Hey folks,

I’m organizing this fundraiser on behalf of my best friend, Katie — a disabled queer woman living in Brighton, MA. Yesterday, she was scammed by individuals pretending to be the federal government, and lost her entire savings account.

She needs immediate support because she now has less than $1000 for all of her life expenses.

It’s one of the worst feelings in the world to be scammed, as some of you know firsthand. Scammers prey up your fears and don’t give you enough time or space to evaluate the situation. We tried calling the bank, the police, and filing a report with the FBI, but there’s no way for her to get her money back. This is particularly cruel, because as a disabled woman it’s going to be such an uphill battle for her to build any of that savings back again.

She has to pay for medication and doctor’s appointments necessary to function day to day. Her working hours and ability are limited due to her disabilities, so she is working gig jobs/very part time just to make ends meet. She has a senior cat with health issues, who needs cat food and vet visits. She has a lot of student loan debt, and rent, utilities, and other bills to pay all on her own.

She already faced housing insecurity, job insecurity, and ableist discrimination that forced her to pause her dreams last year — and these scammers took the last measures of security she had left. EBT in the US only lets you have $2000 in your bank account at any given time, which won’t allow her to build up any sort of savings or continue her part time job to get herself back on her feet.

She is so bright, a quick wit, an outspoken activist and journalist, passionate and knowledgeable about chemistry, the arts, education, and she’s such a fiercely devoted and compassionate friend. Help me give back to her in her time of need.

A donation of just $10 could be a medication copay, a couple cans of cat food, a meal. Any amount you donate would help her stay in her home and figure out what she can do from here.

Thank you for your kindness and support.