Help Ren get back on his feet in Chicago

An update from Ren, about where he's at, what his year has felt like, and what he needs:

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Hi.

I need your help.

I moved to Chicago at the beginning of this year. I had planned to move with my husband; he left as we were beginning to load the u-haul. I moved for a job I have worked for over a decade to get, only to be met with immediate transphobia. It did not take long for ableism to follow, as my various disabilities and mental illnesses reacted to that hostile work environment. I spent weeks unable to properly use my hands or easily walk because of chronic pain, and I eventually lost my ability to speak. My words, hands, and legs come and go, now.

When I left that job, I had hoped to be able to work part time while attending a partial hospitalization program. Since April, I have had several iterations of trying to work, or trying to find work, while dealing with the fallout of this year’s events. With every iteration, it’s become more clear that I am burnt through.

I don’t know what the rest of my life looks like, given the events of this year. I need so much more help than I ever thought possible, and it is *so* hard to ask for. But I’ve lost my husband of ten years, my actual dream career, my voice, and any certainty for the future. I am early in my gender transition. I am trying desperately to hold onto my sanity, but I lose that, too, every time I am misgendered, dead named, or find some missed remnant of my marriage in my home. It is all I can do to take my insulin and meds; I cannot even check my blood sugar most days, for the unending trauma triggers.

I am currently working on applying for disability, but I expect it to take some time to come through (if at all; I worry at how young I am). Even with government assistance, my monthly expenses come out to $2000’ of money I don’t have. I am *very* resourceful, but that’s a lot more than I can wizard up through faith alone.

Please give, if you can. If you can’t, please share with your social networks and ask that they share with theirs.

Thank you.

Ren

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Original fundraiser description:

Ren is a sweet, hard-working transgender man who moved to Chicago at the start of this year for his dream job. He thought he would be moving here with his husband of ten years; instead he is getting divorced and living alone for the first time in his life, with just his two cats (Xena and Spartacus) for company.

Unfortunately, a hostile work environment is currently preventing him from working at said job. While he's on leave he is searching for other jobs, exploring part-time work to make ends meet, and working on cutting expenses where he can; he's also navigating the bureaucracy around a legal name change and spending 30 hours a week attending an intensive outpatient program.

But no matter how successful he is at this, the money simply isn't there for at least a few months of significantly reduced income. There's no rich benefactor waiting in the wings to float him during this period, and the move already consumed what emergency savings buffers were available.

Ren is very uncomfortable asking for financial assistance, so I'm asking for him. If your budget can spare it, please send some assistance his way, and, if you're able, please share this with others in your life who might be able to help out.