- S
WHO AM I AND WHAT DOES IT MATTER:
My name is Caitlyn Caruso, also known as cece (she/they). David (the organizer of this campaign) is my lovely partner who has been doing everything he can to hold me through this, including the leg work around this GFM.
I'm 23, queer, non-binary, a sex worker, and a chronically ill babe. I have been in the "movement" for 9 years, organizing around reproductive justice. My most recent work has been mentoring young activists around the country on grassroots campaigns around issues like decriminalization, restorative justice, homelessness, harm reduction, etc. Everything I do is to ensure no other families face the same pain and struggle that my mom has had to endure. Mom, I am because you are. Today, I'm calling on community for help.
My mom's brother went missing in May and then ended up in the hospital, thus they lost his $250/month share of the bills. He just died in early July due to COVID-19. I lost my job at the end of June without warning, so I had no time to prepare to support myself and my family beyond July. My mom is disabled and on SSDI (<$1300/month). I support my family (mom, sister, and nibling) by paying $500/month in bills, and now need to take on another $250/month. After losing not one but two incomes, we are hoping to raise money to fill the gaps and provide us breathing room through August to grieve and process.
My mom has always been a giver, letting people stay with us, feeding folk experiencing homelessness, taking in children who have nowhere else to go, and always finding something to give even when we had nothing. It's our turn to give back to her for once. Please help me help my family.
If you would like to read the full narrative, detailed break-down of our situations, and listed needs, please read below.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the run-down to the awful soap opera nightmare that is our lives:
Early in May, my mother’s brother went missing. After filing a missing person report, we heard nothing from the detectives for an entire month. In June, we finally received a call from the police saying my uncle has been found and was under an involuntary psychiatric hold at North Vista Hospital since the day after he went missing.
We were hopeful that he would be able to regain his health, but the pandemic had other plans. After battling a bout of pneumonia with spiking fevers and losses of consciousness, he tested positive for COVID-19. From North Vista, he was transferred to PAM Specialty Hospital specifically for COVID-19 treatment.
Unfortunately, his heart gave out. He was transferred again to MountainView Hospital where they put him on life support. The hospital deemed him an ineligible candidate for surgery based on his past drug use and current health. The medical team at MountainView consequentially told my mom they planned on removing him from life support in less than 3 days, saying “he’ll probably be okay with diet, exercise, and the medication we’ll prescribe.” We protested and told them we wanted to keep him on life support until we received a second opinion. On day 3, in the middle of the night, they removed him from life support without notifying my mother. Shortly afterward, he died.
My mom lost her little brother from this damned disease, this damned health care system, and this damned government. She didn’t even get to say goodbye.
Since his disappearance/hospitalization, my family has been struggling to make rent without his cut of the rent ($250) and the groceries he provided. Not only that, but he also was the only one with any means of transportation. Without him, my mom faces a new world of unknowns.
I’ve been working to pick up uncle’s part of the rent, as well as continued paying their electricity and phone bills. As it became clear that they may be facing eviction when the moratorium is lifted, I also committed myself to support them with an additional $150 a month so they can move out of their current apartment.
Securing them a safer home that fits their needs is essential right now, especially as my mom’s breast cancer may be back. She is currently trying to access the care she needs to get an official diagnosis but cannot afford to pay back her medical debt, not to mention the co-pays in which to access treatment.
To make matters worse, I was fired one day before my final paycheck and two days before rent was due. This sudden loss of income has put great strain on my family. Due to the hot mess that is our life right now and due to the pandemic, my partner and I are planning to move closer to loved ones around the end of the year. While I do have savings, these funds will only cover a fraction of that cost, leaving me and my family with even less cash to spare in the coming months. I have already made an initial claim for unemployment and have yet to hear back as to whether or not I am eligible. If others’ experiences are anything to learn from, I don’t expect to see this money (if at all) for months to come.
For the last year+, every day I woke up sick to my stomach anxious to return to a workplace in which I was heavily surveilled, held to higher standards and disciplined more than others (I was put on an indefinite "performance review" that lasted over 6 months), and given unbelievable amounts of work with no training, setting me up for failure from the jump. I am hoping to have some time to breathe after this traumatic experience.
