Support Our Friend Rue's Journey to Stability and Care

Our dear friend Rue has been dealt a difficult, almost overwhelming hand recently and we want to help him during this part of his journey. He has been, and continues to be a caretaker for his family, putting his educational and career dreams on hold in order to support and be a full-time caregiver for his mother, brother, and his father.

Here is what Rue has written:

“For some of you who know me from my Substack, and/or time on Politicalwire, I am Rue Ryuzaki, while to some of you I am Bell.

“I have had a really rough year, first losing my beloved mother, whom I had been taking care of for nearly a decade and soon after she passed away I lost a great friend who provided kindness and empathy during this journey. Due to my mother’s death, I have been named guardian for my special needs little brother and recently lost my only means ofd transportation when my car broke down. During this time I’ve also been continuing to look after my father, who last week was diagnosed with advanced stage 4 lung cancer. Now my siblings and I are preparing for the inevitable loss of our father, while still mourning our mother’s passing.

“I had been shouldering these tasks and pain for a long time now, mostly by myself, primarily because of the fear and the vulnerability of asking for help. I have recently realized that others want to help me shoulder this burden as they can, either emotionally or financially. In trying to handle this alone, I know that I’ve been harming myself and not being the best I can be to the ones I’ve vowed to look after. I now know that in order to best move forward, I truly need help to financially stabilize my situation and to face what’s ahead of me and to help care for my younger brother.”