Help Alder Avoid Burnout: Fund Groceries

Friends of Alder--asking for help is hard. Let's pitch in and show some love and support to give Alder the margin to rest and recover in the midst of a season that's been full-to-bursting with personal growth, community care, parenting, and tending to mental health! They've asked for help with groceries for several weeks. I'm putting a starting number on that of $2,500 to cover food for 5 for 5 weeks with a little margin for a couple of takeout meals. You're welcome to give here or message me to give directly through another platform. I'll post updates here if we have support that comes through other channels.

Here's a message from Alder:

"Hello dear ones,

I (Alder) work hard as a neurodivergent single parent of four neurodivergent kids, an author, and a freelance editor. Earlier this spring, I received a mental health diagnosis that was both incredibly helpful and also required massive amounts of energy devoted to healing and processing, without much time to stop hustling and catch my breath. I’m finishing another book and working, and have reached a point where I have a deep need for some rest and help with groceries to avoid total autistic burnout.

I have a problem with understating the direness of need, and truly don’t tend to ask until I’ve reached a critical point; I’m trying to muscle through that here with a humble ask for monetary help for those who can chip in.

I’ve gone through seasons in recent years I’ve been fortunate to be able to give generously as a queer, trans author, providing mentorship and community support for queer kids in local schools and remotely, volunteering unpaid on various committees in support of queer students. This has been especially dire and needed in the age of book censorship. However, I’ve found it increasingly important to not try to play the hero, and recognize that I can’t give out of an empty vessel. If I truly believe in community, that means I have to be comfortable asking for support, too. I’m trying to trust in good things!

Ideally, I would love to cover groceries for several weeks, with possibly a bit of wiggle room for a couple of nights of takeout.

(Very respectfully and humbly, what I don’t need currently is advice on how to find resources. Likely, I’m already aware of them, and need to have conversations about it further depletes my already flagging social and emotional processing spoons. This goes also for offering to coordinate grocery lists and delivery; that’s something my oldest teen is already tackling. Thank you for understanding!)"