Summer Stretch
Donation protected
Hey y'all --
I generally work as an on-campus tutor for undergraduate students with learning and development disabilities. The office in which I normally work is closed during school vacations. Because school vacations last only about 30 days, I typically do not need to find a part-time job over vacations. BUT Summer vacation actually lasts closer to 4 months, since the office where I tutor is closed during the summer semester.
Because I am not otherwise working for pay, I choose to dedicate my school vacation time to community work. While this work is dearly needed, it is seldom paid work. And, when the work is paid, it is paid on an invoice basis, meaning that there are no predictable "pay days." There are often as many as 1-3 months in turn around times for payment on services billed via invoice.
I am usually able to take all of these things into consideration and plan/budget accordingly. But my normal processes for keeping myself afloat during times when I am focused on non-paying, community work have fallen short this time around. Specifically, I needed to pay a large and unexpected medical bill that wiped out most of my savings. I relied on invoice billing coming back in time for me to recover my loss, but that has not happened.
As many of you know, I am a persisent person. I tried to cover my loss and bridge my financial needs by doing odd jobs for folks, booking tarot consultations, selling some of my personal belongings, and taking commissions for art dolls. That strategy has worked well enough to keep me fed. It has not proven to be enough to cover my living expenses more broadly, however.
My most pressing needs are ...
> Cell phone is out of service and physically broken
> Electric bill is overdue
> Medical bills keep coming in, and will continue to do so, as I require ongoing medical care for the treatment of a chronic condition
> Food, medication, and household items
I approximate the cost of my most pressing needs at around $500.
With your help, I can continue to ...
> Teach the state how to treat transgender people with respect and fairness, especially when trans folks have been the victims of sexual assault; in my role as a curriculum development specialist consultant with a prominent state-wide agency focused on caring for victims of sexual assault
> Provide on-the-spot, direct-care to trans folks in our community who need assistance to access their daily survival needs (trans identity + disability is a really difficult combination for folks to survive); in my role as a community organizer and disability advocate
> Teach Social Workers across the state how to identify their own intrinsic biases towards transgender people with severe mental ilness; in my capacity as a training curriculum working group member with a prominent, state-wide network of social workers
> Help other medical providers in Indianapolis to gain basic cultural competency in treating transgender patients, through my role as an invited speaker/educator in trainings sponsored by major health systems in Indianapolis
> Build safe and sober community spaces for trans and queer folks to gather and share our stories/voices, fellowship, and experiences with one another
> Prepare course materials for the undergraduate, Intro to Psych course I will be teaching this Fall
> Access the care that I personally need with respect to my own chronic health condition
If you can pass along a few dollars, it would be greatly appreciated.
I am also more than happy to work odd jobs for folks. Message me if you have a job I can help with.
I need these funds as soon as possible. I have delayed asking for direct giving contributions because I have felt ashamed to do so, and because I wanted to exhaust my opportunities to work odd jobs first. Now my other resources appear to be exhausted and I believe that my only option is to ask for direct giving.
Whether you can give or not, I am thankful that you are a part of my life. Thank you.
I generally work as an on-campus tutor for undergraduate students with learning and development disabilities. The office in which I normally work is closed during school vacations. Because school vacations last only about 30 days, I typically do not need to find a part-time job over vacations. BUT Summer vacation actually lasts closer to 4 months, since the office where I tutor is closed during the summer semester.
Because I am not otherwise working for pay, I choose to dedicate my school vacation time to community work. While this work is dearly needed, it is seldom paid work. And, when the work is paid, it is paid on an invoice basis, meaning that there are no predictable "pay days." There are often as many as 1-3 months in turn around times for payment on services billed via invoice.
I am usually able to take all of these things into consideration and plan/budget accordingly. But my normal processes for keeping myself afloat during times when I am focused on non-paying, community work have fallen short this time around. Specifically, I needed to pay a large and unexpected medical bill that wiped out most of my savings. I relied on invoice billing coming back in time for me to recover my loss, but that has not happened.
As many of you know, I am a persisent person. I tried to cover my loss and bridge my financial needs by doing odd jobs for folks, booking tarot consultations, selling some of my personal belongings, and taking commissions for art dolls. That strategy has worked well enough to keep me fed. It has not proven to be enough to cover my living expenses more broadly, however.
My most pressing needs are ...
> Cell phone is out of service and physically broken
> Electric bill is overdue
> Medical bills keep coming in, and will continue to do so, as I require ongoing medical care for the treatment of a chronic condition
> Food, medication, and household items
I approximate the cost of my most pressing needs at around $500.
With your help, I can continue to ...
> Teach the state how to treat transgender people with respect and fairness, especially when trans folks have been the victims of sexual assault; in my role as a curriculum development specialist consultant with a prominent state-wide agency focused on caring for victims of sexual assault
> Provide on-the-spot, direct-care to trans folks in our community who need assistance to access their daily survival needs (trans identity + disability is a really difficult combination for folks to survive); in my role as a community organizer and disability advocate
> Teach Social Workers across the state how to identify their own intrinsic biases towards transgender people with severe mental ilness; in my capacity as a training curriculum working group member with a prominent, state-wide network of social workers
> Help other medical providers in Indianapolis to gain basic cultural competency in treating transgender patients, through my role as an invited speaker/educator in trainings sponsored by major health systems in Indianapolis
> Build safe and sober community spaces for trans and queer folks to gather and share our stories/voices, fellowship, and experiences with one another
> Prepare course materials for the undergraduate, Intro to Psych course I will be teaching this Fall
> Access the care that I personally need with respect to my own chronic health condition
If you can pass along a few dollars, it would be greatly appreciated.
I am also more than happy to work odd jobs for folks. Message me if you have a job I can help with.
I need these funds as soon as possible. I have delayed asking for direct giving contributions because I have felt ashamed to do so, and because I wanted to exhaust my opportunities to work odd jobs first. Now my other resources appear to be exhausted and I believe that my only option is to ask for direct giving.
Whether you can give or not, I am thankful that you are a part of my life. Thank you.
Organizer
Rabbette Alice
Organizer
Indianapolis, IN
