Help Our QTPOC Beloved Access Health Care

I'm raising funds for my beloved friend and member of our community, Jersey. Jersey is a queer, non-binary, trans person of color of Puerto Rican, Italian, Filipino and Asian descent. They are in need and deserving of access to respite and much-needed healthcare. Jersey does not have access to other financial support and is the sole provider in a household of five.

Jersey has experienced intense, ongoing trauma in the workplace due to transphobia. They have been overburdened seeking support at work and being continually denied it. As a survivor of trauma, these experiences have compounded- causing extreme mental, physical and emotional distress, and impacting their quality of life. Jersey’s healthcare providers and community insisted they take time off to access intensive outpatient care. Access to mental health care is life-saving. Frankly, Jersey needs it to survive.

Jersey is in the first year of work with their employer and on a “trial period”. They don't have access to the same benefits as other employees. Jersey has taken an emergency leave with less than a week of paid time off, leaving them with no way to pay rent, buy food and get the respite they desperately need. They provide financial support for their family, including their nieces, ages 3 and 5, who are neurodivergent/have Autism. They are living with and being cared for by Jersey and their family due to domestic violence in their home.

Jersey has dedicated their life to creating safe spaces for youth, treating them as full human beings and fighting against the continual oppression they experience. As a survivor of conversion therapy, domestic violence, and physical, emotional and sexual abuse from adults who were supposed to protect Jersey as a youth, they are committed to working in and changing systems designed to punish and incarcerate our young people. As a light worker, they devote their life to being a beacon in our universe. Jersey wants to pass their light to our next generation, who will then pass it to the next. They are a fierce advocate and truth-teller who continually puts others before themself.

Capitalism does not allow the vast majority of us to access respite and have our basic needs met. Jersey considered continuing to work due to a lack of finances. Their community encouraged them to take the leave they needed anyway- please help ensure they can continue to! Collective care and mutual aid are especially important in our community. We take care of us.

I am asking you to help me raise $20,000 to cover 12 weeks of leave so Jersey can access the health care they need and the rest they deserve. Jersey is a vital member of our community. Let's lift them up as a person and the fabulous non-binary beloved they are!

Raising this money will allow Jersey to begin moving from surviving to thriving and continue being a light in all our lives.

-cee