Help Keep thai's Electricity On

thai urgently needs support in covering their utilities bill to keep their electricity and heating services active. Having utilities disconnected is LIFE-THREATENING for thai as a bedbound and housebound immunocompromised disabled person without access to safe indoor space elsewhere.

Every day, thai wakes up in fear that their utilities could be switched off because they are unable to afford the bill currently. This is a terrifying prospect for a person who relies on a safe home space to be able to survive. thai’s oven is currently broken, and if their heat or lights are switched off, it will make it incredibly difficult for them to be kept warm, fed, safe, and able to do vital community work and self-care. thai urgently needs their utilities to be met so they can continue to survive. Time is of the essence, and we don’t have very much of it.

thai is unable to work jobs under oppressive capitalism and has to stay isolated at home during multiple unmitigated pandemics. Their energy and heating bill is extremely high, and with inflation only gets higher. Currently, they owe $5,494.37 (rounded up to $5,500 for fees) or their service will likely be cut off, in addition to future October charges.

Maintaining secure housing and utilities access is crucial for high risk immunocompromised disabled people during multiple global pandemics and active climate crises when there’s nowhere else to safely go. Without this, thai’s life is in even more imminent danger.

thai also does not qualify for utility bill reduction schemes, payment plans, or government energy assistance programs because the amount they need to fundraise (thousands a month for bulk hydrocolloid dressings due to topical steroid withdrawal) puts them over the earnings threshold; despite the fact that that money only goes to a basic survival function for them. They have not been able to fundraise this amount and are running dangerously low on dressings.

If even half of thai’s online community threw in a dollar, we could wipe out these outstanding balances in a DAY. thai is valuable and we have the power to act against the immiseration perpetrated against our disabled comrade by the city. Even if you can only give a dollar, or five, or twenty, PLEASE do so. Do not let our friend suffer needlessly.

More information about thai’s medical history is outlined in detail below:

thai is a cancer survivor with multiple chronic and autoimmune conditions. They are severely immunocompromised and—due to the Covid-19 and MPX crises that they cannot safely receive vaccination for—cannot risk seeing doctors, therapists, or specialists in-person, and so has not been able to receive any consistent hands-on treatment. thai's care has been on hold since the start of the pandemic, which has left them to fend for themselves however they can, usually through continuous crowd-funding efforts online.

thai does not qualify for state or federal financial aid and is therefore forced to sacrifice any sense of privacy in an effort to raise funds for their survival, a constant performance against social media algorithms. In an era where GoFundMe stands as health insurance, this is unsustainable without consistency in community mutual aid.

thai is a first generation Vietnamese American from a family of refugees, an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and a community organizer centering their practice on the social, cultural, and physical effects of chronic illness. They are also a disability justice advocate and a founding member of Sick in Quarters (SiQ), a disabled-artist led mutual aid project supporting patient advocacy and care work in and for communities in en/forced marginalization..

Remember: one of the main tenets of mutual aid is consistency over time. Please directly ask those you are in community with to support and share this fundraiser continually. Thank you in advance for your solidarity, and please share this fundraiser with as many people as you can.