What I am saying is if we can elevate you out of your usual circles your FB pages will get hits and you will get more support. It would be great if someone with a wider audience would include your GFM posts. Having 4 fb accounts is not the same as having 4 very active FB accounts. Or even 1. It would be great even if something could land on Rolling Stone or another national outlet.
You need more exposure. Just sayin'
Peace Out.
[Edited on 4/2/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
What I am saying is if we can elevate you out of your usual circles your FB pages will get hits and you will get more support. It would be great if someone with a wider audience would include your GFM posts. Having 4 fb accounts is not the same as having 4 very active FB accounts. Or even 1. It would be great even if something could land on Rolling Stone or another national outlet.
You need more exposure. Just sayin'
Peace Out.
Thank you I have thought of that as well. I have continuously and repeatedly called and emailed and also contacted via Social Media all of my local news stations, newspapers, human interest community affairs reporters, and even The Today Show and Oprah who do special things such as this, but NONE of them have answered me.
None of them will likely get back to you. As sad as your situation is and I hope you find answers, there are many far worse off by comparison in every city. Sad but true.
When I worked media, these types of requests for help were a constant. Some real and some cons but a steady flow regardless. Without kids/illness involved or some "feel good" angle, they won't touch it. Even churches would be hard pressed to help much as the demand upon them is usually large and they will usually help the hungry with children first.
But a church may also provide some assistance on where to get help.
None of them will likely get back to you. As sad as your situation is and I hope you find answers, there are many far worse off by comparison in every city. Sad but true.
When I worked media, these types of requests for help were a constant. Some real and some cons but a steady flow regardless. Without kids/illness involved or some "feel good" angle, they won't touch it. Even churches would be hard pressed to help much as the demand upon them is usually large and they will usually help the hungry with children first.
But a church may also provide some assistance on where to get help.
Actually that "feel good" angle or the people with children or sick is not usually the case. I had posted earlier on here that July 2016 the entire community of Historic Ellicott City, Maryland (about 20 minutes from me) suffered a catastrophic flood. 2 people DIED. All of the shop owners and restaurant owners LIVED over top of their businesses. They all lost EVERYTHING, their homes, their businesses, their cars, their pets. It was all over the NATIONAL news many times and showed these people hysterical in tears as the county council man and disaster relief crews brought the home/business owners in one by one to view the devastation. One lady literally collapsed and fainted when she saw a giant tree and a mudslide through her shop and home. Yet ALL of these people set up GoFundMe's and barely made a dime. No one cared or gave a crap and these people truly lost everything that they worked hard all of their lives for and were lucky to get out with their lives.
Yet Toya Graham, a self admitted ex-con, recovering drug addict, mother of SIX, whose son has been in and out of major trouble with the law himself, she is the mother whose criminal teen son was a part of and involved with the April 2015 Baltimore riots torching Baltimore and attacking police officers, she was filmed on the local news just slapping her kid during the riots, and in 24 hours she was called a "Hero" mom and on The Today Show, Oprah, Good Morning America and people set up a GoFundMe that raised almost a hundred thousand dollars for her (for slapping her criminal son on camera), Oprah bought her a minivan, she was PAID for all of her media appearances. Then April 2016 she was all over the local news saying she had blown through the entire $100,000 (like a lottery winner that has no common sense on a spending spree). And in October 2016 she set up a SECOND GoFundMe and is now up to nearly $85,000. And people just keep giving her hundreds of thousands. Sorry but I do NOT get how people can give her almost TWO hundred thousand in TWO GoFundMes for slapping her thug kid yet people won't help the home/business owners of Ellicott City who lost EVERYTHING they worked for all their lives for in a catastophic flood and FEMA won't cover most of what they lost.
The cult of celebrity rules large in America just like people buy and pay for the wares of Kim Kardashian, or Paris Hilton and make them millionaires and yet very talented artists, singers, actors, etc with talent struggle to get recognized and wait tables or bar tend just to pay the rent. Idiotic!
