TL;DR — I want to work but nothing seems to be compatible with my illnesses. I have been turned down for disability multiple times. I am on a waitlist for Grubhub and DoorDash in my area and so far have had one order come through on Uber Eats in the past 7-days. (I live in an economically depressed, rural area.) I have to borrow a vehicle to deliver food cause mine would not pass inspection last year, so for the first time in my adult life, I don't have a car. But I do have an Associate's in Sociology and a Bachelor's in Psychology, with a work history largely in administrative assistance, for all the good that does? I never know from day to day or even hour to hour if I am going to feel well or be bed-ridden, so I need a remote job based on a workload rather than punching in at specific hours on specific days. Cause I might be too sick Monday at 9am but by 3pm, I might feel well enough to work a few hours.
Anyone know of a company that offers jobs like this? I have been searching, though only on free sites, but it seems to be quite the unicorn. I've not found one yet. The vast majority require you to be on the computer and/or phone at specified times and I have to miss too much work when I'm on a set schedule like that, between all the doctor appointments and sick days.
I do make art and would love to try to sell it but I am living off of $280/month and am not homeless only because I live in an RV on my parents property. I can't afford to skim anything out of that “budget” to start a website, buy supplies, pay Etsy fees, etc.
Y'all, I was the first person in my family on my dad's side to get a college degree and the first on my mom's side to obtain two. I grew up poor and I started college when my daughter was 6-months old. Before my health sidelined me, I was working 3 jobs and going to college full-time as a single mom. I planned to use my Psychology degree to help me move positions into higher paying jobs, but was forced to medically resign from the Commonwealth in January 2019. My neurologist requested they allow me to work remotely, as my job could easily be done from home, but HR said they couldn't “make a job” for me that “doesn't already exist” — nevermind that they still have remote jobs today they created due to the pandemic in 2020. Go figure.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would massively appreciate the help. I am getting some state benefits, for which I am immensely grateful. If I had known I would end up disabled, I would have majored in IT instead of Psych, but I was following my dream. I wanted to help people. I still do. But now I exist in this awful state of poverty from which I am desperate to escape.
Here's what being super poor has taught me:
–There are some things worse than government peanut butter.
–I haven't been on a vacation since 2004 and that sucks.
–I am 44 with a 12-year-old daughter and neither of us have ever had a spa day, manicure, or pedicure. Neither have we had a vacation together.
–I want to show my daughter museums and travel with her and give her a good life. Not necessarily pampered, but comfortable. And I was working over 60-hours a week while going to college full-time for years to help get us there. I wanted to get my Master's degree. I still haven't processed the grief of losing that dream.
–Please don't judge poor people too harshly. Some of us got here despite our best efforts against it. Some of us get bitch slapped by life no matter how many times we get back up. Until you've walked a mile in their shoes, you just don't know. Like, I didn't wear my Converse to your wedding thinking it was cool, Becky. They're literally the only fuckin pair of shoes I own!
I digress.
If you got this far, thank you for reading.
Thank you for caring, fellow humans.
Thank you for allowing me to vent, as well.