https://communityservices.humber.ca/programs/community-development-bachelor-of.html

requests444kain at gmail . com / 6472126594

Hey gays, theys, and my supporters!

February is Black Futures & History Month and there are some big changes happening in my personal life. I am a neurodisabled nonbinary facilitator, consultant, 2SLGBTQ+ advocate, and peer support worker hoping to niche down into one area of focus now that I have accepted my place in education. So, as I take the leap I am coming to my community to invest in my dream to support other neurodisabled youth and adults in the GTA. I need your help to pursue my bachelor’s in Community Development at Humber online in fall 2025! I will be the first in my family to ever attend university and it’s the biggest and only goal I have at the moment that I am hoping will open doors to being able to continue living in the city and align with my purpose. I will do my best to explain why I am asking for this amount and why you should care and invest in my future below. First, I would like to set some terms of engagement and boundaries I have around this vulnerable ask:

For close circles and kin: you don’t need to contribute if you are in a tough spot or have other priorities, I understand and I am not keeping tabs or have expectations just because we are in each other’s life. Thank you for any support you have already shown me and just know I see it and always strive to make my people proud and keep showing up.

For wider community: I urge you to contribute if you have disposable income and trust you will give what feels best, if you have limited income or are under 25 and want to support you can do so by sharing frequently, sending to relatives and your community if they care about disability justice, grassroots community workers, black trans lives, youth supports, autism and adhd supports, educators, access to education, lifting people out of poverty.

For white/white-passing supporters: I urge you to give generously. Tell your parents and relatives if they own a house, car, go on vacations, have seniority at a stable job, have worked consistently for decades, are not disabled or traumatized, have no trouble taking care of their family, own a business, will be receiving a hefty tax return, are not in major debt, have multiple degrees or masters. Make anything above 35k a year (I make below 20K for reference and my family is on assistance and have been my entire life for reference). Share frequently in your circles via email and socials. Do the work and look up mutual aid if you’re struggling to understand why I am doing this.

Your feelings about me and this ask are yours to hold, do not project your inability to ask for help, your judgment, jealousy, beliefs onto me. I don’t have the ability to care and I will shut it down immediately or block. Ask questions respectfully, do not provide advice I did not request or specifically ask for, and if you are not contributing or sharing then mind your business! I am already putting more of my personal life out there while YOU don’t have to and get free access to it. Nobody asks for help like this unless they need to, it’s anxiety inducing to trust people as is.

Why am I asking for $17K?? Why now?

I don’t come from money, I am the eldest, we have never owned a house and never will, we don’t have support from the islands or family, we are the people who clean your toilets, wash your uniforms, serve you, take care of your kids, emotionally support you, etc. I come from manual laborers and people who only know survival, minimum wage, work is our life and no time to love or see our loved ones. So, I am taking a chance on a degree I am actually passionate about and want to use it to support African, Caribbean, and Black diaspora youth and adults with autism and neurodisabilities who also come from poverty. I'm hoping that this can open up avenues for me to make around $50K but if I can even get close to that in my 30’s I would be relieved and can show other people it’s possible who share my identities.

Financially I am in a better place than I ever have been thanks to COMMUNITY showing up many times in ways my younger self never dreamed of (thank you with my whole heart!!!), I do have income coming in however I am struggling with phobias and conditions and have only been able to cover my month to month needs and have been selling what I can, taking paid studies/surveys, side hustles, budgeting, stretching meals or eating less in the past to cover unexpected health costs and trauma supports. Managing my life takes a lot and if you don’t live with C-PTSD and other debilitating conditions I urge you to read about it from a non-white/cishet perspective!

Quick overview of income: monthly ODSP minimum and that is for ALL my monthly basic needs which I have to save first & last and 2 months rent from that somehow. I do not have any other income or savings and have no time to hope to sell some stuff due to urgent unsafe conditions and physical abuse threats. it is dire that I get out of here ASAP ASAP to ensure safety and health.

Funds usage breakdown:

Why you should invest in my future:

White people cannot and will not save us or free my people, only we can take care of each other and the harm being done to Black autistic kids and adults has created a deep rage in me that I want to channel into doing something about it. If you care about giving people access to institutions that have historically shut out people like me, if you understand that Black trans and queer people are holding a village on our backs and rarely receiving the same support, following online, and funding as their yt contemporaries.

This would allow me to support myself with the limited income I have coming in soon, clear some of my debts holding me back, send some funds to ensure my family can eat, apply to school and do my taxes stress-free, focus on setting up my website and get social media coaching, avoid having to choose between T and therapy.

I am devoted to becoming a better facilitator, being a therapeutic support to neurodisabled community members of all ages, and would like to work with the aging population more. I want to develop programming, consult on curriculums, and support better education for disabled QTBIPOC youth.

I graduated in 2021 from social service work at George Brown and maintained a 4.0 GPA with honors after believing I would never go to college after dropping out of high school 3x. I am in good standing with my academic peers and former prof who co-signs me pursuing this degree. I am part of a strong network of activists, advocates, educators, disruptors, healers, organizers, politicians, collectives, etc and want to be able to understand how to work with my gifts and community more effectively. You can take a look at my Instagram to get a sense of my values and find past news segments and work.

Thank you for investing in a future where we get to build a new table that allows each of us to come together and eat from the same dish, with the same spoon.

Please send any questions, suggestions to raise funds, or anything else to: requests444kain [@] gmail [dot] com or to request my e-transfer information.

Actions:

Thank you for helping my dream become a reality, I want to prove to myself that I can be more than I imagined and make my community proud.

In solidarity,

Kain Nathaniel

they/them