I don't even know what to write at this point.
Every month I tell myself, "Okay, this is the month we get back on track. I'm going to go get a second job. We're going to do this on our own for once, goddammit."
Yet my job takes just enough of a physical and emotional toll that I can't seem to function. I can't get focused. I can't get the apartment cleaned up or get everything organized, I can't seem to summon the willpower to go through the mind-numbingly asinine job application process to some other retail job that's probably even more demeaning than the one I currently hold.
So every month we only make rent thanks to charity. The only reason we're not homeless is because we're receiving mutual aid. I'm not exaggerating. We would absolutely be on the streets without everyone's help on the Fedi.
This has been going on for two years now.
It seems reasonable to ask, "Well, why don't you apply for government assistance? Why don't you reach out to local charities? Why don't you handle your money better and quit relying on strangers?"
Let me offer brief summary of the circumstances of someone I know to help answer those questions:
A co-worker of mine - a single mother with multiple health problems, has needed to resort to payday loans for enough money to eat.
She makes *just* enough money to not qualify for much public assistance, and struggles with tech literacy so it's a nightmare for her trying to navigate all the hoops one must jump through.
She reached out to the local clergy of the predominant religious faith in the area. It's one of the most wealthy religious institutions in the world, commanding hundreds of *billions* in assets (thanks to a whistleblower for it to even be publicly known), and she is a member of this church.
They made her give them copies of her paystubs and her bank account statements, detailed financial information of her (just barely turned) adult son who barely makes anything working at a movie theater and that of her brother (also struggling financially, and will only be their roommate until the end of their lease sometime early summer), and still turned her down. They offered her a couple of vouchers for their church-owned food pantry, most of which she's unable to use due to food allergies.
She had to beg them, sobbing, until they finally relented and agreed to cover one month of rent for her and her son (I guess her brother will magically find his portion?) and insisted that this was the last help she would receive from them.
It's a perfect (yes, albeit anecdotal) example of why #MutualAid is crucial: people are falling through the cracks because the institutions we're supposed to be able to rely upon are failing to protect us. Even one of the most wealthy non-profit entities on the planet refuse to help even their own members without forcing them to undergo an embarrassing and demeaning process to prove their worthiness to receive help.
If anyone deserves help, it's her. She's a sweet, good-natured soul just trying to survive. Yet because she isn't computer-savvy and able to constantly begpost like I have the privilege of doing, she is stressed out of her mind and starting to sell all her possessions before she has to move to a different apartment next month and couldn't afford to set any money aside for deposit and related costs.
I can't even remember where I was going with this now after angrily typing all of that. I guess maybe that it isn't always as fucking simple and easy as some people think it is, to be a grifting beggar.
I can promise you one thing, however: I'd be willing to bet that most of us posting #MutualAidRequest after request, would really rather not be doing so.
I would much, much, much rather be giving back to the community.
But that's difficult when your annual salary raises are less than inflation. Or, as I've begun referring to them, "annual pay cuts".
But folks like my co-worker and myself didn't "apply ourselves" to get college degrees, so I guess we're getting what we deserve.
Except it shouldn't be what we deserve.
Survival shouldn't be a privilege to be "earned".
Original #begpost:
https://beige.party/@LibertyForward1/116469237814027295
Venmo: https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins
Cashapp: https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins
PP: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982
GFM: https://gofund.me/12171be3
#Solidarity #BPD #PTSD #Poverty #MentalIllness @mutualaid
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