[Edited on 4/4/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
Life is not fair sometimes.
That example brings in race and Oprah so I wouldn't use it as a guideline. The amount of people exposed to the story is in the tens of millions. 1% kicks in a donation and it is big bucks.
On a local level, that is where kids and extreme cases get reaction. Sad fact but there are many that are far worse off than your situation. I wouldn't waste your time there.
Beyond friends and family, immediate help is a tough thing. Unless as suggested you find greater exposure than the Fundme deal will come up way short of your desires. Even with exposure, I think you will be let down.
I would be actively seeking other means of aid.
We have ParaTranspo here to help with people such as yourself to get around. I imagine that you have something similar. Not ideal compared to driving yourself but will get you there. Perhaps such a thing does not exist but that would surprise me.
Waiting for an artist that you interviewed to pony up is not going to happen unless they are a friend. They are interviewed by hundreds of people and even more photographers. The artist, management and definitely label will do nothing. Look at the ABB for an example. Butch was in serious financial troubles that could have been solved by a series of shows. Obviously the offer to help was not there. That is after playing together for almost 50 years. Don't think that they will view unpublished interviews (or any interview) as a career builder nor a reason to donate. Again sad for you but the truth.
Hope that your luck/situation improves.
[Edited on 4/5/2017 by CanadianMule]
Life is not fair sometimes.
That example brings in race and Oprah so I wouldn't use it as a guideline. The amount of people exposed to the story is in the tens of millions. 1% kicks in a donation and it is big bucks.
On a local level, that is where kids and extreme cases get reaction. Sad fact but there are many that are far worse off than your situation. I wouldn't waste your time there.
Beyond friends and family, immediate help is a tough thing. Unless as suggested you find greater exposure than the Fundme deal will come up way short of your desires. Even with exposure, I think you will be let down.
I would be actively seeking other means of aid.
We have ParaTranspo here to help with people such as yourself to get around. I imagine that you have something similar. Not ideal compared to driving yourself but will get you there. Perhaps such a thing does not exist but that would surprise me.
Waiting for an artist that you interviewed to pony up is not going to happen unless they are a friend. They are interviewed by hundreds of people and even more photographers. The artist, management and definitely label will do nothing. Look at the ABB for an example. Butch was in serious financial troubles that could have been solved by a series of shows. Obviously the offer to help was not there. That is after playing together for almost 50 years. Don't think that they will view unpublished interviews (or any interview) as a career builder nor a reason to donate. Again sad for you but the truth.
Hope that your luck/situation improves.
[Edited on 4/5/2017 by CanadianMule]
Thank you for your kind words.
All of my interviews were indeed published, several as Cover Stories and only Guitar International went out of business. One of my interviews with Derek Trucks is still published on Guitar.com and the others were hard copy print published in Vintage Guitar Magazine as Cover Stories over a decade ago.
I think what happened with Butch was terrible and unacceptable that things got so bad and he became so distraught and no where to turn that he thought he had to resort to what he did.
But many times artists DO help. Britain's Classic Rock Magazine went out of business around Thanksgiving 2016 and all of the staff writers lost their jobs and they posted a farewell and thank you on their Facebook about how they all were left "redundant" British speak for unemployed at the holidays no less. Well, a ton of international music artists that had been positively reviewed, interviewed, and covered through the years held a benefit fundraiser which they promoted all over Facebook to raise enough funds to at least pay all of the laid off writers through the holidays so they could pay their rent/mortgage bills, and feed their families etc. It got so much Social Media attention that at the final hour, a new publishing company BOUGHT Classic Rock and they are now still going and everyone got to keep their jobs after all.
Some artists have a conscience after all and remember who helped them, promoted them and their work, and buttered their bread so to speak, when the artists were struggling or when these artists wanted their CD's, concert tours, films, books, etc to sell and make money.
Popular blog writer Harry Knowles from the one time successful and powerful film website Ain't It Cool News wound up a year or so ago with of all things like a $100,000 tax bill for not paying his IRS back taxes, and some actors, screenwriters, directors actually paid his back taxes for him (it was all over the entertainment news).
