Hi everyone!

My name is Yael, and I'm a trans and disabled homeless individual struggling to make ends meet while I hunt for work and recover from a series of massive health incidents and a 7 year long abusive relationship.

The past many years have had me up against extraordinary circumstances in rapid succession. After a severe illness, I fled recurrent homelessness and abusive households back to back up until the start of the pandemic, leaving all of my life behind in a small storage unit on the other side of the country in order to start anew.

I took my newfound freedom and attempted to start a career with it, especially one that might respect my body's rapidly decaying ability levels following my illness and a lifetime of medical neglect. I began studying fullstack engineering, eventually making my way into a support program that would arrange an internship for me after a brief classroom portion. The experience was profound-- it helped me realize my worth, my capacities, my passions, and that the circumstances of my life to that point weren't going to hold me down.

Just before my program's end, the household I had been a part of decided to split up, which resulted in me couch crashing indefinitely with local friends. Still, I graduated with much success in the summer of 2023, hindered somewhat by layoffs at the company that was poised to hire me, but intent on making things work. I tutored heaps of students, both new to and experienced in tech, ran hackathons and game jams and project collaborations galore while studying to extend my skills and taking on numerous rigorous interview cycles.

Unfortunately, as I began my career as a software engineer, the industry took a collective southwardly turn in tide with my health. Jobs closed their doors to early career engineers, leading many of my peers to change fields entirely. As I grappled with this new reality, I experienced a cavalcade of problems, including several minor aneurysms, a cancer scare, heart problems, and an intensification of many other chronic conditions that left me bedridden, mentally fogged, and without mobility. I was diagnosed with several life-changing autoimmune disorders for which access to medication is necessary, but inordinately expensive.

Concurrent to this entire period, I was stuck in a 7 year long abusive relationship that resulted in frequent hospitalizations, unable to leave because of my financial dependence on this partner. It was a point of much shame, and I struggled to communicate what I was going through for much of the time.

All of this in between the deaths of several loved ones threw me far off the path of my studies.

Now, I'm finally free. I am safe; still staying with friends as before, but with the whole world opened up to me. Regrettably, however, my health is still imposing itself on my immediate possibilities-- since my aneurysms and the all until recent abuse, my ability to function has greatly diminished, and I'm needing to catch back up on skill and portfolio building in order to find employment, especially as my health and experience level has made any job outright nigh unreachable.

I've managed to eek by on small savings up to this point, but now I am in need of help to continue my journey of independence.

All funds will go to storage rent and basic groceries/toiletries, as well as potentially helping buffer my move to an environment that will eliminate my need for storage units and potentially improve my health.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time!