I’ve been quiet on most things in my life, but this was too much. I need your help, if you’re willing to give me a bit of your time.

I went to visit someone on Friday and was assured I didn’t need a parking pass, but I ended up getting towed anyway. The tow cost $250; $200 for the standard fee and $50 for after hours on Saturday. I told the person I was with I didn’t have that much, and they pretended to fumble through their wallet, 100’s clearly visible inside. They left me there 4 miles from my apartment, no data, and no way to get home otherwise. I go to talk to the person at the towing company to try and see if there’s anything I can do. He looks at me and says, “Well…it IS a Saturday…and the drivers are gone…it’s just you and me here..”

I don’t think I have to go into much detail about what happened afterwards. But I’ll say this much…it’s one thing to put yourself in this situation as a hypothetical, it’s another to put a price point on your body and morals should you deem that necessary to get by. But I had no way home, no way to call anyone, no idea what part of town I was in, and even if I could contact someone, not many if any would have the money to cover additional fees if I had waited until Monday; so to be entirely cornered and forced into this situation is a brand new ball game. And on top of this, when I reached out to people I thought I could talk to after this happened, their response was that it was all my fault, because “you always have options”. Yet if I had walked away, somehow made it home, and called them, they more than likely wouldn’t have done anything.

This is the THIRD time that this situation has come up in my life, but the first where I felt like I had no choice but to follow through. And this is honestly a part of gay culture that isn’t talked about enough. This happens much more often than people realize, but it isn’t “pride” or anything of the sort, so it gets pushed off to the side. I can say honestly that I’m not proud to be gay, and it’s people like this that drive me to that decision.

I’m at a point where I don’t know who I can count on, who I can talk to, what will stick around and what will ultimately crumble. I’m not ok, and I need help…I’m lucky enough to be getting a bit of financial support for this situation but I’m much more concerned about my mental health. If you happen to know anyone else that’s been a victim of something similar…check in with them. Give them some of your attention and make them feel valued again because I promise you it means the world to everyone that’s been kicked down like this.