Help Elizabeth Secure Acessible(ish) Housing!
Donation protected
Home should not be dangerous! I’m a rollator user, and my current apartment has very steep front steps and no porch, so it’s risky for me to even enter my front door.
I finally got off the waiting list to receive accessible housing a few months ago, but was unexpectedly denied at the last minute because I had been a student too recently.
I now have only two months to find housing and cover first + last + security + broker’s fee + moving expenses. Given past health expenses + the general structure of our society around disability, I don’t have much in the way of savings to fall back on. So I’m reaching out to you for help.
WHO ARE YOU?
I’m Elizabeth Foster, a disability activist, a historian who researches Unitarian and Universalist involvement with the eugenics movement, a prospective future UU minister, and a recent graduate of the Boston University School of Theology.
Although I am very lucky to have made it through my master's program, there were numerous accessibility barriers to doing so. One of these barriers is the lack of accessible housing in the Boston area; I currently live in an apartment with very steep front steps and no porch, making it somewhat dangerous for me to even enter my front door.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
I was recently denied accessible housing in Cambridge due to a regulation which denies affordable housing to people, even disabled people, if they have been a full-time student within the past five months. This is extremely concerning on a systemic level, as disabled people are only half as likely as their ablebodied peers to attend college, or even receive a high school diploma. Being unable to find an accessible place to live adds additional barriers to education.
It’s also concerning on a personal level, since I plan to pursue a PhD and cannot leave Massachusetts for reasons of healthcare and health insurance.
I am gearing up to work on advocacy around these regulations, but in the meantime, I personally need to secure housing for the upcoming year in the next two months. I, and will unexpectedly need to cover the usual first + last + security + brokers fee Boston rental situation, as well as moving expenses. Since spiritual care and researching eugenics is not precisely a lucrative endeavour (although I think it's an important one!), and my health + the way our society functions have effectively prevented me from working full-time for many years, I do not have access to savings or other resources. So I am reaching out to my community for help.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Please donate if you can; it would really mean a lot to me. Any donations above the goal amount will be used either toward paying off the small remaining amount of medical-related debt I hold, or enrolling in an upcoming CPE (clinical pastoral education) course, a crucial step in the ordination process.
Non-monetary ways you can help:
-I am lucky to have a couple lovely folks who I’m excited to live with, but we still need to find a place! Do you know of a first-floor, garden-level, or otherwise largely accessible three-bedroom apartment around $3000 or under in the Cambridge-Somerville area (or potentially elsewhere on the Red Line)?
-Are you in a financial position where you feel comfortable being a cosigner? This may be helpful with some apartments, depending on landlord requirements.
-Tell your legislators to work to change these regulations (I will have more information on this one soon)!
-It is quite possible I (and/or my adorable and friendly cat, Jade) will need somewhere to stay in August to bridge the time between leases. If you know a good housesitting, sublet, or other option for this, or want to volunteer to spend some time with Miss Jade specifically so that I can find a place more easily, let me know!
-Lastly, please share this fundraiser with folks you know who might be able to help!
I finally got off the waiting list to receive accessible housing a few months ago, but was unexpectedly denied at the last minute because I had been a student too recently.
I now have only two months to find housing and cover first + last + security + broker’s fee + moving expenses. Given past health expenses + the general structure of our society around disability, I don’t have much in the way of savings to fall back on. So I’m reaching out to you for help.
WHO ARE YOU?
I’m Elizabeth Foster, a disability activist, a historian who researches Unitarian and Universalist involvement with the eugenics movement, a prospective future UU minister, and a recent graduate of the Boston University School of Theology.
Although I am very lucky to have made it through my master's program, there were numerous accessibility barriers to doing so. One of these barriers is the lack of accessible housing in the Boston area; I currently live in an apartment with very steep front steps and no porch, making it somewhat dangerous for me to even enter my front door.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
I was recently denied accessible housing in Cambridge due to a regulation which denies affordable housing to people, even disabled people, if they have been a full-time student within the past five months. This is extremely concerning on a systemic level, as disabled people are only half as likely as their ablebodied peers to attend college, or even receive a high school diploma. Being unable to find an accessible place to live adds additional barriers to education.
It’s also concerning on a personal level, since I plan to pursue a PhD and cannot leave Massachusetts for reasons of healthcare and health insurance.
I am gearing up to work on advocacy around these regulations, but in the meantime, I personally need to secure housing for the upcoming year in the next two months. I, and will unexpectedly need to cover the usual first + last + security + brokers fee Boston rental situation, as well as moving expenses. Since spiritual care and researching eugenics is not precisely a lucrative endeavour (although I think it's an important one!), and my health + the way our society functions have effectively prevented me from working full-time for many years, I do not have access to savings or other resources. So I am reaching out to my community for help.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Please donate if you can; it would really mean a lot to me. Any donations above the goal amount will be used either toward paying off the small remaining amount of medical-related debt I hold, or enrolling in an upcoming CPE (clinical pastoral education) course, a crucial step in the ordination process.
Non-monetary ways you can help:
-I am lucky to have a couple lovely folks who I’m excited to live with, but we still need to find a place! Do you know of a first-floor, garden-level, or otherwise largely accessible three-bedroom apartment around $3000 or under in the Cambridge-Somerville area (or potentially elsewhere on the Red Line)?
-Are you in a financial position where you feel comfortable being a cosigner? This may be helpful with some apartments, depending on landlord requirements.
-Tell your legislators to work to change these regulations (I will have more information on this one soon)!
-It is quite possible I (and/or my adorable and friendly cat, Jade) will need somewhere to stay in August to bridge the time between leases. If you know a good housesitting, sublet, or other option for this, or want to volunteer to spend some time with Miss Jade specifically so that I can find a place more easily, let me know!
-Lastly, please share this fundraiser with folks you know who might be able to help!
Organizer
Elizabeth Foster
Organizer
Cambridge, MA