Hello friends, family, or perhaps many I have never even met,

I'm Mica!

This is my GoFundMe to support my emergency move from Portland back to Salt Lake City while experiencing housing crisis.

I want to start by saying a wholehearted THANK YOU. There is SO MUCH to be paying attention to right now, so many issues that need our resources within our communities and at a global scale. I recognize that many of us are under significant strain in these current economic conditions.

The world is quite tangled right now, so thank you so much for bringing your attention here, to this page, even if just for the briefest moment.

I'm holding all that I just mentioned close to my heart. And still, I am moved by my current financial need to ask for your support.

We are hoping to raise $2,500

To support continual resource flow to where it is most needed, 5% of all donations to this GoFundMe will be sent to the Free Lunch Collective to support their efforts in supporting our unhoused neighbors in Portland.

We are all connected, and the conditions that cause my own intersectional

experience of housing insecurity and joblessness are interconnected with the struggles facing all who are housing insecure.

Here's my story:

I was unexpectedly laid off from my only job in March. I didn't have any savings, so I have been relying on unemployment insurance and the mutual aid of my community to keep me housed and fed., I have still only barely managed to meet either of these needs.

The majority of my working experience has been in manual labor or highly physical jobs. With worsening chronic pain and multiple injuries over the years, I have not been able to pursue jobs that may have been easier to find but would continue to deteriorate my health.

I turned to a wide array of other positions I was highly qualified for such as program management, teaching, facilitation, and operations management. due to the overwhelming amount of people looking for work, this sector of the job market has been highly competitive and unresponsive.

A few weeks ago, I found out my unemployment insurance was ending with no hope of extensions. That means the only source of funding that has kept me fed and prevented me from losing my housing has evaporated.

I have chosen to drastically cut costs and make an emergency move back to Salt Lake City to get back on my feet.

That said, I need to raise funds for this unplanned move to cover these needs:

My last rent payment

Unavoidable bills like car insurance, student loans, etc.

Moving costs

Gas and the car maintenance needed to get my car ready for the long drive to Salt Lake City.

Food

Some financial breathing room to alleviate pressure on the resource pool that will support me back in Utah.

I am not alone in this experience of extreme economic struggle in 2023, and I'm transparent about my story and needs for a reason.

There is a lot of stigma and scrutiny attached to being transparent about financial insecurity or emergencies in both our public and private lives. Naming our needs with dignity gives them the power they deserve. Being transparent about our needs allows others the opportunity to be generous and supportive within their dignity as well. Asking for aid is part of my journey in cultivating generative practices of resource flow to where it is needed most within community practice. You can read more about an example of liberated resource flow and gift economies here.

I am dedicated to putting whatever resources I receive to good use.

If you, reader, are not someone who can feasibly share your financial resources, I encourage you to help circulate this page so it may find someone who does.

Regardless of whether or not you contribute, thank you for the resource of your attention. It goes far.