I even remember seeing some music artist on Facebook some years back I can't remember who, posting on his Facebook page asking all of his fans on his Facebook to buy a cookbook, written by the WIFE of his bass player, she was an unpublished new writer and it was her very first book his bass player's WIFE's very first book, and the music artist posted her Facebook on HIS Facebook and everyone ran to the site to buy her cookbook. And another guitar player I remember on Facebook posted his REALTOR'S Facebook page on his site and asked people to use that realtor's services. So I actually see this stuff all the time.
Like I said some artists do have a conscience and scratch the back of those that help them. It's not uncommon at all. Guess it's a matter of right place right time or fate or the stars, whatever.
[Edited on 4/5/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
[Edited on 4/5/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
I want to again THANK again very much EVERYONE who has donated. However, I just want to note that all donations are voluntary on the part of those who elect on their own to donate.
I have received some donations from strangers that I do not know who have also sent me inappropriate communications/emails. If you want to help that is great, but if you are not a friend of mine, or you are not someone that I already know personally or professionally, and you are a stranger who chooses to donate with expectations of obligating me to any type of relationship or communication, then please do not donate.
This will also prevent any strangers who are thinking of donating from having any personal or professional expectations on my part (which is NOT what a fundraiser is for) or of feeling misled on their part and if they do choose to donate, I must write a DISCLAIMER that for strangers who donate, this is their only and final interaction with this fundraiser and with me.
From now on I will be carefully screening, FOR MY SAFETY, ALL emails to me on this fundraiser and ALL emails and comments on ALL social media and the internet that stems from this fundraiser. Thank you for your understanding in this business matter. Arlene Weiss
I read through this and if true, I wish you the best. But "FOR MY SAFETY"?
I guess I don't understand what you aren't safe from. You initiated it.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
I read through this and if true, I wish you the best. But "FOR MY SAFETY"?
I guess I don't understand what you aren't safe from. You initiated it.
No, someone I don't know who donated on their own started emailing me repeatedly and making me feel uncomfortable by some of the things they said and wanted. Idiot me responded (which I should not have done and now I know better as I have never had a GoFundMe and did not listen to my instincts as they say not to talk to strangers offline and now I have a troll that won't stop and keeps emailing me more and getting very hostile.
[Edited on 4/5/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
There are stalkers everywhere Arlene, they are predators, you have to protect yourself as best you can, trust your instinct, when your gut tells you it isn't right, DO NOT SECOND GUESS YOUR INSTINCT. I could tell ya tales.....
I read through this and if true, I wish you the best. But "FOR MY SAFETY"?
I guess I don't understand what you aren't safe from. You initiated it.
No, someone I don't know who donated on their own started emailing me repeatedly and making me feel uncomfortable by some of the things they said and wanted. Idiot me responded (which I should not have done and now I know better as I have never had a GoFundMe and did not listen to my instincts as they say not to talk to strangers offline and now I have a troll that won't stop and keeps emailing me more and getting very hostile.
[Edited on 4/5/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
Can you block them in email?
Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated. Thank you and have an awesome weekend. Much love and thanks to EVERYONE! 
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
Happy Sunday everyone! Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated. Thank you and have an awesome weekend. Much love and thanks to EVERYONE! If you like any of my interviews and reviews that I have reposted on the ABB or that are on my Facebook page, please Donate and help me out. Thank you for your kind support.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
Happy Easter everyone! Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated. Thank you and have an blessed holiday. Much love and thanks to EVERYONE!
If you like my interviews and reviews that I have re-posted on the ABB or that are on my Facebook page, with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington, The Marshall Tuckers Band's Doug Gray, Joe Bonamassa & Black Country Communion, YES's Jon Anderson & Trevor Rabin, Bo Diddley, Hot Tuna/The Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, The Kinks' Dave Davies and many more, PLEASE DONATE and help me out. Thank you for your kind support.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs [Edited on 4/14/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated.
