Our Resilient Heart, Julie DeRosa
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Our Resilient Heart, Julie DeRosa
Survivor of a stroke and other crud
Julie DeRosa, a disabled frontline peer mental health care worker, is usually the one supporting others. Now, she needs the support of her community. Julie suffered a stroke at the beginning of April and is still inpatient for rehabilitation. Her entire left side was affected. She needs physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. As much as she would like to be home with her partner Chris and her faithful furry companion Jack, the medical team determined that she needs full-time therapy for a while longer. Once released, she will need to continue these various therapies on an outpatient basis for months to come.
If you’ve ever met Julie, you remember her warmth, her smile and her feistiness. She embodies compassion and spreads love like no other! Her kindness, empathy and encouragement have gotten many of us through the most challenging times.
And Julie gives everything to her vocation as a peer worker. As COVID ravaged our country last year, one of her biggest worries was not for herself, but that she would not be able to show up for the people she supports in the way that they needed and deserved. But she has done her best during one of the most troubling times any of us have ever experienced, to make sure people experiencing mental health crises and psychiatric disabilities knew that they were not alone, and that there was a future and peer-to-peer resources available to them.
Julie has also worked as an advocate for many years in the Independent Living movement and serving on a statewide disability commission, speaking out loudly for the rights of fellow disabled people to live in the community with access to all the services and supports they need to do so.
In addition to Julie’s huge heart and enduring commitment to supporting her peers, both on the job and in her personal life, she is a gifted artist. Her art is sold under the name Sacred Relic Studio and can be viewed on Instagram or her website.
In her own words: “I believe creating art is a divine and hopeful act; I believe art heals and transforms. I believe the expression of ideas and of our shared humanity helps us to better navigate the race from birth to death. I believe creation is an act of defiance in the face of the oppression of our suffering. I believe we are all artists, in whatever medium we find to work in.”
Julie merges her passion for mental health advocacy and art together with Survivor Shrines. These are art pieces that she periodically releases to recognize and honor the survivor in all of us. She also has hosted workshops where others can assemble their very own Survivor Shrines. Julie says: "I began creating survivor shrines from a place of learning to acknowledge my successes and victories...to remind me that I was able to find what resilience looks like for myself. It reminds me that I have built these skills and added them to my toolbox. It reminds me I survived and to find meaning in that survival."
Even now, with only partial control over her body, she continues to shine a light for others, posting uplifting memes and quotes on social media with the intention to remind people that they are loved, they are naturally creative beings, and that they matter.
As everyone reading this is well aware, GoFundMe exists, in part, because here in America we lack a social safety net for people experiencing illnesses, disabilities, or chronic health conditions. This is true, even for people who have full-time jobs. Julie’s employer did approve her medical leave while she is rehabilitating, but it only covers a fraction of her salary. Yet her bills and financial responsibilities remain the same.
So we, Julie’s friends and chosen family, are asking you to kick in whatever you can to help her get through this period of extended rehabilitation and back to her calling as an artist and a fierce supporter and advocate for others. Funds raised will cover:
Health insurance premiums and copays;
Transportation to treatment, as Julie can’t drive at this time;
Housing and other living expenses;
Dogwalking services for Jack, her service dog; and
Needed equipment to make her home safe given her limited mobility and dexterity.
We know these are tough times for everyone. Thank you so much for anything you can contribute to help reduce the amount of hardship Julie will experience as a result of her stroke and our safety net-less society. As Dean Spade says, “Mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world.” This statement truly embodies the way that Julie has led her life. Now let’s do all we can show up for her in a tremendously vulnerable and stressful time. If you cannot yourself contribute, we would be most grateful if you would share this out within your networks. Thank you again.
Well wishes and contributions can also be mailed to Julie DeRosa, 930 East Ave., Oakland, RI 02858.
Love and solidarity,
Team Julie
Survivor of a stroke and other crud
Julie DeRosa, a disabled frontline peer mental health care worker, is usually the one supporting others. Now, she needs the support of her community. Julie suffered a stroke at the beginning of April and is still inpatient for rehabilitation. Her entire left side was affected. She needs physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. As much as she would like to be home with her partner Chris and her faithful furry companion Jack, the medical team determined that she needs full-time therapy for a while longer. Once released, she will need to continue these various therapies on an outpatient basis for months to come.
If you’ve ever met Julie, you remember her warmth, her smile and her feistiness. She embodies compassion and spreads love like no other! Her kindness, empathy and encouragement have gotten many of us through the most challenging times.
And Julie gives everything to her vocation as a peer worker. As COVID ravaged our country last year, one of her biggest worries was not for herself, but that she would not be able to show up for the people she supports in the way that they needed and deserved. But she has done her best during one of the most troubling times any of us have ever experienced, to make sure people experiencing mental health crises and psychiatric disabilities knew that they were not alone, and that there was a future and peer-to-peer resources available to them.
Julie has also worked as an advocate for many years in the Independent Living movement and serving on a statewide disability commission, speaking out loudly for the rights of fellow disabled people to live in the community with access to all the services and supports they need to do so.
In addition to Julie’s huge heart and enduring commitment to supporting her peers, both on the job and in her personal life, she is a gifted artist. Her art is sold under the name Sacred Relic Studio and can be viewed on Instagram or her website.
In her own words: “I believe creating art is a divine and hopeful act; I believe art heals and transforms. I believe the expression of ideas and of our shared humanity helps us to better navigate the race from birth to death. I believe creation is an act of defiance in the face of the oppression of our suffering. I believe we are all artists, in whatever medium we find to work in.”
Julie merges her passion for mental health advocacy and art together with Survivor Shrines. These are art pieces that she periodically releases to recognize and honor the survivor in all of us. She also has hosted workshops where others can assemble their very own Survivor Shrines. Julie says: "I began creating survivor shrines from a place of learning to acknowledge my successes and victories...to remind me that I was able to find what resilience looks like for myself. It reminds me that I have built these skills and added them to my toolbox. It reminds me I survived and to find meaning in that survival."
Even now, with only partial control over her body, she continues to shine a light for others, posting uplifting memes and quotes on social media with the intention to remind people that they are loved, they are naturally creative beings, and that they matter.
As everyone reading this is well aware, GoFundMe exists, in part, because here in America we lack a social safety net for people experiencing illnesses, disabilities, or chronic health conditions. This is true, even for people who have full-time jobs. Julie’s employer did approve her medical leave while she is rehabilitating, but it only covers a fraction of her salary. Yet her bills and financial responsibilities remain the same.
So we, Julie’s friends and chosen family, are asking you to kick in whatever you can to help her get through this period of extended rehabilitation and back to her calling as an artist and a fierce supporter and advocate for others. Funds raised will cover:
Health insurance premiums and copays;
Transportation to treatment, as Julie can’t drive at this time;
Housing and other living expenses;
Dogwalking services for Jack, her service dog; and
Needed equipment to make her home safe given her limited mobility and dexterity.
We know these are tough times for everyone. Thank you so much for anything you can contribute to help reduce the amount of hardship Julie will experience as a result of her stroke and our safety net-less society. As Dean Spade says, “Mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world.” This statement truly embodies the way that Julie has led her life. Now let’s do all we can show up for her in a tremendously vulnerable and stressful time. If you cannot yourself contribute, we would be most grateful if you would share this out within your networks. Thank you again.
Well wishes and contributions can also be mailed to Julie DeRosa, 930 East Ave., Oakland, RI 02858.
Love and solidarity,
Team Julie
Co-organizers (2)
Becky Cronin
Organizer
Saint Clair Shores, MI
Julie DeRosa
Beneficiary
Leah Harris
Co-organizer