Support Slate Member Yohan's Recovery and Medical Bills

Dear Slate Family and Friends,

As you may have heard, a member of our community was critically injured this past weekend. Yohan was practicing a new skill at the gym after class, when he slipped off the pull-up bar, and hit his head against a concrete wall. Knocked unconscious, Yohan was taken to the Northwest Hospital and subsequently transferred to Harborview Medical Center where it was confirmed that he fractured his skull and was internally bleeding. He was held a few days at the hospital to monitor if surgery was necessary, but was thankfully released on Monday evening, 6/10/24. Those few days were filled with high anxiety, but we are hopeful that Yohan will make a full recovery.

For those of you who don’t know Yohan, he and his partner Cristian immigrated to the US from Venezuela and Colombia in February. Yohan and Cristian quickly leaned into our Slate community and embodied our values of community, hard work, and have always offered to help wherever we have needed it- all while learning English and navigating a new country. With the assistance of the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, and World Relief, Yohan and Cristian relocated to America with the hopes of building a new life for their futures where they could become productive and contributing members to society. In the first few months in Seattle, both Yohan and Cristian had to wait on their paperwork to be finalized and processed in order to start applying for career positions. A few days prior to Yohan’s injury, they finally received their work permits and social security numbers. However, Yohan lost the job he just landed due to his injury and will be unable to work for at least one month until he heals and gets medically cleared. Cristian is still in the midst of applying for positions, and will primarily serve as Yohan’s caretaker while Yohan heals.

We are launching this fundraiser in hopes that we can help support Yohan and Cristian during this hardship and overall transition in navigating life in a new country. Funds will go to immediate needs such as rent, forthcoming medical bills, food, and other costs of living that we can support them with. While both Yohan and Cristian are currently learning English, Yohan is hoping to go to school, learn how to drive, and get a stable job to help support his family in Venezuela. Cristian is actively looking for an opportunity to work in web development.

Here is a link to his LinkedIn profile if anyone sees this who might have an opportunity for him!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kryptojin/?locale=en_US

Thank you to everyone who reads this and considers donating. We are so thankful to have a community that we can go to for this sort of matter. Any support will be greatly appreciated!