Ari's stabilization and housing security fund

Hey pals, Ari here. If you’re just coming across this now, I’m an Indigenous and autistic abolitionist community worker/organizer in George Floyd Square. I’m in the final stretch of moving out, and wow, this has been an exhausting experience. Moving is difficult, no matter which way you look at it, but making this move is easily one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. I’ve been very open about what’s been going on with me (largely with the intent of normalizing talking honestly about ourselves; nobody is okay right now), and I’m going to try to continue to do so. I’m in the final stretch of getting out of my trauma castle, and I really need a final push to get me over the finish line.

Getting out of here is critical for my mental health and overall wellbeing. This home has kept me safe in many ways, but it’s also where I’ve experienced the most horrific and traumatizing events in my life. Recovering from two TBIs and the aftermath of domestic violence; becoming a full-time community worker in George Floyd Square and all of the complicated things that come with that; running multiple mutual aid networks; loss after loss after loss, it’s all happened here. I am not doing okay, have not been for quite some time, but I only realized the scope of it a few months ago, which is when I knew I had to move if anything else was going to change/stabilize.

Truth is, I am beyond exhausted and asking for help like this is incredibly hard to do. I am working so hard to reclaim my life and to get myself into a spot where I can finally start to recover from not just the last two and a half years, but from the loss and violence I survived leading into the pandemic and uprising. I have found a new place to live, and am working on finding employment that will be safe and sustainable for me, and have a massive life-changing opportunity that I’m working towards. For me to be able to do anything else I need to do in order to stabilize my life, I need to safely get out of this home and into my new place at the end of the month.

I need to make a big ask for this final big push. I’ve crunched the numbers and done the math, and this is the magic amount that will allow me to move my life towards healing and stability. I owe one last month of rent here, plus all of the little things that need to happen with moving that add up really quickly. I cannot stress enough how essential raising this is going to be for helping me stabilize. Thank you all for your help and for helping me get this far.

Miigwetch,

Ari