Dear Pandemic 2020

Dear Governor of Nevada,

How are you doing today? I am writing to you today because I have a few things I would like to address regarding the pandemic we are all living through. I have high hopes that this letter reaches you personally so my voice is heard as I share with you a good portion of my background here as a Nevada resident and then I will get to the point of my letter.

I am a born and raised native of Las Vegas, Nevada, 45 years young and a single mother raising a 13 year old daughter, raised a 27 year old daughter as a single mother and now I am a first time grandmother to a beautiful 2 year old granddaughter. My 13 yr old was attending Lied STEM Academy middle school until March 2020 which was when we began a shut down of our state as you well know. So now the classes are virtual. This is a situation that I hope all of the children and parents can adjust to since the parents who were actually able to keep their jobs will not be able to go to work because they have to stay home with their children. The children will have to adjust not only to the virtual classroom but also to staying in the house not able to have peer time or socializing time at all during this shut down.

Mr. Governor as you already know, this town is losing billions upon billions daily in revenue which is the blood that keeps this city going. It is definitely a scary thing just waiting to see the outcome of this shutdown. What scared me most about this horrible pandemic is the fact that I had just begun a new job on 1/6/2020 after being unemployed since March of 2016 due to quitting my full time accounting career to stay at my parents house and care for my mother. She was involved in a motorcycle accident that completely incapacitated her. Staying with them would allow my father to have peace of mind knowing I was here with her instead of in and out nurses and he could continue to go to work and keep up with their finances. She couldn’t walk, feed, bathe or use the restroom on her own. I committed 24/7 care to her and would not stop until I saw her back on her feet again. So I did just that.

I helped her completely recover to the point that she went back to her job as a process server. Not sure if you are aware of this but that position requires walking and walking and in and out of the car continuously all day. She was told by the doctors she would not ever return to work nor would she walk normally again. Well guess what I did that. Well she did it with my help and motivation talks. She went back to work and I remained unemployed. I tried so hard as I was aware of the fact that so much time had passed in my career timeline and that’s a huge no no in the accounting profession. I had been submitting resume after resume and remaining positive by thinking someone would reach out to me because I am qualified for all of the positions I applied for. I mean why wouldn’t they contact me? I am perfect for their accounting team. But nothing not one call, not one email, not one form of communication whatsoever. I was beside myself and gave up looking. I became depressed and a hermit in my parents house. My daughter saw me at my weakest point which is something you never want your children to see but unfortunately it happens sometimes.

In November 2017 I lost my car from repossession and that was my first brand new car I had purchased on February 15, 2014, I lost my cell phone service with At&t that I had for almost 20 years, had to pawn both of our iPhones and gaming toys like PlayStation and Xbox & even the Nintendo Wii. It broke my heart to tell my daughter what I did but we needed the money to survive. I used the rest of the money I had left in my savings after buying medical supplies, to hire an attorney and I filed bankruptcy to get my car back the day after Thanksgiving 2017. That didn't last very long because I had no job to keep up with the repayment plan. My bankruptcy case was dismissed and my car was taken again on August 9, 2018. That was the day before school started and 10 days before my 43rd birthday. I had just got done buying some clothes and school supplies for my daughter to start school with and they were in my trunk. They literally watched me pull up, grab my daughter and go inside. I came back out to grab her clothes and my car was gone. And so were all the school clothes and supplies. This time they caused obvious damages to my car as the driveway was damaged and there were so many tire scuff marks and rocks out in the street from my rear end being dragged with the emergency brake fully engaged and my car is a front wheel drive. This was very hard for me to see. I was determined to get my car back so I went to the library the next day and grabbed some books and began to study the bankruptcy laws, codes and rules. I was going to represent myself in bankruptcy court since I am now left with no money for an attorney and no way to get my child back and forth to school or to go on job interviews. So I did it and I went to get my car from the auction lot the day it was to be auctioned and sold. They bring out my car and I take photos of the damages then drive to the front and park. I go inside and ask what happened to my second key and of course nobody knows. My mother had left because I said I would just see her at home later. I go back out to my car and it wouldn't start. They had just locked their doors and I had no way to jump my car. I had to get out of their parking lot so I wouldn't be stuck inside their lot. I seen a man walking and asked him if he wouldn’t mind pushing my car out to the curb. This is where I sat with my phone that had no charge and no way to charge it up because my car was completely dead.

