The pandemic had hit the U.S., and their tour was over.
“All the money I was expecting to make was evaporated. I had about $1,000 in my bank account and my rent was coming up,” he said. “It’s a scary feeling when you’re completely out of resources—and I’m not someone who likes to ask for help.”
He and his wife were expecting their first child and he says they went into survival mode. They decided to save their money for food and tell their landlord they wouldn’t be able to make rent.
A friend tipped him off to Rooftop Nashville, a United Way partner agency and recipient of grant funding from the COVID-19 Response Fund, managed by United Way. He filled out an application for financial assistance, and they were able to cover his April rent.
“Sometimes when you fill out an application like that, you feel like you’re going to get lost in a sea of applications. The promptness of their response told me there are people that actually care. Honestly it was humbling because I had never had to apply for social services.”
