dear friends and comrades:

we are here to help support our beloved friend and family, rex.

many of you may already know rex, but for those who don’t:

rex is a brilliant, thoughtful, and caring working-class native NYer and trans multi-genre artist. rex loves cats, gay shit, nature, being on stage, and laughing mischievously. rex currently lives with his mother denise, also a working-class native NYer, who navigates severe mental illness as well as ongoing physical ailments, some related to a previous lung cancer diagnosis. denise’s mental illness often involves frequent hospitalizations; sudden and extended periods of depression and mania; times when she is unable to speak or put thoughts together; intense isolation and self-blame; and often leaves her unable to take care of her own daily needs.

for some time now, rex has been navigating the responsibility of being the sole caretaker of his mother. this complicated responsibility means that rex is currently his mom’s full-time caretaker and care manager. on an everyday basis rex is ensuring his mother has her daily needs met, checking in on her mood and symptoms, making doctor’s appointments, following up with social services, and taking her to the hospital when necessary. rex has also been fighting for years to access supportive housing for his mother but it has been an ongoing journey of many institutional failures that have taken a huge emotional toll. the demands of this responsibility have been incredibly painful and difficult for rex, often creating very little space for him to take care of his own wellbeing and needs. rex has also been struggling to take care of himself, due to the emotional and physical toll of this role, and has understandably felt isolated, hopeless, and overwhelmed as he attempts to create safety and stability for his mother and himself.

due to these demands, rex is currently unable to work and is in need of financial support, for himself and his mother. this financial support would help rex pay for rent, food, medical and utility bills, and would help alleviate ongoing financial stress. this material support would provide rex and denise some space and time to breathe while they continue to navigate these immense demands and stressors. this support is life-changing and essential at this time, when both rex and denise are deeply struggling together. they both deserve our care, support, and love as they try to figure out what’s next for their family’s stability and wellbeing.

OUR ASK:

become a monthly sustainer

instead of asking for a large sum of money, we are instead asking you to become a monthly “sustainer” or supporter for a period of 4 months (October-January). this would mean you would agree to make the same monthly donation to this fundraiser for the next 4 months. we truly believe this will be a more sustainable form of support for rex at this moment. this will also be incredibly supportive to us who are organizing this support for rex and denise. we will currently only be accepting monthly donations via this fundraiser because we really believe this form of support is the best way to support right now! monthly donations can be as small or large as you are able to give. as you’re assessing what you might donate, please remember that all donations ($5, $25, $50, $100) will be immensely supportive in the long run of us meeting this goal. while donating every month might seem intimidating in some respects or like a larger commitment, we believe it is the best way we can all organize our resources to provide consistent support to rex.

timeline:

we are hoping to meet our monthly sustainer goal by October 16th. after we meet our goal we will then close the fundraiser, and stop monthly donations, on January 31st. there is no way to know if we will be able to meet this goal but we want to try. we believe that with all of your help, your care, and solidarity, we will be able to, collectively, offer rex and denise the support they deserve.

in solidarity,

rex's support team, friends, and family