Thursday will mark the fifth anniversary of my official lurking on DKos, having been an unregistered lurker for some years previously. I have never written a diary before and have commented only a few times, so none of you know me. I'm embarrassed that my first diary is a plea for help, but things have gotten to that point.
First, a little about my circumstances. I live with my daughter and 13 month-old granddaughter in an apartment in a small town in north central PA. I spent the last several years caring for my mother through her battle with dementia and other health problems. At first, I continued to work full-time, but when I reached 62, I decided to collect Social Security and work part-time. Part-time work soon proved to be unmanageable too as Mom required more care and and there was often little to no sleep. My daughter has been working since she was 16. Last fall she lost her job and collected unemployment while working part-time at a local dollar store. Unemployment stopped in March and she was trying to make it on 15-17 hours/week at minimum wage. She received a promotion to Lead Sales Associate which means that she has all the responsibilities of an assistant manager with a $.50 per hour raise. At least, she gets 35-39 hours. I receive $709/month Social Security and work 16 hours per week. Mom passed away one year ago this month, so I would be more than willing to work more, but am limited in the type of work I can do because of knee problems.
Last winter was difficult since we pay for our heat. We are still paying on the electric bill from then. Last Thursday, the alternator went out on daughter's 1998 Mercury Mountaineer. We live in a rural area and it is our only transportation as my car died two years ago. We are in need of monetary help to get the vehicle fixed and catch up on rent. If anyone is able to help us with a few dollars, please PM me.
If this diary is against site rules in any way, please let me know and I will delete it.