Help Craig through a vulnerable time

Story

Help Craig through a vulnerable time Dear community, family and friends, As some of you may be aware, our brother Craig Kite has been going through a pretty rough time this past year. The situation: During his construction job at a Nature Preserve on Long Island, he sustained multiple serious injuries under harsh working conditions, including a severe spinal injury (which threatened mobility long-term) and a torn rotator cuff shoulder muscle, limiting use of his right arm. He was unable to continue performing his duties and therefore lost his job. After a year of physical therapy and a long medical process, he was able this past November to get a major spine surgery, which he is currently recovering from, but there have been complications post-operation. He is likely to be back in in the operating room this coming year to fix an instance of medical malpractice and is pursuing a lawsuit because of this. It is also posible he may need shoulder surgery in the coming year if physical therapy is unsuccessful. Doctors advise that he should not return to the construction field or heavy manual labor, which is what the lion’s share of his professional experience has been in most currently. So in the midst of recovering from spine surgery, and looking ahead at posible other surgeries, he is attempting to reassess his professional future and what kind of training he will need. Unfortunately, he was unable to get workman’s compensation from his past employer to help financially due to complicated reasons, which are not his own fault. After a long legal battle, he was able to get unemployment benefits for a short period, but it has long since run out. He was unable to get NY state disability benefits, and is currently fighting to get federal SSDI disability, but the process is very slow-going. His disability lawyers advise him that, in addition to the fact that he legitimately has a long road to physical recovery ahead, if he were to go back to work at a menial job at this time, he would most likely forfeit the possibility of recouping the last year of lost wages, which puts him in a bind financially. In addition, his food stamps (SNAP) account has been electronically hacked and many hundreds of dollars for food have been stolen from him. The bureaucratic process of fixing this issue is proving extremely arduous. To make matters more pressing, he was evicted from his apartment the same month as he was recovering from surgery. So he is currently couch surfing around the community, while trying to manage a painful physical recovery. He is essentially homeless and trying to stay out of the shelter system as long as posible. He is pursuing public rental assistance. If anyone has has expertise in this area, he could use your help navigating this system. Simultaneously, he has had a significant amount of money stolen from him over the past year. Out of his savings from his construction job, he lent to another friend who was in dire need this past year. He did this generously, and as a way to make some money back in interest. But this friend has not honored their legal contact for many months now and has been caught in lies. He is pursuing a lawsuit, but those funds will take time to recover. Meanwhile, he is out the money that he literally broke his back laboring to earn and, if it were not for this, he would have been able to afford renting safe shelter this winter. Craig does not have any family support in the State of New York, whether financially or in the form of physical presence. His family lives in the South and have their own financial and medical troubles. He attempted in 2022 to relocate himself to where his family lives, but was ineligible in that state for Medicaid or social services, which he needed to obtain medical care. Most currently, his immediate concern is to get through oxycodone withdraw symptoms (runny nose, body aches, fever chills, diarrhea, depression, anxiety, etc). After being kept on pain meds too long because of the surgery complications, and after a long battle, he finally got doctors and insurance to start tapering him off safely, but dope sickness is a real struggle. He just needs support while he struggles to get his body to follow his mental resolve to get clean and productive again. He is currently tapering off under medical supervision, but the process could take months of managing the symptoms. Nevertheless, he was resourceful and clever enough to survive and thrive independently in NYC over the course of 2023 and even get his spine surgery accomplished. He is always present in the community with a smiling face despite his living conditions and many in his communities know him as a positive presence and contributing member. He is always showing up daily to receive and reciprocate the compassion and friendship of others the best he can. Craig needs financial help with: Safe housing Legal fees Food Professional attire Clothing General living expenses Pain management Extraneous medical bills More background on Craig: In addition to his work building and maintaining a community farm and park / Nature preserve on Long Island in past years, Craig has lead a life in humanitarian service to others and has also been a community organizer in the arts scenes. He began his career in Americorps post-Hurricane Katrina in 2006. He lived in FEMA tent camps in New Orleans and engaged furiously in the hurricane relieve effort, starting in house gutting right after the floods and moving into rebuilding homes, specializing in rebuilding green. He was also, a groundskeeper at a building called the Art Egg, which hosted artists lofts, and there he helped build and maintain Tulane University’s outdoor permaculture classroom in the green space adjacent the building. He has worked on farms and homesteads of many kinds around the whole USA and internationally, meanwhile studying the working conditions of migrant workers. Through this work he eventually shifted from humanitarian relief to focus on human rights work, especially for indigenous communities in the US and internationally. He stood with the Algonquin tribes in Canada resisting Uranium miner’s attempts to exploit the Native’s lands. He lived with the Zapatista community in Chiapas and wrote about their struggle. He lived for almost two years in Iraq in 2008-2009, accompanying indigenous farmers caught in the crossfire between the US, Turkish, Iranian and Kurdish militaries and armed rebels, completing a human human rights report on the situation on the ground. Later after returning to the US, reeling from what he’d experienced, he recovered and worked for some years serving people with disabilities in various capacities. One other interesting thing about Craig is that he suffers with bipolar disorder and PTSD from a life of adversities while also putting himself on the line to serve others who are struggling, and has helped many people navigate some of the same systems that he has been inside of himself. In the future, he has aspirations to possibly go into academia and study social work. That would make him the first in his family to go into college, and with his decades now of experience, he may be able to focus that more intentionally toward being of service. Craig is also musically talented. He is a songwriter and poet, and is in a couple rock bands. The one called “Thief!” Is with Breandan from Here and Now. They have big dreams and are currently plugging away at an inventive album. *Craig has also been teaching guitar for side income to people in the community and his lessons are available to anyone interested.* *Please consider helping Craig financially or with advice this winter season as he works to get back on his feet and recover as a fully functioning and reciprocating member of our beautiful community. Peace, Love and Happy holidays to all!