On April 19, 2026, I brought my dog to the emergency vet for the last time. Before they could see him, the desk asked for $2,000. When it became clear he might need to stay overnight, they asked for $5,000 more. I could manage it — and I would have given anything. He didn’t make it. But sitting in that waiting room, I saw other pet owners whose faces told me they were doing the math no one should have to do in a moment like that.

The following week, our long-time housekeeper needed to fly from California to Texas to say goodbye to her brother on life support. Last-minute airfares were $800 — an insurmountable wall between her and her final wish for him.

These are not stories of poverty. They are stories of the gap — the short, cruel distance between a working person and a crisis that a few hundred dollars would close. VIGA exists not to take advantage of this gap, but to close it.