Story

My name is Rex. I am not someone who asks for help easily. I spent years building a career in technology, leading teams, driving results, and taking pride in the fact that my wife and I handled whatever came our way. This post is hard to write. But we are out of options, and pretending otherwise does not pay the electric bill.

Earlier this year, I lost my job. Not because of poor performance – the role was eliminated. I have been doing contract work since then, picking up whatever is available, but contract work is inconsistent by nature. Some weeks are okay. Most are not. The gap between what is coming in and what is going out has grown to the point where we are now two months behind on rent and carrying overdue balances on every utility.

Here is where we stand right now:
Rent (two months): $4,527.75
Electricity: $463.23
City utilities – water and trash: $375.68
Internet: $213.90

That is $5,580.56 before we get to the basics – gas to get to interviews and contract sites, toiletries, the things the food bank cannot cover. We use the food bank every other week and are grateful for it. But there are gaps, and they add up.

What makes this harder is that it is not just the two of us absorbing the weight. My mother-in-law recently had knee surgery and is recovering in our home. She needs care, and she needs consistency – a stable roof, running water, a working home. We are trying to provide that while our own foundation is cracking underneath us.

Our daughters have had a brutal stretch as well. Our middle daughter was in a serious car accident. Our youngest just had her first baby. Neither situation called for a lecture about timing. They needed their parents. We showed up because that is what you do. But showing up has a cost, and right now we are feeling all of it at once.

I want to be clear about a few things. We are not looking for a handout that funds a lifestyle. We are looking for a bridge – enough to keep the lights on, keep a roof over us, and give me the runway to get back to full-time employment, which I am actively pursuing. Every dollar donated goes directly to the balances listed above and to covering the basic day-to-day needs we cannot meet right now.

If you can give $5, that matters. If you can give $50, that matters more than I can say. If you share this with someone who might help, that costs you nothing and could change everything for us.

We have given a lot over the years – to causes, to family, to people who needed a hand. Right now, we are on the other side of that equation, and we are asking with everything we have.

Thank you for reading this far. It means more than you know.

paypal.me/RShafer76