Honor one year of crowdfunding to help me by donating $5 to another crowdfund. — Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Today, I ask you to donate $5 to another crowdfund, one of your choice.

It was one year ago that this GoFundMe crowdfund launched. It was a Saturday morning. My sleep was fitful. Waves of desperation washed over me because I could not afford a lawyer and I had no money to even buy shoes or personal items. It had taken me hours working with the Resolve Crisis Team the night before to secure my medication from my home, an endeavor that ultimately failed.

I do a lot of asking via crowdfund for other people — tote bags, food, pets, yard signs, etc. So I began calling everyone I knew who had resources and might know a lawyer. I was texting. DMing, you name it. I swallowed my pride and my sense of imposter syndrome. I had to advocate for myself this time.

My friend set up this GoFundMe early afternoon on that Saturday. Petrified that it wouldn’t work and I would lose everything, I left the house. Off I went to the grocery store with my friend and her son. I had an anxiety attack near the dairy case, remembering the first time I had shared a shopping trip with my spouse. My friend picked up on my angst and sent me to a bench while she finished both of our…