Help Oli get back on his feet
Donation protected
Our (and your) friend Oli needs help.
Oli has been dealing with mental illness for some time now and things have been getting worse.
About two years ago, Oli lost his job; his mental illness no longer allowed him to be the high performer he had been and that reflected in work. Since then, Oli has not been able to get to a mental place where having a job is a thing he can do. You may not have noticed this at events; he's been putting all his energy into making those work as best he can.
With the money from his severance package, savings and the selling of belongings, as well as moving to cheaper place, Oli has been able to stay out of financial trouble for some time, but that time has passed.
It took a while before Oli tried to get help for his condition, but that is now happening. It took much longer for Oli to try to get government health benefits, and that process is now getting delayed due to the uncertainty and the apparent government workload surrounding Brexit (being a UK citizen living in Ireland has complicated a lot of things). And well, money has run out and belongings have been sold, with nothing left to live from.
There is hope that the process to get benefits can be done in 2 months or so (but definitely not faster than that). Oli is also getting to a point where, hopefully soon, he can start a few hours a week of teaching. That's good news, but without the benefits, it won't be enough and Oli needs money -- now -- to pay rent, to live and eat.
What we're trying to do with this campaign is get two months of expenses covered, getting him through these next few weeks, one day and one week at a time, until he can finally start receiving the government help.
Most of the people we expect this message to reach will know Oli as a friend and as a Magic Judge. Well, not just "a" Magic Judge, but one of the oldest L3 judges we have. In those many years, we have always known Oli to be there for others; whether as a mentor in their personal development, or helping them run events, as a listening ear or to liven up the conversation... Oli is a fantastic person.
And now he needs your help. So please, donate what you can.
Oli has been dealing with mental illness for some time now and things have been getting worse.
About two years ago, Oli lost his job; his mental illness no longer allowed him to be the high performer he had been and that reflected in work. Since then, Oli has not been able to get to a mental place where having a job is a thing he can do. You may not have noticed this at events; he's been putting all his energy into making those work as best he can.
With the money from his severance package, savings and the selling of belongings, as well as moving to cheaper place, Oli has been able to stay out of financial trouble for some time, but that time has passed.
It took a while before Oli tried to get help for his condition, but that is now happening. It took much longer for Oli to try to get government health benefits, and that process is now getting delayed due to the uncertainty and the apparent government workload surrounding Brexit (being a UK citizen living in Ireland has complicated a lot of things). And well, money has run out and belongings have been sold, with nothing left to live from.
There is hope that the process to get benefits can be done in 2 months or so (but definitely not faster than that). Oli is also getting to a point where, hopefully soon, he can start a few hours a week of teaching. That's good news, but without the benefits, it won't be enough and Oli needs money -- now -- to pay rent, to live and eat.
What we're trying to do with this campaign is get two months of expenses covered, getting him through these next few weeks, one day and one week at a time, until he can finally start receiving the government help.
Most of the people we expect this message to reach will know Oli as a friend and as a Magic Judge. Well, not just "a" Magic Judge, but one of the oldest L3 judges we have. In those many years, we have always known Oli to be there for others; whether as a mentor in their personal development, or helping them run events, as a listening ear or to liven up the conversation... Oli is a fantastic person.
And now he needs your help. So please, donate what you can.
Fundraising team: Bitterness (2)
Jurgen Baert
Organizer
Oli Bird
Beneficiary
Johanna Virtanen
Team member
