This is a time-sensitive request. We are friends and supporters of Hitaji Aziz. Some of us have known her for years while some of us not as long. What we all have in common is that we have been directly or indirectly touched by her compassion and dedication as a holistic healer. She has volunteered for over decades with service and time nationally and internationally for marginalized communities that carry the scars of trauma and despair.

We are encouraging as many people as we can to donate to our efforts to provide the necessary financial support that will make sure Hitaji’s medical and housing needs are met. Below you will see exactly what has been requested and a budget for each item. We urge you to donate now and please share this fundraiser far and wide. Thank you.

Medical Support: Spinal Stenosis

In April 2025, Hitaji was taken twice to the emergency room of Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. She had severe pain in her left shoulder, left arm, back, and neck, along with nerve tinging, numbness and swelling. After seeing four doctors and having an MRI, a CT scan, and X-rays, she was found to have severe Spinal Stenosis (Spondylosis). Her spinal cord is compressed at multiple locations. Hitaji said, "I could not stand, sit, or rest my head and neck without pain." Her MRI Cervical Spine Images showed that she had severe spinal stenosis from C2/3-C5/6 due to spondylosis.

Spinal Stenosis happens when the space around a spinal cord becomes too narrow. This irritates your spinal cord and/or the nerves that branch off it. Her doctor said that it can lead to paralysis in some situations and suggested spinal surgery as a possibility. She has decided that invasive spinal surgery and hard-core painkillers are things that she wants to avoid. Instead, she has chosen a restorative approach: spinal decompression therapy for the neck, a non-surgical option, with gentle traction to relieve pressure on spinal discs and nerve roots, which potentially reduces pain, tingling, or numbness in the neck, shoulder, arm, and hand. This therapy is not covered by Medicare or insurance in general.

How Spinal Decompression Works

• Gentle traction can be used for back or neck. The therapy involves a specialized table or chair that gently stretches the spine, creating space between the vertebrae and reducing pressure on the discs and nerves.

• Negative pressure can create a negative pressure (vacuum) within the discs, which may help to draw nutrients, fluid, and/or bulging or herniated disc material back into the disc space.

• Pain is relieved by reducing pressure on the nerve roots. The therapy aims to alleviate pain, tingling, or numbness in the neck, shoulder, arm, and hand. It can also improve comfort and movement throughout the neck.

Budget: Spinal Decompression & Maintenance--$1,500.

Housing Support

Hitaji writes, "I am currently unhoused due to indescribable and unexpected circumstances in a space I trusted after losing my home of 21 years due to COVID issues. I am in a Houston shelter, and living there has been extremely traumatizing. Being unhoused can be compared spiritually to standing on the Titanic not knowing how to swim but having deep faith that you will end up on dry land eventually."

She is doing what is needed to release herself from this situation by maintaining her meditation practice, allowing herself to grieve when needed, and staying connected to others who are in recovery. She is mindfully doing this to stay grounded and not be buried under depression and shame or to be ruled by fear. She is constantly asking the universe what she needs to learn.

Hitaji says, "I am a small business owner, and the business is at a near standstill because of new circumstances that affect how I respond to the Spinal Stenosis and housing challenges. My spine must work for me to create my own home and having a home will help my spine to heal.

"I remain ready to regenerate my business in order to do what I do best. I am allowing this experience to grow into healing and wisdom."

She has a thirty-day stay at the shelter with an extension until April 21. She writes us, "I will have to find another shelter, creating more unstable experiences. This is the culture of being unhoused."

Budget: Housing & Utilities--$18,300.

To gain the peace she needs to heal and return to work, a modest rental is $1,200 per month ($14,400 for a year) with $200 monthly budgeted for utilities ($2,400 for this year of healing).

About Hitaji Aziz, MA, RMT, Reiki Master

Hitaji writes this about herself: "I was motivated by Spirit as a 13-year-old to pursue what I felt was a calling or vocation for a life of service for my own healing, for the healing of others, and in honor of this great planet that we call earth. Compassion has always been an exciting experience for me, and it still is at the age of seventy-one."

In addition, she says, "My mission is to be a beneficial presence on this planet by using my unique gifts as a holistic healer to heal trauma seen in marginalized communities and in all life forms. I dream of a trauma- and violent-free world for all of us."

Hitaji is a Reiki Master, Healing Touch Practitioner, registered massage therapist, spoken word/poet, writer, former radio producer, and meditation facilitator of sacred spaces. Hitaji is a social justice healer who is in recovery for her own personal trauma and a keeper of Sacred Grandmother Wisdom. She has a master’s degree in counseling psychology.

“The world needs more Hitaji.” –Crosby Bean, House Builder

“They say that when the teacher appears the student is ready. If you pay attention closely enough, you will realize that there are some people in life that show up when you need them …at just the right time. Our paths would cross often. However, the day I learned that Hitaji was a healer, I discovered that I was in fact a teacher. I also realized that I was ready to be a student. Life is a journey filled with lots of healing pathways, but you must pay close attention. Hitaji is intuitive, compassionate, and genuine. She truly has a healer mind, body, and spirit. I am grateful to be in her midst." –Rhonda Radford Adams. ARTRRA - Art by Rhonda Radford Adams. Rhonda H. Radford, RDH, Health Arts Coach, Artist, and Author

“My first experience of Hitaji Aziz was hearing her voice on the radio. I was captivated by her passion, knowledge, and her visions of a world that could work for all of us without the suffering, the racism, the violence and the hatred. She challenged us to seek more wellness by taking the time and having the courage to heal what needed to be healed for the personnel as well as for the collective. I started to understand from the perspective of a White male in America that I could make a difference, and that respecting cultural diversity was extremely important.” –Tom Tompkins, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)

“Hitaji was my angel sent from God. She had been waiting for me to come to her for a long time. A friend of mine recommended her to me for the most turbulent time in my life. I came to a point in my life where I felt worthless and was just existing. After meeting Hitaji I knew intuitively that my restoration would be on its way. She is caring and very intuitive to what is wrong and finding the root of the problem. The body/energy work was truly amazing, and I truly felt the healing as she did the Reiki and body work session. She is transparent, empathetic and a GOD send. She truly has God’s hands on her, and I will be forever changed and grateful that Hitaji had a part in my rebirth.”

–Naomi Luna