If you like my interviews and reviews that I have re-posted on the ABB or that are on my Facebook page, with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington, The Marshall Tuckers Band's Doug Gray, Joe Bonamassa & Black Country Communion, YES's Jon Anderson & Trevor Rabin, Bo Diddley, Hot Tuna/The Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, The Kinks' Dave Davies, reviews of Concert Performances of The Allman Brothers Band, Molly Hatchett, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, and many more..
.......PLEASE DONATE and help me out. Thank you, Happy Easter and God Bless you for your kind support.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated.
If you like my interviews and reviews that I have re-posted on the ABB or that are on my Facebook page, with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington, The Marshall Tuckers Band's Doug Gray, Joe Bonamassa & Black Country Communion, YES's Jon Anderson & Trevor Rabin, Bo Diddley, Hot Tuna/The Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, The Kinks' Dave Davies, reviews of Concert Performances of The Allman Brothers Band, Molly Hatchett, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, and many more..
.......PLEASE DONATE and help me out. Thank you, Happy Easter and God Bless you for your kind support.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated.
If you like my interviews and reviews that I have re-posted on the ABB or that are on my Facebook page, with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington, The Marshall Tuckers Band's Doug Gray, Joe Bonamassa & Black Country Communion, YES's Jon Anderson & Trevor Rabin, Bo Diddley, Hot Tuna/The Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, The Kinks' Dave Davies, reviews of Concert Performances of The Allman Brothers Band, Molly Hatchett, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, and many more..
.......PLEASE DONATE and help me out. Thank you, Happy Easter and God Bless you for your kind support.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs/blockquote >
Everyone I don't have any living family and I have many serious physical health disabilities. Please, I appreciate anything you can Donate or spare, I see you all donate regularly to other folks kickstarters when they assemble books of interviews/photos/articles.
I'm not asking to assemble a book, many of my interviews are on the forum for FREE especially if you click on my name.
If you appreciate my interviews, then, PLEASE KINDLY MAKE A DONATION to help me in my dire circumstances and emergency situation. All I need is enough funds to get a very small compact economy car something like a Nissan Versa or a Toyota Yaris. I have posted many of my interviews and reviews and articles through the years on here, most that I did NOT get paid for while I was still working full time regular day jobs. But now I'm Disabled and so I'm retired. PLEASE DONATE and help me please.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
[Edited on 4/17/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
Just a kind reminder folks IF you can make a donation, anything even $5 it all helps and is very kindly appreciated.
If you like my interviews and reviews that I have re-posted on the ABB or that are on my Facebook page, with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington, The Marshall Tuckers Band's Doug Gray, Joe Bonamassa & Black Country Communion, YES's Jon Anderson & Trevor Rabin, Bo Diddley, Hot Tuna/The Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, The Kinks' Dave Davies, reviews of Concert Performances of The Allman Brothers Band, Molly Hatchett, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, and many more..
.......PLEASE DONATE and help me out. Thank you, Happy Easter and God Bless you for your kind support.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs/blockquote >
Everyone I don't have any living family and I have many serious physical health disabilities. Please, I appreciate anything you can Donate or spare, I see you all donate regularly to other folks kickstarters when they assemble books of interviews/photos/articles.
I'm not asking to assemble a book, many of my interviews are on the forum for FREE especially if you click on my name.
If you appreciate my interviews, then, PLEASE KINDLY MAKE A DONATION to help me in my dire circumstances and emergency situation. All I need is enough funds to get a very small compact economy car something like a Nissan Versa or a Toyota Yaris. I have posted many of my interviews and reviews and articles through the years on here, most that I did NOT get paid for while I was still working full time regular day jobs. But now I'm Disabled and so I'm retired. PLEASE DONATE and help me please.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
Arlene, many of us are having some personal crises and drama, which is why more have not responded yet. Don't lost faith, or give up hope. People just don't want to come out and say how bad they have it. (myself included). Sometimes all that is getting people thru is the music and their faith. It is not that they don't care. Those who overcome have the belief that something in them is superior to their circumstances. You have to start believing that too.
