Help Gabby’s mission of survival

Recently I met my friend Gabby, 23, and a victim of homelessness since she was kicked out of the foster care system at 18. She lives in extreme, absolute poverty with heightened conditions from the fact she is a young black girl, very, very insecure and scared. Every morning at 8am she calls shelters asking about a bed, and as broken and disgusting as we know our social systems to be, she falls short on the priority list as a girl without children who has already been homeless for years.

Gabby has been abandoned by the state in every way possible, she spends her days endlessly roaming, she wakes up and she doesn’t know where to turn.

In our society it seems logical to distance ourselves from or try our best to ignore situations like Gabby's that are too systemic for any of us to solve. I wont pretend I haven't just thrown money at people, scared to confront terrorized human eyes reaching out for help or love, because its just too chilling. But being terrorized is endlessly more chilling

When I first met her at the UWM credit union, we spoke and cried, forgetfully laughed, exchanged, revealed, and experienced the habitual human connection everyone is due and that we take for granted every day. (Shes literally so funny it’s hard to believe she didn’t charm someone into this sooner)

She has since opened up to me about the numerous racist attacks that have altered her sense of self, and how extremely affected she is by the dehumanization constantly faced existing as a homeless black woman. Shes been yelled at and called the N word by strangers on Downer, traumatized by bus stops at night, and was even tripped in the UWM union after she showed a group of white college girls her letter, busting her chin so bad she wears a face mask until it can fully heal.

She cried that even though she’s not mentally ill or on drugs, being a “dumb ugly smelly black girl” denied a bed and shower has gotten her the silent treatment from the world. She even confessed to me that before we met, she was planning her own suicide and just kept looking for any sign of help or life her way.

Please find it in your hearts to help Gabby keep getting by. The government does not care about her entire individual universe, but an extra couple dollars from all of us together could help her build a new life from scratch.