Help Owen & Oliver After the loss of dear Frou

Owen and Oliver suffered an incredible loss on January 4, 2023 when their beloved cat Frou’s health suddenly declined to the point where she needed to be put to sleep. Help these two recoup their vet bills and other expenses relating to Frou's passing, so they don’t have huge debt on top of this huge loss.

Owen Bee is a long-time activist and community builder in so-called Vancouver. Whether it’s been cooking food to bring people together at Rhizome or supporting Two-Spirit youth through UNYA’s Two-Spirit youth group - Owen gives his heart and labour to his communities. He is Métis, queer, trans, straight edge, and is very welcoming and kind.

Oliver immigrated to Canada to be with Owen over a decade ago and worked for many years at Raincity Housing supporting low-income and houseless people access safer housing with a harm reduction lens. They also have contributed to many other community organizations, including WAVAW. They are white, queer, trans, working class and are a gentle and creative human.

Frou had been sick with kidney disease for a number of months, which was being managed and treated through diet and medication. On January 3 she took a turn for the worst and had to go into hospital for treatment. It was many tests and hours - and numerous vet bills - later that Owen and Oliver found out that she had terminal cancer and it was time to say goodbye.

Here is a breakdown of what the funds will go towards:

$7500 paying off vet bills

$500 lost wages from Oliver’s work (Owen is able to have a few days paid time off)

$500 self care for Owen & Oliver as they grieve

This fundraiser is being held to show tangible support for two wonderful people who invest so much of themselves into making their communities better. It’s a way to show care for two people who have provided and continue to provide so much care to others.

One thing worth mentioning with this fundraiser is that since we do not live in an equitable world, $8500 means very different things to different people. For some people, it’s not going on a big annual trip or waiting 6 months before buying a new (to you) car. For Owen and Oliver this means years of credit card debt and needing to make tangible sacrifices such as not visiting friends or family where they grew up for years as well as needing to cut corners just to get by. Owen and Oliver are low-income and this debt would be crushing - on top of the crushing loss of Frou.

Let’s do what we can to help them out!

Thank you for reading and contributing, and if you are not able to contribute, sharing also really helps.