Rent & relief for Emery, a trans artist with chronic illness

Hi friends and community!

I’m Emery (they/them), a trans, queer, neurodivergent artist and chronically ill disabled person currently living in St. John’s, NL. Asking for help publicly is vulnerable and hard, but I’m at a point where I need support to get through this stretch of time while I wait for access to disability assistance and stable care.

Why I’m Asking for Help:

I live with multiple health conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Intracranial hypertension, suspected Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and complex chronic pain, alongside neurodivergence & mental illness. These conditions affect my energy, mobility, and capacity to work. Even part-time jobs quickly lead to painful flare-ups, weeks of fatigue, and difficulty doing even the most basic daily tasks like cooking, cleaning, or leaving the house.

Despite navigating treatments, medications, and lifestyle changes with a varied medical team, I’m still in a fragile place and unable to maintain work due to the impact on my body and capacity.

— For the last while, I’ve been living almost entirely off my credit card to cover rent, groceries, and essential costs. That credit card is now maxed (actually, over limit), and I’m currently short on rent and unable to meet my minimum payments or buy what I need to live.

~ I expected to be receiving disability payments and provincial supports by now, but the process has been extremely slow and backlogged. I’m doing everything I can to move things along- but for now, I’m in a difficult in-between, and I could really use help bridging the gap.

What You’d Be Supporting:

My hope is that this will carry me through until I’m receiving stable income via disability support- and then able to work when I’m well enough.

Any support means the world to me.

Other ways to Support:

Buy my art & handmade products:

I create dreamy painted mirrors, ceramics (collab with potterbythesea), greeting cards, paintings & prints, herb-infused essential oil rollers, and more.

Mutual aid & Skill trades:

• Share resources, programs, grants etc that you think would be helpful for my situation

• Share this campaign — Especially within queer, disabled, artist, and activist circles!

✨ Reach out if you’re interested in something specific or want to see what I have available- I’d love to offer you something that brings beauty or ease to your space ✨

I know many of us are struggling right now while the cost of living rises relentlessly, and corporations and billionaires continue to profit off our exhaustion and survival. I don’t take your support lightly. Whether it’s $5, a kind message, or a share- it matters.

Now and always: Free Palestine & liberation for all people being impacted by settler colonialism, genocide, capitalism, and systemic oppression. I deeply believe in community care, mutual aid, and safety for all of us.

✨Community can help carry us when the system doesn’t. Thank you for reading this, for holding space for me, and for showing up however you can in community. It all counts. I’m so grateful to know so many wonderful people in my few years of living here. ✨

With tenderness and gratitude,

Emery ✨