As a result of all of this, I am scrambling to find the resources to support both myself and my family. We need your help.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In full transparency, my community has already generously crowdsourced (via Venmo and CashApp) around $2,500 worth of funds which will cover one months’ worth of my bills, leaving me with around $200 for food, medicine, co-payments, gas, etc. Some of these funds have already been used to support my family immediately following my uncle's death (meals, groceries, etc). The rest of these funds will get me through the rest of July with a little to spare for early August. My hope is to crowdfund $3,500 to cover mine and my family’s *essential* expenditures through the end of August, as we work to rebuild after such tragic upheavals. Any additional funds that we may raise will be used toward any excess bills, medical co-payments and/or redistributed to local mutual aid projects.
My family’s need alone eclipses this amount, *and* I know other critical needs within our communities are pressing. Any amount raised will be life-changing and defining throughout the next few months. We are immensely grateful for the support we have already received and any support you may be able to offer.
If you would rather make a donation directly:
Venmo: @mylovelycaitlyn
CashApp: $ninaxxx
The money will go toward:
· MY FAMILY:
o Uncle’s portion of the rent
o Moving costs
o New beds for my mom, sister, and my nibling (they have been sleeping on broken futons and air mattresses for the last year+)
o New phones for my mom and sister, as their phones are broken/in disrepair
o Uber's & other transportation fees
o Electricity bill + phone bills (I have been covering this portion of her monthly expenses)
o Essential groceries
o Any excess funds will be directed towards my mom's medical debt/co-payments for her breast cancer care, my family’s overall wellness, and mental health care
· MYSELF:
o August bills: car insurance/payment, debt repayments, phone bill, rent, utilities
o Essential groceries
Thank you so much for your support. My community has stepped up time and time again to make sure my family and I always land on our feet. As always, we will figure it out. It takes a motherfucking village.
With love, endless gratitude, and in solidarity,
david, cece, donna, andrea, and john
My name is Caitlyn Caruso, also known as cece (she/they). David (the organizer of this campaign) is my lovely partner who has been doing everything he can to hold me through this, including the leg work around this GFM.
I'm 23, queer, non-binary, a sex worker, and a chronically ill babe. I have been in the "movement" for 9 years, organizing around reproductive justice. My most recent work has been mentoring young activists around the country on grassroots campaigns around issues like decriminalization, restorative justice, homelessness, harm reduction, etc. Everything I do is to ensure no other families face the same pain and struggle that my mom has had to endure. Mom, I am because you are. Today, I'm calling on community for help.
My mom's brother went missing in May and then ended up in the hospital, thus they lost his $250/month share of the bills. He just died in early July due to COVID-19. I lost my job at the end of June without warning, so I had no time to prepare to support myself and my family beyond July. My mom is disabled and on SSDI (<$1300/month). I support my family (mom, sister, and nibling) by paying $500/month in bills, and now need to take on another $250/month. After losing not one but two incomes, we are hoping to raise money to fill the gaps and provide us breathing room through August to grieve and process.
My mom has always been a giver, letting people stay with us, feeding folk experiencing homelessness, taking in children who have nowhere else to go, and always finding something to give even when we had nothing. It's our turn to give back to her for once. Please help me help my family.
If you would like to read the full narrative, detailed break-down of our situations, and listed needs, please read below.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the run-down to the awful soap opera nightmare that is our lives:
Early in May, my mother’s brother went missing. After filing a missing person report, we heard nothing from the detectives for an entire month. In June, we finally received a call from the police saying my uncle has been found and was under an involuntary psychiatric hold at North Vista Hospital since the day after he went missing.
We were hopeful that he would be able to regain his health, but the pandemic had other plans. After battling a bout of pneumonia with spiking fevers and losses of consciousness, he tested positive for COVID-19. From North Vista, he was transferred to PAM Specialty Hospital specifically for COVID-19 treatment.
