Help Ben Mazer find a stable home

A recent house fire (at the home of Ruth Lepson, who also deserves all of your love and help--please check in on her!) has left Ben Mazer destitute--he's lost everything. No ID. No clothes. No books, notebooks, pens, pencils. No manuscripts or research materials. No food. No money.

When I saw Ben last Friday, he was gaunt and sad. He looked tired, confused, frail. He'd alternate between brief moments of levity (when he smiled his eyes looked huge) and moments of absolute dejection: he'd bury his face in his hands, slump against the counter at Tatte where I'd bought him a bowl of yogurt and fruit.

It was like he was falling down. Except he's so thin--he's practically lighter than air--gravity doesn't quite work the same way for him. There's always been a kind of Peter Pan-ness about Ben. You can see it in his writing, which flies, defiantly, and with absolute assurance, against everything dragging him down. But I'm worried he's flagging.

Currently, Ben's in a six-week short-term rental, in hopes that this will tide him over until he's able to obtain affordable housing from the city of Cambridge. Between the fire, and his two disabilities, he's been assured that he's at the top of the list. But how much are those assurances worth?

Even in the best case scenario, Ben's going to need a lot of help: to make sure that he has what he needs in order to stay in good health; to make sure that he has what he needs in order to continue his work, both as an editor and as a poet; to make sure that he has something saved up in case of another emergency.

The one thing Ben has left is you. Us. Let's help him land in a safe place.