Help Gregg Housh Overcome Long COVID Challenges

Help Gregg Housh Through This Medical Crisis

I'm writing this on behalf of my friend Gregg Housh, who has been fighting an uphill battle with his health for over two years now. What started as a COVID infection in November 2022 has turned into a long, difficult journey that has completely upended his life and the lives of those in his family.

Gregg is not the type of person who is usually looking for help. Usually he is the one trying to help others and make a difference in the world. Gregg was at day 1 of Occupy Wall Street and an organizer of Occupy Boston. He’s been a front line fighter against fascism in Boston, showing up consistently to push back against threats like the Proud Boys. He’s worked with Extinction Rebellion and whistleblowers around the globe. Through it all he still has remained humble, caring more about elevating the voices of others than seeking his own limelight.

Gregg got covid in late 2022 and it lingered for several months. In early 2023 things got worse and he was forced to seek help at Urgent care despite not having access to insurance. The family did their best to support his recovery but ultimately things got bad enough that he had to be rushed to the ER and hospitalized. Even after an extended hospital stay Gregg has still struggled with considerable symptoms of long COVID: severe asthma, lowered lung functionality, significant damage to his vocal cords, GI symptoms, and debilitating brain fog that makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on work. Gregg is now on seven daily prescriptions and an injection just to keep himself somewhat functioning day to day. He is still waiting to schedule the surgery that will allow him to start occupational therapy for his vocal cords.

The brain fog has been particularly devastating. Gregg was once able to work consistently but with the brain fog It’s been impossible for him to hold on to consulting clients through this. While he is able to work on good days, they are unpredictable. The podcast has been an absolute impossibility, and will remain out of reach for years while the doctors work to restore his voice. No guest lectures, no interviews, no documentaries. He’s been forced to step back from his in person activism at a moment when he finally had the stability to take greater risks at protests and shield others who could not afford the fallout of an arrest. Everything he has built towards has been affected by this.

Throughout all of this, his wife Anna has done everything she can to support him, his health and the family and while she has been able to work and find support in the community, it has not been enough to let them dig out of the significant hole that they have found themselves in over the past few years.

This all was more than enough of a challenge, but an unfortunate new development has pushed the situation into a crisis. Gregg has been experiencing sudden, severe vertigo episodes that last only seconds but are strong enough to cause falls. On June 16th, he fell onto concrete steps, resulting in a compound fracture of his left arm, a fractured right ankle, and a possible tendon injury to his wrist. Another hospitalization, an emergency surgery, at home physical therapy and occupational therapy, and metal hardware that is now a permanent part of his arm. We are all happy to see that he is healing quickly and moving on to outpatient therapy, but the loss of income and ongoing expenses have finally become too much for him and his wife to power through.

How You Can Help

The medical bills are overwhelming, and with limited ability to work, Gregg and his family have fallen behind on basic expenses - utilities, rent, groceries, and the obvious medical debt. Every dollar raised will go directly toward:

Why This Matters

Gregg is one of the kindest, most resilient people I know. Before COVID, he was active everywhere. Online, in the streets, on his bike, with family and friends. Watching him struggle to regain the ability to focus and to work has been heartbreaking. Even harder has been watching him cope with his reduced capacity to help others at a time when there is so much work to be done. He and Anna are absolutely terrible at asking for help for themselves, which is why I'm stepping in with their permission.

Your support - whether $5 or $500 - will make a real difference in helping Gregg focus on healing instead of worrying about how to pay for basic necessities.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any support you can offer. Please share this campaign with others who might want to help. Your kindness means more than you know.