Losing half your income after a family member goes to prison

2020.09.27, by Anonymous
Filed under Brutality, CripTax, Journal, Neurodivergence, Personal

I recently lost a family member to a felony crime. They weren’t a victim, at least not in the common sense—they were the ones who committed a crime. We were a couple renting an apartment, and now it’s just me alone. That’s half my income gone—so now, 69% of my take-home pay goes to rent alone.

Rent for a tiny studio apartment with no stove costs $1300 USD here. Monthly I bring home $1800 USD, though that fluctuates depending on my hours; sometimes I bring home only $1600 a month. Due to my disability I am unable to work full-time; if I could, I would earn an additional $225 monthly, to a total of $2025. My (unstable) monthly income of $1800 leaves me $500 to pay for other expenses.

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