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Erika Foray

Hi, my name is Asa. Some of you had known me as Erika. Thank you for taking a moment to read my story.

A close friend encouraged me to start this GoFundMe, and I realized it’s okay to ask for help while I focus on healing and building a life of purpose. I’m reaching out because I need support to stay housed and keep utilities paid while my health issues — which are often debilitating — make it hard to maintain basic stability.

I live with severe complex PTSD (CPTSD) and other health challenges, including chronic pain, profound fatigue, and symptoms that sometimes resemble OCD. My physical and CPTSD symptoms often interact in ways that make daily life unpredictable and exhausting. When my body flares from pushing too hard, sitting, walking, or using my body can become very difficult or impossible. My ability to think through complex tasks can also be affected. Pain, tension, and fatigue can spiral my CPTSD into feeling terrified, like every small task is an emergency. It can take a lot of energy, skills, and time to calm my nerves and regain focus.

Severe CPTSD is a lifelong condition. I cannot simply “snap out of it” or let it go. It affects my thoughts, emotions, and physical health, and requires ongoing treatment, therapy, skills practice, and sometimes hospitalization. Even small stressors can trigger symptoms, and flare-ups can be debilitating. This is why maintaining stability — housing, utilities, and support — is essential for my recovery.

I take multiple medications and have been working closely with doctors for years to find the right combination to manage my CPTSD and physical health challenges. I have had hospitalizations for severe CPTSD and have spent seasons in intensive therapy — including group therapy plus two individual sessions a week. These experiences, while challenging, have been critical in helping me learn skills to manage my symptoms and rebuild my life.

I’ve always been a hard worker. I ran a decorative painting and mural business for 20 years, putting in long hours, working with scaffolding and plaster, and building a profitable income entirely through my own effort. I also built my art portfolio from this work, earning a scholarship to a prestigious undergraduate art program. My dream has always been to finish a dual graduate degree in art therapy and psychology so I can heal myself and help others heal through art. Unfortunately, I had to step away from both my business and grad school because my health became too overwhelming, even with accommodations.

Two years ago, I made the life-changing decision to get sober from alcohol. For many years, alcohol had masked my CPTSD and mental health challenges. Sobriety meant facing these illnesses head-on, and I’ve spent the past years working tirelessly on my recovery. I’ve built supportive relationships, attended trauma recovery programs, and worked closely with medical professionals to find the right combination of treatments and strategies. I’ve dedicated time and energy to deeply learning techniques to manage my illnesses and rebuild my life.

Over the years, I’ve also dedicated myself to helping others in recovery. Supporting others has been a central part of my life and has shaped my understanding of resilience, courage, and community. I have experience working with individuals and groups in healing art programs, including my time with Awakenings in Chicago, where I developed trauma-informed, art-based training for staff working with sexual violence survivors. Learning their models, techniques, and organizational structures has informed my vision for community healing work.

I’m also working with a friend to create a small community art space in my home, focused on healing and recovery. This project has been energizing and grounding, helping me stay focused even on days when my health is challenging. As I recover, I hope to do more volunteering with local non-profits, sharing and learning alongside others who have experienced trauma — which is deeply nurturing and empowering for me.

Through all this work, I’ve started to see more and more better days. I’ve made lifestyle changes — improving my diet, losing weight, and using an e-bike to gently exercise when I have energy. I am hopeful that I will continue to improve, finish my graduate degree, take care of myself, and help others in the community heal through art therapy.

Right now, I need help to stay safe and stable while I continue this journey. I am raising funds to cover:
	•	Rent
	•	Utilities (heat, electricity, water)
	•	Basic groceries and essentials
	•	Transportation to appointments
	•	A small buffer to prevent homelessness or further crises

Asking for help is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’ve spent my life being independent, generous, and hardworking, and now I need support to continue. Your contribution, no matter how small, makes a real difference. Sharing my story also helps more than most people realize.

Thank you for believing in me, supporting me, and helping me stay safe as I continue to heal and build a life full of courage, purpose, and hope.

Help Erika Stay Housed and Recover

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

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fallback mode accounts

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p2p legacy startfundraising page

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AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

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Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Erika Foray

Erika Foray

What they care about

Featured causes

Help Erika Stay Housed and Recover

About me