MEDICAL TRAUMA ZINE,OD AFTERMATH CHAT, KIT ASSEMBLY HIGHLIGHTS: Another month & fundraising again for Whose Corner Is It Anyway, our hr/mutual aid/organizing group by/for low-income sworkers/trafficking survivors who use drugs +/or are housing insecure. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
We hope we can continue to rely on you as we explore harm reduction and advocacy from our perspective as low-income, housing insecure, sex working and trafficking surviving cis and trans women and gender diverse people. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
Our work started entirely supported by individual donors 8 years ago. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
In general, we hope you can continue to contribute to the parts of these projects which funders don’t pay for but which we value. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
It is often a quieter day of programming with fewer people which allows our directly impacted staff to make deeper connections with the base membership working. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
It's skill at workflow design, a v. different skill than speaking or writing and isn’t celebrated as much. It fits into our values of elevating more gendered, logistical work (such as cleaning and creating work systems) as much as we do ideas work. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
We’ve also been noticing that our safer smoking and sniffing kit making allows people to demonstrate skill that doesn’t come into play as much in our other projects. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
We’ve seen a hunger among our members for a dedicated space to talk about this trauma, and it’s inspired us to think of a way to create a container for this vital conversation. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
The story and the interaction don’t just end when the person is breathing again, or even when the person has survived after naloxone’s blocking effects wear off. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
The feelings of both the person revived + the person who revived them can be complicated afterwards—trauma + anger at seeing one’s loved one nearly dead on the floor, skepticism from the person revived that they truly overdosed after experiencing naloxone withdrawal. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
We often save 20 minutes to share stories about revivals and discuss longterm aftercare. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
In our OD reversal trainings, one thing that has been coming up organically in conversation is how to deal with the fallout after reviving someone, especially someone you care about. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
We know that even beyond how individuals treat us, the systems themselves need to change. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
So many of us are disabled and chronically ill; we've come to understand healthcare in a way many don’t. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
Our members call for strict adherence and not just lip service to HIPAA in their pieces, as well as universal healthcare. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
Just having staff check in, pay us attention, speak to us w/respect, + treat us for the condition we came in for like they would any other patient is sth we remember + cherish. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
Having pain medication + MAT delivered promptly so we aren't in withdrawal or pain, having staff explain conditions to us, laugh + joke w/us, provide supplies + snacks—esp. given the food insecurity some members go thru—these gestures are huge. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
Yet the rare positive interaction with a healthcare provider is so valuable we can remember one for decades. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
The results of these experiences are echoed in each piece, in alignment w/the literature + what we see on the ground all over the US, w/ppl delaying or even foregoing care for life-threatening conditions, so as not to experience this treatment again. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"They treated me like I was less than human, because I was just another survivor of an overdose in their eyes, destined to be seen again for the same shit.” www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"…I had to BEG them to get me a shirt and pants because it was cold and I didn't want to leave after having OD’D and being Narcanned having to walk from Holyoke Medical Center to Franklin St nearly naked. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"So when I asked to go back in and grab my things, the nurse told me no, because I had already been discharged, even though they hadn’t told me I was discharged. I had no clothes because they had been cut off of me while I was revived. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
And another account: “Once they were done with me after that overdose they kicked me out through the back way and didn't even tell me what they were doing. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"However, I couldn’t answer the doctor because I was crying so hard I couldn’t even breathe. I was holding my arm in front of my face, as if to protect myself, but I couldn’t save myself from her or the pain she was causing me.” www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"…As she was cleaning my wound she was so rough, gouging me with her cold metal torture device, and she kept yelling at me, asking the same irrelevant question over and over as she scraped my injury. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"The first thing the doctor said to me - before even introducing herself - was ‘Let’s cut the bullshit—when was the last time you used?’ www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
Another account: "When the doctor came into the room, all [the] positive energy was sucked right out like air from a balloon. www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...
"I didn’t know my birthday. I didn’t even remember my wife’s name. Bitch released me and I couldn’t even walk." www.gofundme.com/f/whose-corn...