemingway, was many things, a musician, writer, an animal lover and rescuer, a published poet, piano tuner, Army soldier, waitress, property manager, mother, aunt, friend, but most of all my sister who had been everything to me.. She was nine years my senior, my first word was her name “Julie”, instead of mama! I idolized her from the day I was born and after our mother died when I was 19, she became a substitute mom to me teaching me how to be self-confident, strong, and to never give up. She was always there for me, even though we argued sometimes, like sisters do, she always had my back.

Two years ago, I learned she wasn't doing well. She had been living in a slum like apartment in Sacramento, all alone, after losing her husband many years earlier. I decided to immediately go see her. I had been living in Phoenix, AZ, where my grown children live, and where I was a gig worker for Uber, DoorDash, and Amazon Flex. Since my work was flexible, I could go anywhere and continue working so I could travel to California while working the whole way there. After arriving, my sister had an accident at her apartment when the floor gave way and she fell through the floor boards hurting her leg and back which made her less mobile. After that, her health seemed to quickly deteriorate. She was in and out of the hospital constantly for over a year. Her health became so unstable that I decided to just stay here permanently in Sacramento to be close to her. She never quit fighting to live and we grew closer than we had ever been before.

Unfortunately, the vehicle I came to California in and relied on for my income was stolen which left me unemployed. At that same time, my sister’s prognosis got worse and she wasn’t able to care for herself anymore. She asked me stay with her and be her full-time caregiver instead of looking for another job, so I agreed to be her full time caregiver. It seemed that we once again would be there for each other and we were both so thankful. We both lived off her small budget that she had after being disabled 20 years earlier. But, we made it for many months until she fell out of bed and had to go back to the hospital, after she came home she seemed much worse overall.

I wasn’t prepared, tragically she died on May 11, she was my whole world. She did not have any savings, had no life insurance, and owed over 500,000 dollars of unpaid medical bills, I have no way to bury or cremate her. Since I started taking care of her instead of working for income, I now am destitute and have no money at all until I can find a job again. Additionally, im going to be evicted now from her one bedroom apartment, leaving me homeless. I am trying to raise enough funds to cremate her respectfully and to help me survive until I can find work again or obtain a vehicle again to use for gig work. I loved my sister so much and am struggling to find a way to go on without her. Thank you for any help you can give.