This fundraiser was created to help raise emergency relocation and housing funds for six CASFS 2019 second-year apprentices, who have been displaced following the sudden termination of the second-year fellowship program. Sexual harassment incidents were filed by one second-year apprentice against another. CASFS and the university were limited in their ability and willingness to support the refusal of the second-year apprentices to live with, work with, or accommodate this person. This gave visibility to the program’s lack of accountability structures to address sexual harassment, and ultimately resulted in their decision to dissolve the second-year program. This has left all second-year apprentices having to vacate their housing arrangements on the farm and seek employment elsewhere with only 2 weeks notice. The fellowship - which provided food, housing and a quarterly stipend - was initially set to run through October 2019.

It is important to note that this year’s group of second-year apprentices was the first overwhelmingly queer and person-of-color (POC) identifying cohorts, who are often the most impacted by systems of oppression. CASFS purports to uphold the practice of social justice in integrating “agroecology” to its institutional title. However, the institution's inability to sustain this fellowship program is a perpetuation of existing inequalities, having left this year’s cohort without housing and employment. Because of the limited timeframe that was given, this fundraiser is being shared first. Any support you can give would be largely appreciated.

Read our formal statement here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KlzKGAvPEWGWQlKvpAUwm5EXq8MhNdamu5TqvcUGweM/edit?usp=sharing