Help Demei with Housing and Medical Costs
Donation protected
Due to current events Demeris has recently experienced an episode of psychosis that has left her stricken with a large hospital bill and housing insecurity.
Please donate so that she can comfortably transition into a new, secure living situation, pay off medical costs, and have access to mental health resources.
Demei is currently seeking assistance paying medical bills and securing housing. She recently had a mental episode triggered by the loud fireworks in her neighborhood and spent several days in the hospital. She is now struggling with significant medical bills on top of the stress of finding housing and working in the midst of a pandemic.
Demei is a chef, creative, and essential worker based in Chicago that has been working in the food industry since she was 15. She first began cooking as a way to take care of her family when her mother fell ill with Neurosarcoidosis and she was forced to take on the role of matriarch in addition to attending high school and working at McDonald’s to help support her family. She took care of her mother through college where she pursued screenwriting at Southern Illinois University, but was forced to come back to Chicago to be closer to her mother as her condition took a turn for the worse. After her mother’s death Demei went to culinary school in Chicago and began working her way up through the restaurant industry. She has done everything in the food industry from working as a fishmonger at Dicola’s Seafood, to preparing food in the basements of O’hare and training an entire crew of new chefs at Big Bowl. Most recently, she was working at NEXT, a Michelin Star & James Beard Award restaurant that is part of the Alinea Group and host to the most prestigious restaurants in Chicago. After working in the food industry for so long and witnessing first-hand the exploitative nature of the industry and the racism and sexism that is endemic to restaurant work, she has decided to create her own spaces in the food industry. Most recently, she partnered with a local ice cream company, Pretty Cool, to raise funds for a skate brand she is a founding member of (Froskate) that centers women, transgender, and gender non-conforming people of color.
Demei’s propensity to care for others and fight for economic justice extends into her work life as well. We have seen firsthand how she goes to bat for her coworkers and advocates for other people, even when it doesn’t benefit her or puts her livelihood at risk. Because of her efforts, the company we work for is making a concerted push to put more Black owned products in their stores, partner with Black influencers, and set aside a significant portion of their marketing budget to support minority-owned businesses. She has created actual changes within the company that benefit us all, many of whom are essential workers.
Demei has spent her whole life supporting and fighting for people around her. Now she needs support from us.
Please send whatever you can, it all adds up.
Please donate so that she can comfortably transition into a new, secure living situation, pay off medical costs, and have access to mental health resources.
Demei is currently seeking assistance paying medical bills and securing housing. She recently had a mental episode triggered by the loud fireworks in her neighborhood and spent several days in the hospital. She is now struggling with significant medical bills on top of the stress of finding housing and working in the midst of a pandemic.
Demei is a chef, creative, and essential worker based in Chicago that has been working in the food industry since she was 15. She first began cooking as a way to take care of her family when her mother fell ill with Neurosarcoidosis and she was forced to take on the role of matriarch in addition to attending high school and working at McDonald’s to help support her family. She took care of her mother through college where she pursued screenwriting at Southern Illinois University, but was forced to come back to Chicago to be closer to her mother as her condition took a turn for the worse. After her mother’s death Demei went to culinary school in Chicago and began working her way up through the restaurant industry. She has done everything in the food industry from working as a fishmonger at Dicola’s Seafood, to preparing food in the basements of O’hare and training an entire crew of new chefs at Big Bowl. Most recently, she was working at NEXT, a Michelin Star & James Beard Award restaurant that is part of the Alinea Group and host to the most prestigious restaurants in Chicago. After working in the food industry for so long and witnessing first-hand the exploitative nature of the industry and the racism and sexism that is endemic to restaurant work, she has decided to create her own spaces in the food industry. Most recently, she partnered with a local ice cream company, Pretty Cool, to raise funds for a skate brand she is a founding member of (Froskate) that centers women, transgender, and gender non-conforming people of color.
Demei’s propensity to care for others and fight for economic justice extends into her work life as well. We have seen firsthand how she goes to bat for her coworkers and advocates for other people, even when it doesn’t benefit her or puts her livelihood at risk. Because of her efforts, the company we work for is making a concerted push to put more Black owned products in their stores, partner with Black influencers, and set aside a significant portion of their marketing budget to support minority-owned businesses. She has created actual changes within the company that benefit us all, many of whom are essential workers.
Demei has spent her whole life supporting and fighting for people around her. Now she needs support from us.
Please send whatever you can, it all adds up.
Organizer and beneficiary
Carla Gruvy
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Demeris Campbell
Beneficiary