Arlene, many of us are having some personal crises and drama, which is why more have not responded yet. Don't lost faith, or give up hope. People just don't want to come out and say how bad they have it. (myself included). Sometimes all that is getting people thru is the music and their faith. It is not that they don't care. Those who overcome have the belief that something in them is superior to their circumstances. You have to start believing that too.
Gina, I do beleive in myself which is WHY I am a writer/journalist and even though no publication wants to pay me for my work I still LOVE what I do and I LOVE arts & entertainment and especially music and the music of the Allman Brothers Band, and "Dreams" and Gregg's "Ocean Awash The Gunwale" have gotten me through so much. I have often said to myself and to others, that without music I would never have made it through this life. I DO understand that many folks have lost their jobs or have medical emergencies, divorces, deaths in their family and worse. BUT MANY folks are VERY blessed and live lives of happiness, security, and blessings and do NOT help (I can attest to this by the literally dozens of very wealthy churches, synagogues, houses of worship and organizations AND VERY successful artists that I have reviewed and interviewed through the decades who have NOT helped me, (or anyone else for that matter) when they are too busy buying a 5th mansion or a 10th luxury car or bragging about their 20th vacation this year in Europe or an exotic island.
I also see literally hundreds of GoFundMe's and Kickstarters where people are NOT even having an emergency at all but are just asking for funds for a vacation or sabattical or some silly thing.
I also see GoFundMe's & Kickstarters for people like that ex-con confessed drug addict Toya Graham whose son was involved in the Baltimore riots and people are STILL giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to her on TWO GoFundMe's after she already got a new van from Oprah Winfrey and had paid appearances on many national talk shows and The Today Show, A Current Affair, & Good Morning America, and now Baltimore's own Koryn Gaines, the violent criminal who was killed by cops last year when she barricaded herself in her house and started shooting at them on LIVE Facebook telling people to shoot police officers , well there's a GoFundMe for her family that has a ton of donations (and from what the news has reported her family is a chip off the old cop killer criminal block).
I just don't get it. If people can give to this crap and even violent criminals then why not help a law abiding middle aged woman who has served my country by serving jury duty TWICE, has 2 college degrees, worked all my life full time often working 2-3 jobs while I paid taxes and supported & was a caregiver to a widowed disabled mother until she passed away, and has also done arts & entertainment journalism because it gives my life meaning and I love it.
I DO believe in myself, but that does NOT pay the bills or financially assist me in an emergency, one that I probably would not be in in the first place if MANY of my former employers had paid me a livable wage for the 60 hours a week that I worked with TWO college degrees but they did NOT, and the numerous local bands that I managed and booked and did PR for that ripped me off and were supposed to pay me but DIDN'T, and the numerous bosses at my regular jobs that ILLEGALLY made me work OFF THE CLOCK, and UNPAID OVERTIME and made me run their personal errands using my car, my gas, OFF THE CLOCK and when I said anything and stood up for myself because I BELIEVED IN MYSELF, so then they retaliated and threatened to fire me or did.
So much for believing in myself. Just like the blues artists, and many hard working poor and blue collar folks who believe in themselves but live in poverty because their employers and the system also does not pay them a livable wage then these same self absorbed rich bosses and corporations bitch when these hard working impoverished folks need public assistance, charities, or government benefits (often that they have paid into the system for out of their jobs for and it is their own money that they paid into). I filed many times for SSD Disability (unlike SSI, SSD Disability comes from when you have worked all your life and paid in to FICA and Social security and it comes from your many lifetime of employment and jobs) , but SSD denied me so many times that now I don't qualify for it because its been too many years since I last worked within the last 10 years, (SSD does not count your overall work history once you stop working, you have to file and keep your case open just a few years after you stop working and if your case gets closed after denial you are not allowed to refile or reopen it and they FORCE you to file for SSI which is like welfare).
