Here are resources for if you're like me, living below the poverty line, with or without disabilities
Everyone is allowed to exist, to take up space, to have and eat food, to have housing and warmth and medical care. the USA does NOT make this easy. It should, but it prioritizes companies and the wealthy over it's citizens.
There are resources you can use if you're making less than 30% of the median income in your area in most places. You can find out what it is via google, by looking up your county's social services website. Not social security, social services.
If you're relying exclusively on SSA programs like Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you ARE below that income level.
If you have a disability that keeps you from working, like severe anxiety, depression, a severe mental impairment or a light sensitive/stress sensitive medical condition like a seizure disorder or a heart issue, or most kinds of movement issues that bar you from meeting requirements like being able to lift over 50 pounds, you can talk to your doctor, get documentation, and apply for that assistance. There is no shame in applying. Just remember you should think about what you can do on your *worst* days, not on a good day. Exclusively think about your worst days when you're asking your doctor or applying for assistance, because those worst days are what are keeping you from working, or losing employment opportunities.
You can apply for SSA online, but be prepared for an in person interview, and assessment by a doctor of their choosing. If you're denied, get a lawyer. They can help you appeal and they get paid only when you get approved, so they're highly motivated to get you approved.
Things that are available to you if you're under that median income, regardless of whether you're on an SSA:
Department of (vocational) Rehabilitation-- It might go by another name in your state, but they can help you get testing for neuro divergent conditions like ADHD or Autism, address physical limitations, and help you find education, therapies to allow you to work around your issues, and help you find employment that meets your needs. This is available to you if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, as well, for whatever reason. Whether you were a home maker, or you were serving time.
Ticket to Work--A program available through social security. You can apply for this if you've been on social security for a while, and you feel like you're ready to reenter the work force. You will be given a list of companies that work with social security, and you're likely to work fewer hours or under the minimum wage. Your social security may be lowered based on your income with the program, so that's something to keep in mind.
Unemployment (through your social services branch), available if you've lost your job via firing, generally not if you've quit, to my knowledge. You have to prove you're actively seeking employment, and check in a few times a week or a few times a month based on your situation and location. Be prepared with printed out proof of your applications being turned in. Put it in a binder with plastic sleeves, use dividers to mark batch dates. The more professional you make it look the better.
Disability leave income-- This is dependent on your employer, in a lot of places, but it could be available to you. You can, and should, seek medical assistance if you're injured on or off the job to the point where it's severely impairing your work. If it's to a point where you're unable to work with accommodations, but it's recoverable, apply for disability. If it's not recoverable, apply for social security
Section 8 housing-- Available through HUD (Housing and urban development), usually a lottery or a waitlist. You have to make sure you pay attention to when applications open, and have proof of income available. Have your proof of income ready, wherever your income comes from.
Low income housing--Available in a case by case basis, first come first serve, and they generally prioritize disabled people, elderly, and families, especially families with young children or single incomes. The HUD.gov website has an interactive map that will show you it's locations, and the locations of housing that is taxpayer funded, or other forms of low income assisted programs. You apply for these on an individual building basis, and waitlists can be months to years long depending on your chosen location's population density (In san francisco, for instance, a waitlist for a low income place can be eight or more years long) You'll also need to have proof of income ready.
Charities for low income people are available to help you with deposits and first months rent, or rent for a month when you're in a pinch (One month per each 12 month period) in most urban locations. 211 can help you find these resources
Medicaid--Apply through your social services office, or social security if you're receiving it. Social services will require yearly renewal, social security will keep it up to date for you.
SNAP benefits-- You apply through social services, and you need to have all your documents ready. Proof of income, your rent information, formal or informal (either through a formal landlord or an agreement between you and your roommate or parents) as well as proof of bills and residency. If you have social security this is now available to you in most places. Use it
Cash aid--Not available to people who have social security, but it IS available to people on unemployment, disability leave, or who are generally under employed. You apply for this through social services when you're applying for SNAP.
