Black LGBT Grads Relocating for Safety and Health

Daejah Woolery is organizing this fundraiser.

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UPDATE: ***We are currently gearing up to leave the United States and head to Colombia. When we started this GoFundMe in February, we were in Thailand making ends meet with freelancing, volunteering to give back + for housing, and applying for jobs. We continued this in Cambodia where we didn't get the opportunity to volunteer but we were in awe of the beautiful culture and community. Unfortunately, Daejah got sick and had to be hospitalized for a few nights. While it was a financial drain, we were able to continue and we got family help to fly to the United States. Daejah was able to attend her brother's wedding, meet her first niece, and reconnect with family for the first time since 2022. While being in the United States was helpful in some ways, the cost of living made it virtually impossible to get comfortable. We relied on a lot of love and care. We continued to do remote work while sharing a single device because our other one broke. We also did manual labor around the city and developed more clients as personal assistants, but in some ways, it felt like we were back in the position we were in in Scotland but with different employment restrictions. Now, with Uzo's visa authorization coming to an end we're headed to Colombia we've booked our flights and our initial accommodation but a little more would help us fulfill some last basic needs and ensure significantly greater safety in our travels. We'll be going a long distance (22 hours minimum) by bus and even a few dollars means we can afford a safer bus ticket***

Hello! We’re Daejah and Uzo, a Jamaican-American and Nigerian-Irish couple six months in to our journey of relocation from Scotland.

We’ll share our reasons for leaving in depth with you below but to summarize: we didn’t feel happy, safe, or secure. Like many young people, we felt that there was no way to establish life post-graduation. Uzo earned a degree in Creative Writing and a publishing offer; Daejah earned a Master's degree in Screenwriting and landed a job with a major network. Still, we struggled to make ends meet in the UK’s cost of living crisis, and temporary contracts constantly put us back on the job market. Financial safety is safety too! Add on the medical and social issues we elaborate on below, and we just had to leave!

So what’s the plan? Well, we’re six months into our travels looking for a new place we can call home! We are freelancing and seeking remote work on this journey but we could use some help! We are the children of immigrants and the descendants of travelers so we believe that a safe place for us is out there! A place where our queerness, Blackness, and disability don’t stop us from feeling happy, safe, and secure in our own way.

Please consider giving if you want to support us!

Below are some of our reasons for leaving ❤️

1. Each of our countries of nationality (USA and Ireland) is facing immense financial and housing issues.

The Housing crisis in Ireland is one of the worst in Europe and leaves over 2/3 of young people living with parents which isn’t a safe/viable option for us.
The recession in the United States, the rapid decline in human rights (particularly queer and trans rights), and threats to free speech make the US an unwelcome return point for us.
As I was at the end of my student visa, continuing life in the UK would have cost thousands.

2. Being disabled is hard!

Daejah is autistic/ADHD with PMDD and they’ve been in burnout for 3+ years. Without any other choice but to perform and make money, their mental health has taken blows.
Uzo has ADHD and joint/ligament issues from strain in work environments. The UK medical system offered them little to no help with either. Yo make ends meet, their physical health has taken blows. This past October they had to get emergency surgery because of a work injury.
In seeking help for all of these issues we encountered racism, sexism, homophobia, or combinations of it layered on top of existing medical system failures.
We need trans-affirming healthcare! Dysmorphia kicks our butts sometimes and we need help.

3. We are creatives… when we are able

As our degrees and post-graduate accomplishments tell you, we are both writers. Uzo is a self-published and pre-pub poet who explores Igbo Cosmology, themself, and the self. Daejah is a screenwriter and culture critic who explores race, sexuality, and gender through comedy writing or media analysis.
In our constant struggle to make ends meet, we stopped having time to create. We genuinely believe that we have a lot to share with the world and we want the ability to create it.
Daejah is working on releasing both educational resources and narrative media but the sad fact is, even with more energy to create, there hasn't been much power to execute until we reach more financial stability. Daejah is focusing right now on ghostwriting for others, virtual personal assistant work, and Social media management all as a freelancer. They're also actively seeking opportunities to volunteer in the places they travel and give back to the communities tangibly.
Uzo has launched a YouTube channel that will explore their personal journey, traveling while Black and queer, and writing resources for all poets but especially neurodivergent ones who are tired of the same rank and file advice. The focus has turned more towards their writing as they complete their book, The Chamber and The Shell. As for work, Uzo is seeking remote work (EU Employers preferably, remote or with work authorization) and is a virtual personal assistant.

thank you for reading any or all of this! We believe many out there feel like us! Thanks for supporting our journey ❤️ we look forward to being able to support others more.

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