Anyhow, I ASK FOLKS< THE ONES WHO ARE BLESSED, TO PLEASE PAY IT FORWARD, especially if you like my interviews and reviews of the ABB, with Gregg Allman, with Derek Trucks, and more artists like The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band, YES, Joe Bonamassa & Black County Communion, Doyle Bramhall II, Austin City Limits, Jorma Kaukonen, actors Michael Beck from The Warriors, Jean Reno from Leon: The Professional, Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters, and many more, please lend a very much appreciated helping hand, and PLEASE DONATE.
I thank you with all my heart.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs
[Edited on 4/19/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
At 4:44 pm "Who's Online - There are 68 guest(s) and 4 member(s) online."
Just to let folks know, guests can donate if they choose to. If 100 people give up one Starbuck's coffee, that would help. If 1,000 people did that, she could get a place to live at least. If the same 1,000 people gave up one Starbucks coffee for 3 months, she could probably get a used car and an apartment. People need to understand the concept of community. A lot of people doing a little bit means stuff gets done.
I feel sorry for her but the every other day repeat for money is like a digital version of the guy with a sign at an intersection.
[Edited on 4/20/2017 by PhotoRon286]
A large percentage of donations received are though this site.
Not bad considering that only a dozen of us are left here.
I said that originally and perhaps Arlene is unaware but there are really not that many active posters here. Expectations of this site/forum are way too high. There was a time when this sort of stuff wasn't really allowed.
I would suggest an auction to raise some cash but not sure that there are even enough people here to get some bidding going.
Need to hit more forums or sources for donations.
Exactly where I was going with the posting of members and guests online.
This is NOT a very active site any more.
Craig's List is more active.
Sad.
Much better off trying other venues for this solicitation.
I'd also point out that it is very off-putting to see a post denigrating other peoples' go fund me sites because she doesn't think they are more worthy than her.
[Edited on 4/20/2017 by PhotoRon286]
Exactly where I was going with the posting of members and guests online.
This is NOT a very active site any more.
Craig's List is more active.
Sad.
Much better off trying other venues for this solicitation.
I'd also point out that it is very off-putting to see a post denigrating other peoples' go fund me sites because she doesn't think they are more worthy than her.
[Edited on 4/20/2017 by PhotoRon286]
I would agree with everything you said. Except I visit here often. I no longer sign in most of the time.
I was not received with open arms. I was accused of being some character named Dino , the bus driver. I did my home work.
My conclusion . Some people here are not receptive to new members., no mater how much the love ABB or how earnestly they want to make friends.
When Arlene first appeared here. I followed her links. I came out on. FB page gear for super heroes . I posted it here and she changed it. So judge for yourself. How do you become 55 with no family, church or friends. I can't imagine living in a rented room my entire adult live.....GUESS WHAT....I worked in the medical field myself as a ward clerk. After my husband died at twenty three. I supported myself and my daughter. I was an only child my dad was dead. It was up to me. By God I did it!
deano did a lot of damage here for years and we were always suspicious when new people came in and were active.
You never knew if they were one post away from a classic deano meltdown complete with gay porn pics.
Glad you got through that without too much trouble.
I didn't say that I had rented the SAME room all my life I said that I had rented single unfurnished room(S) (meaning I have continued to rent rooms in other peoples homes all my adult life and many people do this nowadays, including the adults that have lived in the many other rooms for rent in the houses that I have rented rooms in.
Check your local newspaper and lots of homeowners do this because they also need the money to pay their mortgage, bills, etc, so they rent out rooms in their homes.
And many folks have to live in rented rooms in other people's homes because they don't make a livable wage, their jobs cut their hours, their jobs cut their paycheck, they're Disabled, Retired, etc.
Also apartments/housing in many towns and cities across the nation is no longer affordable, or people have bad credit and can't pass the credit check, etc. Nowadays you have many folks and even FAMILIES, people with children who are living in one room in motels or in garages or one room efficiencies, it's that bad.