Reduced public transit fare, or gas cards--Available in limited locations, usually urban. You should look up whether it's available in your area, and whether you have to apply through your medical insurance provider, through the transit authority office, or through your social services case worker. It's different everywhere. If you struggle with transportation, it's vital you apply.
Utility assistance--Either through the provider, or through your city. You should be prepared to offer your proof of income, whether it's social security, or SNAP, or sometimes even proof of public medical, as well as proof of residency (your lease and or official government mail, like the DMV, or financial mail like a bank statement or a utility bill)
Phone or internet assistance--Via the Federal Communications Act. Applications are only available until February 7, 2024, but your internet provider may put the cut off for turning in proof of acceptance as today (February 6, 2024), and this program will likely only be available until April. You can receive either internet assistance (up to 30 dollars), or a free cell phone with data up to one gig. You cannot get both.
Food banks. So many food banks. You have to google where they are in your area, and they may not have a lot of the things you would normally eat. A lot of it is the food people think is 'ugly' or is bordering on stale or about to hit it's expiration date, but food is food, and food close to it's expiration date can still be eaten up to two weeks after the date in a lot of cases. It's best to look up what can be eaten past it's expiration, but it's possible in a lot of situations. You just have to get really creative with what they give you. You can use these once a month, and be prepared to be honest about how many people you're feeding. If there are multiple unrelated adults in a household, you have to go separately. (I don't personally use them because I have allergies and cross contamination can be a real problem with this option. They may not have kosher or halal food, especially if it's through a christian church, and they're not likely to have meat) Some food banks will deliver if you have mobility or transportation issues.
Pet food banks--The ASPCA has these listed on their website. You can use them once monthly for pet food, clean up supplies, or pet toys. It's based on what they have available, it's not always going to be a lot, and they recommend you try other sources first, or have a back up plan. But if you need to cover a gap, it's an option. Some places have delivery as an option.
If there's a program I don't have listed, it's likely I don't know about it, and I encourage you to add it to the list. Enlighten me. Maybe there's something you know about that I don't, and it's something I can use.
Disclaimer: I don't know anything about programs or resources for unhoused people. I have been unhoused, but in that period I did not know to look for resources, and that was more than twelve years ago, now.
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i truly believe that the zombies in plants vs zombies are not, by the traditional definition, zombies. i don't believe that there is any official lore so this is my speculation based on the (first) game.
zombies in popular culture are humans who have died and their corpses are reanimated through some means, and they attack/eat humans, who then become zombies in turn. why might one assume the pvz enemies match this definition?
one, they are called zombies. two, they enjoy eating brains. three, lyrics in the ending song support this: "we are the undead" and "i used to play football". these lines imply that the zombies used to be living, then died, and now are undead. however, i don't believe this. i think that they refer to themselves as undead because they understand their similarities to traditional zombies. and i think the football zombie assumes he used to play football, based on his outfit, but doesn't actually remember it (seeing as his description in the suburban almanac says "he has no idea what a football is").
i believe that they are not truly undead because - the crux of my argument - all of the zombies are created from scratch by dr zomboss. as in, i don't think he's reanimating humans. i think he's creating these grunts to do his bidding because he personally benefits from what they do. this can be supported by crazy dave in level 5 of the pool levels: "funny thing about the zombie process, sometimes it makes them come out real little. and real mean!" and then the level is filled with extremely tiny but fast zombies. i refuse to believe that this could have resulted from the reanimating of humans. dr zomboss has some kind of machine somewhere that zombies just emerge from wholecloth, and if he fucks it up then they come out tiny. see also: the gargantuar zombie, which absolutely could not have been the corpse of a human. i know crazy dave is cartoonishly stylized and human, but there's just no way. plus the fact that each zombie of each type wears identical clothing, acting identical, and they just keep coming without fail. i mean, i know the main character lives across the street from a graveyard, but there cannot possibly be that many graves.
