Support for Gerardo in 2024!
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[FROM THE FRIENDS OF GERARDO MARCIANO]:
Friends, comrades, and neighbors!
We have an update about our friend Gerardo Marciano and something to ask!
Last June, Gerardo was at a very low, very vulnerable point in his life. He had urgent medical problems he couldn't address because he had no health insurance. He had no legal recourse to deal with unpaid wages by an ex-boss. His belief in his own self-worth and in the possibility of a happier, more secure future was almost gone. His resources—financial and emotional—were spent.
We're happy to tell you that things have changed and are continuing to change, thanks in large part to the funds raised over the summer by this community. The support and encouragement extended to Gerardo helped set in motion a new chapter in his life that he's writing himself with each new day. Exciting things are happening.
- For the first time ever, Gerardo has health insurance. He's spent the last several months visiting doctor's offices for treatment of chronic conditions and preventive care (and glasses). For someone with a long-held, justifiable fear of doctor's offices, this is huge.
- The dentist! Thanks to insurance, Gerardo is in the middle of a multi-part process to get a set of dentures after years of pain in his mouth, difficulty eating, and no way to see a dentist. Keep an eye out for his new smile this spring.
- With the help of therapists, Gerardo is processing his past, understanding his present, and imagining his future.
- With collaborators, he's fighting legal obstacles that will help him live safer and more secure.
- Has he stopped working in the community? Hell no! Gerardo has kept up his activism in the areas of food justice, the rights of asylum seekers, mutual aid at the Cook County Jail, tenants' rights, and more.
- And did you know Gerardo is writing a book? It's a memoir about his life. (More below!)
But no one with his challenges would be out of the woods in six months.
- Gerardo has had no choice but to put his health first, and so he's not yet able to have a steady flow of income.
- His dentures are good news, but the dentist has raised the possibility of more serious treatment for the tooth and bone loss he's suffered, including for the possibility of mouth cancer—we don't know yet.
- Gerardo wants to investigate whatever treatments and medicine will work best for him, including complementary/alternative/non-Western forms of therapy that aren't covered under his insurance. If there's a treatment that might be effective for him, we want him to have the means to at least try it.
- As a survivor of involuntary confinement, a sufferer from PTSD, and an abolitionist, Gerardo won't be hospitalized without his consent and we support him in that. He needs the resources to be able to choose health professionals he feels safe with.
- Several basic safety net programs that would make his day-to-day life much easier are not available to him (at least not yet). For the past six months he's basically lived on the ~$3k raised in June—that's food, rent, clothing, everything. His housing is in some doubt, and he's had no way to save for rainy days.
Gerardo is not interested in having a fundraiser for himself every six months. He was uncertain about doing this one until not only his friends but one of his doctors suggested he do it!
There's no question that he's getting stronger—he can see the road ahead—but he needs help. He's spent the last six months surviving. The next six months—the next year, the next five years—are about living a happier, healthier, less precarious life. It's been hard and it's been painful, but he's in motion!
You should know that a little money from us goes a long way for him. We ask you to join us in helping Gerardo at this time of transition, so he can protect the gains he's made and continue to build a future where he can care for us too.
***In gratitude, everyone who contributes to this fundraiser will be sent a special preview of Gerardo's memoir, Queerboymagik—an interview with Gerardo!***
Organizer
Andy Holter
Organizer
Chicago, IL