Yocheved's School and Health Fund

It feels weird to ask for dollars, especially when I’m already so well-supported by my intimate community. In the last few years, largely because of reparations, I’ve transitioned from a much bleaker reality into a a life that’s more…well, livable. I’m on track to (eventually, someday, probably) get on SSI for my many overlapping illnesses. I have access to healthcare. It’s a completely different relationship to poverty.

And yet I need a lump sum of dollars if I’m going to stay on top of things, and no amount of penny pinching can put a dent in these looming bills. So, here’s an ask.

I’m raising 20k, to replace my teeth, pay off medical bills from surgery, and finish getting my electrolysis license. Hit a girl up with jobs a sick woman can do, and please share this with people who might have a dollar or fifty to contribute. 

My teeth are a right mess. My (rapidly improving, but still poor) dental health greatly exacerbates the effects of my chronic pain disorder and now that several of my front teeth have gone missing, it’s effecting my ability to make money. Every extraction puts me out of commission (and into a fiber flare-up) for two to five weeks and leaves me feeling more self-conscious about the poverty and illness these missing teeth represent. 

The state of California has resolved to pay for dental implants, which is great, but getting all of this extensive work done through state insurance is time-consuming and often inefficient. With dollars from this fundraiser, I’ll be able to chew again and pretend to be slightly less poor than I actually am. 

With net neutrality crumbling and the tax code being ripped apart, this may well be my last chance to crowdsource Gender Affirming body mods. Haha, but really. My insurance company has been giving me cheek about covering a certain procedure and I think it’s time to prepare for the worst. What I don’t spend on my teeth and electrology certification will be used to put a downpayment on my rocking new medically necessary body mods. 

Remember when I went to school to become an electrologist and then nearly died only to emerge later, more glorious than ever, but with no electrology license? Me too. Haha, good times. I’m significantly healthier and now and under much less duress, but there’s about 12k in between me and the oh-so-close reality of being a practicing electrologist. Sticking needles into hair follicles is my quest. To serve the trans community regardless of income is my cause. But I can’t do this, fix my teeth, and pay off my surgeon at the same time. I need help bringing this goal to fruition.