actually i just read backup dancer zombie's description which says that he graduated from a performing arts center in "zombie new york city" so actually i think zombies just live in this world alongside humans, terrorizing humans, and dr edgar zomboss just built the robot and is a sort of cult leader. ignore everything i said above because i have no fucking idea what the lore is
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I keep seeing that post claiming that they've only ever seen people in fandom complaining about the writing and characterization of women characters, never men characters, when the time I spent in m/m slash shipping circles -- and also many m/f shipping fandom circles -- was almost entirely made up of watching people complaining about the bad/sloppy/"ooc"/cowardly etc characterization of male characters. Like, that may be their experience but it's extremely not universal lol
What's more, a lot of the time I think people view "complaining about the writing of women characters" in a way backwards to the initial intent these days. For a long time on here in like 2014 to 2019 fandom, complaining about the writing of women characters was the main way people tried to show that they supported women and picking apart every portrayal was socially rewarded because it was the pathway people felt was available to them to seek better female representation in media. Of course this backfired with a combination of lots of fandom folks getting totally burnt out, and lots of fandom folks ended up scared to make women characters do anything or suffer anything because they had seen the furor of the backlash many times, and which obviously has a chilling effect on fandom overall.
I really don't think any of this started because 'fandom hates women' but as an expression of fandom wanting to see 'better' women characters that weren't cookie cutter tropes, and complaining and attacking each other over fan works and opinions was the only way they could feel like they were 'doing something' because complaining about the writing of popular franchise women characters on Twitter or the Mary Sue did very little. And of course 'good representation' is a horrifically flawed premise because no one character can make every woman feel seen (or every queer person, or, you get the picture). And now people are so used to self policing in fandom and trying to guess what will get them decried as Problematic that people avoid a lot of interesting and marginalized characters out of genuine fear of the social consequences of getting it "wrong." Those consequences fandom repeatedly demonstrates for them as impossible to predict but potentially very real and lasting on community connections.
Unfortunately this has an identical effect on fandom as "people hate women and minority characters" and it's as straightforward to navigate. "Help them branch out to minority characters they might identify with on other grounds" won't help with this. Neither will yelling at them that they hate women and minorities and should feel ashamed. What would help is 'stop participating in dogpiles and call-outs' and 'support fan works about Weird characters and nuanced takes' and 'don't assume that the person saying some female character has flaws hates that character and jump to attack' and 'if someone says something with unconscious bias about some character don't assume they hate women and jump to attack' and 'if someone ships that woman character with someone you find Problematic don't assume they hate women and jump to attack.' basically, fandom is a hobby for fun and enrichment, and if people feel like paying attention to many marginalized characters is something stressful that will get them shamed and heckled, they won't Learn To Be Better, they'll just avoid you and the character and characters like them in future.
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Hey Tumblr fam,
I hope this post finds you well. I'm reaching out to share a personal journey that I'm embarking on and to ask for your support in making it possible.
As many of you may know, the Gaza Strip is currently facing heightened conflicts with Israel, and the situation has made it increasingly unsafe for many of us living here. Amidst this turmoil, I've made the difficult decision to seek safety elsewhere, and my destination is Egypt.
However, the journey from Gaza to Egypt is not an easy one, especially given the current circumstances. Travel costs, for me and my family, are significant hurdles to overcome. That's why I've set up a GoFundMe page to help cover these expenses.
Before the conflict escalated, I worked as a rehabilitation engineer and assistive technologies specialist, dedicating my time and skills to helping persons with disabilities. It was more than just a job; it was my passion. Now, I find myself in a situation where I need assistance, and I'm turning to my community for support.
Your donation, no matter how small, can make a world of difference in ensuring my safety and well-being. EVERY EURO COUNTS.
Here's the link to my GoFundMe page where you can donate and read more about my story: https://www.gofundme.com/f/escaping-conflict-a-journey-towards-hope-and-rene
If you're unable to contribute financially, that's okay too! Simply sharing this post with your network can help spread the word and reach more people who may be able to help.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this and for considering supporting me on this journey to safety. Your kindness and generosity mean more to me than words can express.
Stay safe and take care,
Islam.
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