As a former foster youth, I currently provide for myself and I struggle with bills. My mother passed away when I was 15 and my father passed away when I was 17. Ever since then I’ve been on my own and I am 22 years old now. I was also in a traumatic car accident in 2018 and ever since I’ve lost feeling in my knee and it can be very painful. Work is tiring and, and it’s sometimes difficult to be on my feet for long hours.
Now that the coronavirus has taken over, I have been given long work hours, and life has been a struggle. I also lost physical contact with my boyfriend and his family. This virus has made me far more depressed than I already was because I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after my mother passed. I feel alone and sad because I do not have parents who can help me financially.
When I received the call and was told I was going to lose my job for a bit, I had a meltdown. I do not have anyone to support me. I am my provider and I had no idea what was going to happen to me or where I would go if I lost my room I’m renting. Everything was unknown and I was scared. I would see my friends heading home where they had parents and a family who loved them. I would go home to my little room and my dog. My depression has grown worse and I have to keep moving.
It’s up to me to stay healthy and have a roof over my head. I have to buy my dog some food and take care of her. I have constantly felt alone and scared in this world. I truly hope this coronavirus does end soon. I would love to go back to my regular work schedule and have in-session math classes. My life has changed drastically in these short few weeks. I do know how it feels to have so many changes as growing up in foster care. But, since I’ve taken control of my life, I have begun to stabilize my life and I feel this coronavirus has made me feel like a scared helpless child again.
I was laid off a week after the coronavirus hit the news outlets. I went a few days without working. I then began to panic because I couldn’t afford my rent or groceries. So I called my work and explained my situation. They then worked with me to provide me with some work. However, the time I was laid off has impacted me tremendously. At the time I had also heard the grocery stores were running out of basic necessities. I did not have many groceries and I only had enough money for rent. So I ended up buying groceries with my rent money.
Now I am beyond stressed and working tirelessly as many days as my work is allowing me to catch up financially from what I missed when I was laid off.
As for my schooling, I am currently working on my bachelor’s degree through La Verne University in Southern California. I have transitioned to being entirely online. This semester I am enrolled in a math course and I struggle with math as is. Now I have to teach myself the math being provided within this course. The professor has a rule and does not want anyone contacting her until I’ve asked the rest of my classmates. Math makes me upset because It takes me a while to understand it. So this semester will be a challenge for me and I am afraid I will fall behind with having to work and take on an online math class because of the coronavirus.
