Sabrina’s Case Story

Before her surgery, Sabrina supported herself by driving for Uber and Lyft, work that let her set her own hours and stay financially independent. The arrangement worked because her body worked. When December brought an emergency surgery and left her temporarily unable to walk, she had no choice but to take her car off the road. The income stopped the same day the surgery began. 

There was no gradual decline, no slow slide into hardship. One week she was driving. The next, she was recovering from major surgery with no way to replace the wages her mobility had provided. 

A System Built for People Who Already Have Options

Sabrina did what she could to hold her household together. She applied for emergency assistance through the Department of Social Services and had told her only option would be to seek a loan. She pursued this path, applying for local loan programs as well as the loan program through Per Scholas. Because she had already taken out a loan and had no income during her recovery, all applications were denied. 

By June, the consequences had caught up with her. Her electric service with National Grid was shut off for nonpayment. She arranged a payment plan and a scheduled reconnection, but the required down payment was more than she had. Her balance with National Grid had climbed to $3,454. Meanwhile, she was preparing to watch her children graduate, trying to hold onto some sense of normalcy for them even as her own stability came apart. 

“My electric was cut off for nonpayment,” Sabrina explained. “I made a payment by phone and set up an agreement, and they scheduled the reconnection, but I don’t have the money to cover the down payment, so it will be turned back off. I just don’t know when.” She described the toll plainly: worry, stress, and anxiety that didn’t let up. Asked what would happen if help didn’t come, her answer was direct. Her electricity would be terminated. 

A Bridge to Carry the Plan Forward

Sabrina was in the middle of completing her training through Per Scholas when her financial situation became untenable. Footbridge stepped in with payment toward her National Grid balance totaling $2,503.70, keeping her electricity on and giving her the ability to focus on her coursework rather than the immediate threat of a home without power. 

She had already exhausted the options available to her. DSS pointed her toward debt. Loan programs turned her away because she had no income to repay them. The very systems meant to catch someone in her position required her to already have some financial footing to qualify for help. She had none. What she had instead was a temporary setback with a clear cause and a clear path forward, if someone could bridge the gap until she got there. 

The Bigger Picture

Sabrina’s story is not about a life derailed by poor decisions. Her work, like so much gig and self-employed labor, offered no safety net for the weeks she couldn’t physically do it. When she sought to address this problem by seeking training, the only options offered to her were more debt for which she wasn’t even eligible.

Timely, targeted support did what the existing systems could not. It kept her lights on so she could finish a training program aimed at building a more stable future, one where a single medical emergency wouldn’t have the power to take away everything she’d built.

*This name has been changed for privacy reasons.