It was the middle of summer and at least 110 degrees outside and I was just stuck. I had nothing to drink, no money, a dead car and no way to get home to my child. My mother assuming I am getting my car cleaned out and checked out wouldn't have known I was stuck. So I sat for three hours and just gave up. I was dehydrated and crying and just felt like death took over my body. I sat there and sat there on the curb until finally out of nowhere a random black tow truck drove by and saw me. I thought I was having a delusional moment but it was real thank goodness. The man helped me up into his truck, attached my car and stopped to get some water for me to drink and began to drive me home. I explained I had no money and he said he knew that and it was fine. He said that he was doing his good deed for the day. He took me home and unloaded my car, handed me his business card and said have a better day tomorrow. The next day I called the tow company to offer some money to them for what he did and they said nobody by that name worked there and never has. I kept arguing with the guy on the phone and told them that I had a business card with his name on it and described what he looked like and they said no, no, no he doesn't work here and we know no man that looks like that. I was feeling like I lost my mind so I looked him up on the internet because almost everyone has a Facebook or Instagram or something and he didn't exist. I feel he was an angel sent to help me because I was going to overheat in that hot sun. I will never know for sure I suppose.

My bankruptcy failed because I couldn't get to the courthouse in time to file a few documents needed by a cut off date So I spent days and nights studying the laws, rules and guidelines for everything to do with bankruptcy and it was a lot of work. But now I am educated and ready to tackle this head on once more to keep my car in my possession. I needed a job in order to complete the bankruptcy plan of payments so I began to look again without expectations this time. And then I finally got the call for an interview in December 2019. It went very well and I was finally hired and began work on 1/6/2020. That was indeed the best day I’ve had in over 3 years. I was going every day happy as can be. Making money and getting back on top of things like my phone and my car. They never came back to get my car once the courts removed the automatic stay so I was given yet another chance to handle things again. I began spending time with my daughter again because I felt human, I actually smiled a real smile and laughed a real laugh. I was faking it for my daughters sake for so long. It felt awesome and I was content. That didn’t last very long at all.

Why didn't it last, you ask? Well, because our world was introduced to an enemy that has taken out so many people in so little time. That enemy has caused havoc in everything I’ve ever known to be home. That enemy is the “CORONA VIRUS”. All of us in the office had gotten sick at some point within a month of my hire date. One person spread it to the other and then that person to another and we had not been aware of the virus yet. We all recovered and made it assuming it was a flu or cold. If it was this virus we all managed to get out of it healthy and alive. We will never know. But regardless at the end of February my boss decided she was going to close the office so none of our clients get us sick and we don’t get them sick. A couple of the girls in the office still had slight cold-like symptoms. Well on 3/10/2020 almost exactly 60 days after starting my new job doing what I had been for the last 15+ years, the career that I never gave up on, I was let go due to the office closing down. My boss is elderly and just said she was closing up shop, no lay-offs, just out of a job. Can’t I get unemployment? Nope I didn’t work in 2019 or 2018 or 2017 and partially in 2016. No unemployment to file for myself. And I get no stimulus check for basically the same as I haven't filed taxes since 2015 and let my parents claim myself and my daughter to help them get back on their feet. Thus making it worse for myself as a mother unknowingly. I was already claimed as a dependent along with my daughter so I didn't qualify.

I was scheduled to go to the bankruptcy courts and refile but I haven’t gone anywhere since 3/17/2020. So my car is at risk every day that passes again. I stay inside and have researched and used my available resources. I obey the rules of social distancing. I just filed for full custody of my daughter to get her away from mental and emotional abuse. I can't gain full custody if I can't take care of her now. I receive food stamps thankfully. I spent my savings caring for my mother and making sure she had medical supplies so I have nothing to fall back on. I have only child support which will not pay for everything. I have no income but I have bills to pay and a child to care for. So now that you know the background of my situation, I had to explain it so you could see where I am going with this.

I hear and finally see that there may be relief coming to help people going through this and knowing the toll it will have on us all, I was relieved and took a deep breath and just relaxed finally. That was short lived because I saw the posting regarding how they plan to handle this. I completely lost all hope and motivation when I read that if this were to be the case of sending checks to people, it would be based on income and in doing so you would have had to file 2018 and 2019 tax returns. Are you kidding me this is a joke right? I have been at home caring for the woman who brought me into this world. I gave up my career and my life as I knew it to be very happy at one point 4 years ago and I will not be able to take care of my bills which thankfully isn’t my rent otherwise I would be homeless. I don’t think it’s right or fair that you had to file a tax return in order to get relief. We all suffer. I have a social security card and a birth certificate and have paid taxes my entire working life until I took care of my mother. I should get a check. If you are a citizen and have filed in the past you should get a check. I can't get a stimulus check because I let my parents claim me and my child to help them. But someone who filed taxes in 2018 claimed kids that aren’t even theirs for some people will be able to get relief and then some for however many kids they so called claim to take care of and I have always filed taxes and always worked up until now and I am 45 years old with a 13 year old and I won’t get a dime. This is absurd.

I just wanted someone to know that there are people being affected by this that have not filed taxes and not just because they were lazy and not working or paying taxes.

So where do I get help?

Thank you for hearing me rant. I appreciate it.

Have a great day !!