Anchor of Support: Help Us Stay Afloat

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago was the beginning of a very long struggle. The pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone, and for us, it's been even more difficult because Johnnie has Lupus and is immunocompromised. It makes navigating the world, finding work and even getting healthcare, difficult and risky. As it is, Johnnie's health has already been complicated by Long Covid which has caused a lot of cardiac and GI issues. 

Back in 2020, I had to leave my job of 10 years to help protect Johnnie and she used to travel quite a bit for work but has pretty much had to become the NDN in the bubble, making rare appearances here and there. Over the last 4 years, we've been able to scrape by and pay most of our expenses by selling Johnnie's art and t-shirts, which many of you have kindly purchased. We've also taken on odd jobs and gig work to make ends meet, but it's been a constant struggle because Johnnie's healthcare needs are complex and there are a lot of expenses that we must pay out of pocket. I recently returned to a job with a company I had previously worked with but with business slowing and Johnnie's doctor's appointments, the hours I work are just not enough. 

Like many, we were hopeful that things would get better, but here we are, STILL facing financial uncertainty and homelessness. We're now at a point where we may lose our housing because my hours are not enough and Johnnie's art and tee sales have really stalled over the last few months as we're not the only ones facing financial insecurity. 

In addition to art and tee sales, and the work that we do, we've also depended on crowdfunding to help us scrape by and it's really difficult for us to have to constantly ask for help. We're both skilled and could be doing so much more, but we have to prioritize Johnnie's health. So here we are, humbly asking for help once more. Our immediate goal is to pay off the remaining balance of our rent by Sept 1st and hopefully pay up til the end of the year, so we can have some breathing room to catch up on and figure out our finances without worrying about losing our housing.

We're also looking to hopefully raise a $100 by tomorrow (8/28) to cover johnnie's $99 tuition payment. We have a $598 car payment that is also due soon, after this payment we'll finally be caught up and will be able to return to our normal $248 payment. We also took out a loan to help with Johnnie's medical bills and we only have $942 left to pay it off. 

If you would like to purchase one of Johnnie's paintings instead of donating, you can do so at www.ko-fi.com/johnniejae/shop

If you would like to buy a t-shirt, hoodie, backpack or more, you can shop at www.johnniejae.com/merch

Thank you all so much for your support. We appreciate it greatly.