As I said I supported my widowed mom and was her caretaker much of my life and on top of having low paying jobs (even with 2 college degrees that often REQUIRED a college degree) I was not saving anything because I was also supporting my mother most of the time until she passed away (and then left me with debts that she owed).
One of my friends has a 20 something son that graduated college with a LAW degree, over $100,000 in debt to law school and they are working at McDonalds because there are no decent paying jobs anymore with outsourcing tons of jobs from factory jobs to customer service and manufacturing overseas, the digital/internet age making people's jobs obsolete, unions losing their clout with many foreigners coming to the USA willing to work for alot less and often under the table, the factory age ending great paying jobs at steelmills and the auto industry which is NO MORE and ENDED, etc.
Also, I would be happy to post my GoFundMe on other sites, Reddit will NOT let anyone post a fundraiser link that has not been VOTED UP to 300 KARMA points by other Reddit users, (I tried that route) and I would never use Craigslist because alot of women have been murdered or raped by posting on there. VERY unsafe site.
And I do have friends, I never said I didn't I said I didn't have any living family or anyone to help in the capacity of major needs as I cannot ask a friend to buy me a car or pay my rent, and my friends have very graciously and kindly donated, and so have several local Maryland musicians donated who personally know me or who I have reviewed and supported in the local Maryland press many years back.
BTW, lots of folks don't have living family, especially as you get older and your parents and family members die. My dad died when I was SEVEN and I only had one living grandmother who died from colon cancer when I was 18, and she lived in poverty all her life working retail jobs and she worked until she was diagnosed with cancer and died 2 months later.
Because I never married and I never had children I never gained new additional extended family through marriage like most folks do that marry. I worked my adult years and took care of and supported my mom (who in a sense was MY child because I was her caregiver and supported her) while trying to support myself and I DID until my last job cut my hours and then went out of business and then I became Disabled myself. I also got into alot of debt by supporting my mom and when she passed away she left me alot of unpaid debts and bills, some of which were in MY NAME.
Many people have very difficult lives and just because they work full time does not guarantee they don't have major financial, medical, or situational emergencies and difficulties.
One last thing I didn't denigrate people who really need a fundraiser or GoFundMe, I spoke of Toya Graham, the ex con recovering addict with the son who was involved in and actively took part in the Baltimore riots and also of Korryn Gaines who posted a LIVE Facebook feed telling people to kill cops while she barricaded herself in her house in her own shootout with cops.
The silly GoFundMe's I mentioned I was just stating fact, like the now infamous guy who raised $100,000 to make potato salad not for a business or restaurant , but for fun only as a social experiment, and total strangers gave it to him.
I also know there are LOTS of folks with GoFundMe's and fundraisers who really do need funds for all kinds of emergencies, losses, crisis, and no one helps them either.
Just making a point, like how schoolteachers and nurses and firefighters don't make a livable wage and constantly have their jobs CUT where they work and they are laid off, and can barely afford to get by, but our culture pays MILLIONS to people to be celebrities, to have fun and act, to make music, to play sports, basketball, football, or do nothing like Kim Kardashian and the cult of celebrity. When people donate to different fundraisers or when they pay someone to make a living sometimes they have no perspective.
Thank you to those that have or can Donate and God Bless.
https://www.gofundme.com/car-4-medical-appts-necessary-needs [Edited on 4/20/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
I am really struggling with this thread as I get older (I will be 58), I know how fortunate I have been to have a good quality of life. I also recognize how easy it could have been to not have this as circumstances often play a factor. I worry about my adult son who is going to struggle as he gets older and what would happen if my wife and I were not there for him.
But what bothers me, for lack of a better word, regarding your posts is how your anger about other folks getting help through Gofundme somehow entitles you to get it. You have posted eloquently about your needs and difficulties and people here have made a decision about whether to contribute or not. I have not because I don't know you.
I don't know. We live in a bizarre society where I think in some ways people feel things are deserved to them and I consider myself to be a liberal. Sometimes we make choices that affect our lives and we have to take responsibility for them.
I wish you nothing but the best Arlene. I hope you get the support you need.
