Why I Need Help
My story’s nothing special. It’s the same one you’ve heard a hundred times.
I got rid of everything to try and build a life with the mother of my daughter. We moved in together. Merged finances. Took on debt to make it work. I was all in. She wasn’t. To what extent she ran around with other men, I’ll probably never know, and honestly, it doesn’t even matter anymore. What I do know is my daughter is mine, without a doubt.
Now I’m left picking up the pieces. I’m in debt, a one-year-old daughter, and a mountain of bills that don’t care how hard I work or how much I try to hold everything together. I’m working full time and doing the best I can, but I’m stuck in that spot where I make just enough to disqualify me from help and not enough to get ahead. It’s slow motion drowning.
Reasons You Might Find Me Worthy of Help
I’m a veteran. I’ve got the DD-214 to prove it.
I work full time. I’m not looking for a way out of responsibility, just a little help catching up. I’m not asking because I’m lazy or unwilling to fight through it. I’m asking because I’ve been fighting through it, every damn day, and I’m getting tired. It’s not that I want a handout. I want a lifeline.
I’m not trying to impress anyone or pretend I’ve got it worse than everybody else. I’m just one guy trying to give his daughter a better future.
Reasons You Might Think I Don’t Deserve It
I have a job. I’m not homeless. I have a roof over our heads and food in the fridge.
But somehow, that puts me in no-man’s-land. I make too much to qualify for aid, but not enough to actually survive without borrowing from tomorrow. I’m stuck. And I’m not the only one. There’s a whole crowd of us just out of reach of help, slowly sinking while everyone assumes we’re doing fine.
So yeah, I might not look like someone who needs help. But looks are only skin deep.
What I’d Do With Your Help
First thing, I’d take a breath. The kind of breath you only get when you’re no longer being crushed by interest, late fees, and collection notices. I’d start clearing out the debt that’s eating me alive one payment at a time. If by some miracle enough help came in to get me caught up or even ahead, I’d start a 529 plan for my daughter. I’d give her the start I never had.
I know there are others with harder stories and heavier burdens. I’m not here to compare pain. I’m just here to ask, if something in my story speaks to you, would you consider helping?
Even if you don’t, thank you for reading. That alone means more than you know.