Unfortunately, his heart gave out. He was transferred again to MountainView Hospital where they put him on life support. The hospital deemed him an ineligible candidate for surgery based on his past drug use and current health. The medical team at MountainView consequentially told my mom they planned on removing him from life support in less than 3 days, saying “he’ll probably be okay with diet, exercise, and the medication we’ll prescribe.” We protested and told them we wanted to keep him on life support until we received a second opinion. On day 3, in the middle of the night, they removed him from life support without notifying my mother. Shortly afterward, he died.
My mom lost her little brother from this damned disease, this damned health care system, and this damned government. She didn’t even get to say goodbye.
Since his disappearance/hospitalization, my family has been struggling to make rent without his cut of the rent ($250) and the groceries he provided. Not only that, but he also was the only one with any means of transportation. Without him, my mom faces a new world of unknowns.
I’ve been working to pick up uncle’s part of the rent, as well as continued paying their electricity and phone bills. As it became clear that they may be facing eviction when the moratorium is lifted, I also committed myself to support them with an additional $150 a month so they can move out of their current apartment.
Securing them a safer home that fits their needs is essential right now, especially as my mom’s breast cancer may be back. She is currently trying to access the care she needs to get an official diagnosis but cannot afford to pay back her medical debt, not to mention the co-pays in which to access treatment.
To make matters worse, I was fired one day before my final paycheck and two days before rent was due. This sudden loss of income has put great strain on my family. Due to the hot mess that is our life right now and due to the pandemic, my partner and I are planning to move closer to loved ones around the end of the year. While I do have savings, these funds will only cover a fraction of that cost, leaving me and my family with even less cash to spare in the coming months. I have already made an initial claim for unemployment and have yet to hear back as to whether or not I am eligible. If others’ experiences are anything to learn from, I don’t expect to see this money (if at all) for months to come.
For the last year+, every day I woke up sick to my stomach anxious to return to a workplace in which I was heavily surveilled, held to higher standards and disciplined more than others (I was put on an indefinite "performance review" that lasted over 6 months), and given unbelievable amounts of work with no training, setting me up for failure from the jump. I am hoping to have some time to breathe after this traumatic experience.
As a result of all of this, I am scrambling to find the resources to support both myself and my family. We need your help.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In full transparency, my community has already generously crowdsourced (via Venmo and CashApp) around $2,500 worth of funds which will cover one months’ worth of my bills, leaving me with around $200 for food, medicine, co-payments, gas, etc. Some of these funds have already been used to support my family immediately following my uncle's death (meals, groceries, etc). The rest of these funds will get me through the rest of July with a little to spare for early August. My hope is to crowdfund $3,500 to cover mine and my family’s *essential* expenditures through the end of August, as we work to rebuild after such tragic upheavals. Any additional funds that we may raise will be used toward any excess bills, medical co-payments and/or redistributed to local mutual aid projects.
My family’s need alone eclipses this amount, *and* I know other critical needs within our communities are pressing. Any amount raised will be life-changing and defining throughout the next few months. We are immensely grateful for the support we have already received and any support you may be able to offer.
If you would rather make a donation directly:
Venmo: @mylovelycaitlyn
CashApp: $ninaxxx
The money will go toward:
· MY FAMILY:
o Uncle’s portion of the rent
o Moving costs
o New beds for my mom, sister, and my nibling (they have been sleeping on broken futons and air mattresses for the last year+)
o New phones for my mom and sister, as their phones are broken/in disrepair
o Uber's & other transportation fees
o Electricity bill + phone bills (I have been covering this portion of her monthly expenses)
o Essential groceries
o Any excess funds will be directed towards my mom's medical debt/co-payments for her breast cancer care, my family’s overall wellness, and mental health care
· MYSELF:
o August bills: car insurance/payment, debt repayments, phone bill, rent, utilities
o Essential groceries
Thank you so much for your support. My community has stepped up time and time again to make sure my family and I always land on our feet. As always, we will figure it out. It takes a motherfucking village.
With love, endless gratitude, and in solidarity,
david, cece, donna, andrea, and john