Ex-reporter fund-raising for rent

Saw this via Romenesko:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-journalist-has-fallen-on-hard-times-people

Ouch.

(Apologies if this has already been posted.)

 

Barring my two-month temp job at the toy store (which didn't even net me $1,000 total), I'm coming up on two years of unemployment with no end in sight. Some of us just can't find a way to make the transition into other work as easy as others. I just got turned down for a minimum wage call center job because my decade in news just isn't the kind of experience they're looking for.

In short, I can't fault the guy for outright begging.

 

Manual labor was always my default

 

Why don't you post something helpful?

Bradley is right in that not this is not an easy time to be out of work, or forced to change jobs or careers in mid-life.

Beyond that, he's also right in saying that not everyone can make major changes as easily or successfully as others. Without knowing more about this guy's abilities, background and efforts to date, I wouldn't be so judgmental or quick to write him off.

Out of curiosity, whose shoes have you walked in?

 

Sometimes, moving isn't an option. Maybe the guy needs a little help to pay the rent until the lease is up. Can't just pick up and leave unless there's an option to sub-let.

My wife supports me. We struggle because of my medical bills, but we get by on the skin of our teeth. We're looking for a cheper place later this month because our lease is almost up. That said, no way in hell we're moving to just anywhere so I can play reporter for $25,000 a year when she makes nearly double. When she's ready to find a new job at a new location, then we'll move. Even then, we'll move closer to family for a support system. Being on your own is going to be tough if shit hits the fan, like a sudden layoff. Pitiful severence pay and unemployment checks don't cut it. Sometimes, you just gotta find a way to survive the short term. Then worry about dreaming big and finding a new career or going back to school.

 

Jealous.

 

It's a free country. Try it.

 

Walter, I don't think this young man planned on being out of work or being in the situation he was in. He was desperate and this was the only thing he could think of. It takes a lot to swallow your pride and beg for help. I'm saying a prayer for him and others in the same situation.

 

Based on what was posted, it sounds like guy had a job and was freelancing on the side.

Then loses the job, but keeps his freelancing, and, it seems, gained additional clients, and still had a steady stream of money.

Then he loses some of his freelancing clients and got into a jam. Then the jam got worse and he got desperate. Then the kickstarter got fired up.

Without knowing the guy's situation, I can think of plenty of reasons why he didn't look for another gig.

Bashing him is just sad.

 

I totally agree Jay. The guy was reaching out for help. Since when is that a crime?

 

Not sure what the angst is here. The guy asked for help and some people offered it. These weren't taxpayer dollars. George Zimmerman goes on trial for murder and people contribute $400,000 to his defense fund. This guy begs for money to avoid eviction and he gets $7,000.

People have a right to give their money away as they please.

 

And finally, there's this. Like so many others, this guy had been looking for work, to no avail according to the Raleigh News and Observer:

He lost his mother and his grandmother, who raised him in Houston, in the same year. His mentally disabled brother wandered away from a care facility and was found dead years later.

He got laid off from The News & Observer in 2011 and became one of many writers floundering in a hostile economy. He found freelance work at The Indy, the N&O and a string of other places, scraping by, applying for and not getting jobs as a security guard, unsuccessfully attempting to wait tables. Once, a man paid him $150 to write a letter to Bill Cosby, asking for help starting an all-black sailing team.

“I’ve gotten used to things not going well,” Lindsey explained.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/05/3508974/shaffer-acerbic-film-writer-finds.html#storylink=cpy