Yarrow Recovery Fund

Hi! I'm Yarrow, Chicago's local trans strong girl!

To tell you about me and what I do, in April 2020 I founded YR Moving Mutual Aid, a free moving service for LGBTQ and other marginalized people. Since then, our group has moved over 125 people into new homes, with about $6000 of raised funds. All of this was done in our spare time, sometimes squeezing two moves into one day, sometimes five in a holiday weekend, sometimes after a long day of work, and always to help our community. Each move is vital and one link in a long chain of mutual aid, a chain I hope remains strong while I am recovering from injuries.

This project is very personal to me. I've switched homes over 15 times in the past 10 years, often abruptly, unexpectedly, rudely, and in times of great loneliness, wondering who I could rely on but myself. Moving alone is abysmal, exhausting, never-ending, but with a couple new friends it can feel possible and maybe even fun. So my best friend and I created YR Moving Mutual Aid to fill that gap in our community--some friends who are always around to lend a hand to move, without shame or guilt, without destroying your personal relationships from stress, and with the understanding that moving can put people at their worst and they deserve a better experience.

When I'm not moving people for fun and solidarity, I share my time with my friends and dear ones, writing and playing music with my band, or working one of my three jobs (usually as a farmhand/warehouse gal). I've been working towards a lot that I am proud of--my first book is coming out later this year, and my band booked our first shows for April and May (:

Recently, I got injured, then sick, then injured again, and now I can't do much of any of that. Already I have missed four weeks of work this year due to a hip injury, which many of us know is devastating when you are living paycheck to paycheck. Unfortunately, I expect to have to miss many more for doctors' visits and prolonged physical therapy for these recurrent injuries in order to be able to stand and walk again with regularity and certainty. What savings I had went to medical bills and supporting the moving project, itself nearly two thousand in the red, and ultimately I went several thousand dollars in debt to simply pay rent and buy groceries when I was injured last spring and the fall before. In addition, my most recent dentist confirmed I need significant dental work to maintain my teeth.

At the moment, as my injuries prevent me from working, I don't have an income and I haven't for weeks. I can't afford my phone bill, medicine, anything, let alone surgeries I was trying to save up for. I don't have much credit left to my name. I'm asking for help from my communities because I have no real chance of climbing out of my increasing debt on my own, and I'm worried about how I'm going to survive the next few months while I recover. I don't know what else to say except that I simply need a lot of help, so I'm allowing myself the grace to ask for it.

Thank you,

Yarrow Yes