Help a disabled PhD student pay her rent

Have you ever met someone, and known almost immediately that they are going to make the world a better place? Not long after meeting Ji, I knew she was one of these people.

Ji has spinal muscular atrophy, a disease that has paralyzed her entire body. She can speak and slightly move her left hand and her head, but otherwise cannot move at all. This means she needs 24-hour assistance in order to live her life.

Despite these challenges, Ji moved from Korea to New York in 2019 to pursue a PhD in Sociology, a daunting transition even for those of us with able bodies. She knew it was going to be difficult, but she also knew she was brilliant, and that the world needed her voice.

She had been working as an advocate for disabled victims of sexual assault, and wanted to focus her scholarship on the sexuality of the disabled. She wanted to help build a world where the disabled are not only treated with respect, but also given the opportunity to have romantic relationships and healthy sex lives.

And she has done just that. I met Ji when I became one of her home healthcare aids and have had the privilege of reading her research and attending the classes she teaches at the University of Albany, NY. "I'm not just teaching Sociology," she likes to say, "I'm teaching my students how to respect disabled women." I've lost count of how many students have told Ji her class changed the way they think about the world, and especially how they think about disability.

The difficult part of being her aid has been watching the unfathomable hardship she deals with every day. The university provides Ji with a healthcare plan that pays the staff she depends on for her survival a smaller wage than most restaurant employees. She also must find, hire, and train all her own staff. The few staff she has managed to find often quit or skip shifts due to the low pay and heavy workload, leaving Ji scrambling to find replacements. When she can't find them, she is left by herself for hours, unable to eat, drink, work, use the bathroom, or leave her apartment in the event of an emergency.

To try and find more consistent staff, Ji pays a stipend on top of the salary paid by the state. But like most PhD students, her salary is very low, and she does not receive one during the summer, so she is constantly struggling to make ends meet. She is worried about how she will pay her rent this summer.

I admire Ji for so many things, but mostly I value her friendship. If she had never done anything special beyond being the beautiful person she is, it would be reason enough for her to deserve more support.

I want to live in the world Ji will make if she is given the chance, but she can't do it alone. Please help her pay her living expenses this summer.