NICHOLAS
30-year Art and Creative Director for San Francisco ad agencies I’ve never taken money from anybody before in my life. I’ve never been
in a position where I couldn’t pay my mortgage, with my back up against
the wall, as I’ve been the last few years. Even in college I never took
money from my family. It’s a big deal to have to go through this.
I was a creative director until 2000, when my wife died of cancer. I hadn’t
had a break in 30 years, so I decided to sell a second home and take off
the year to be with her and my daughter, who was 9.
I wanted to ease back into the business by freelancing so I could still
be home with my daughter. But lo and behold, the ad business totally fell
apart in the Bay Area because of the dot-com bubble. It’s been the worst
I’ve seen it and I’ve been here since the mid-70s. By 2003, my money was
gone and my feet were to the fire. I also hit the grand old age of 50, which
seemed to draw a line in the sand for getting jobs.
A friend came along and said, “I need my house painted, do you want to do
that?” so I did. I’ve been painting houses for the last two years. But it’s
not full-time and it brings in one-quarter the hourly income I can get for
freelance Creative Director consulting, so it doesn’t cover everything.
I’ve got a huge amount of debt.
I’ve been on the phone a lot networking, calling past contacts. I called
one friend who I hadn’t spoken to in awhile and she said, “Have you heard
about BAARC?” I hadn’t. They really helped me out big time, paying bills
like PG&E and my mortgage. I’ve nearly had my electricity cut off, my phone
shut off, and my health insurance canceled.
If it wasn’t for them, I would have had to sell my house and leave the Bay
Area. If I had sold, I would never have been able to afford another house
here, and I would be living in an apartment paying the same amount as my
mortgage.
It’s very challenging to ask for help. You have to eat your pride. My daughter
is going to start high school and I don’t want to pull her out of it. There
is also a lot of anger about this business. I’ve given it 30 years of my
life. Because I’m not 20 years old, pierced left, right, and center, and
don’t know every software program on the planet, my 30 years of experience
isn’t worth a damn.
My father, who lives overseas, had a scare in a hospital. My relatives paid
for us to go for a couple of weeks, otherwise we couldn’t have gone. We
manage to squeeze things out here and there. I’ve painted practically every
single day lately and with BAARC’s help, I’ve been able to get through.
My case worker is very nice, very understanding, a good ear. This business
is rife with holier-than-thou attitude, but there was none of that. The
BAARC people are very genuine, very positive, very supportive. The office
staff helped expedite the paperwork and the process so I was receiving support
within a few weeks of applying. I also got a freelance Creative Director
job through a BAARC board member.
When they accepted my application, I felt a lot of relief. I guess the other
emotion was shock at how much they were willing to help. They’ve given me
and my family thousands of dollars. I didn’t think anyone in the ad industry
gave a hoot, but my experience with BAARC was reaffirming.
It makes you feel great—you know you’re not alone. Once you get over your
hesitation, you go, “Wow! This is an issue that is nothing to be ashamed
of. There are a lot of other people going through this.”
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