With the announcement that the UK Government plan to start detaining people for the Rwanda flights today, here are some resources if you are at risk of detention.

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS BEEN DETAINED OR YOU BELIEVE THEY WILL BE DETAINED SHORTLY:

If you are being made to report Right to Remain have an action plan toolkit for BEFORE you report

If you have received a letter from the Home Office dated after March 1st that mentions Rwanda or Notice of Intent, send a photo of the letter and your full name to Care4Calais via Whatsapp at +44 751 977 3268

If you are detained you can call any of the following for legal advice:

Detention Action 0800 587 2096

Care4Calais 0800 009 6268

Soas Detainee Support 0743 840 7570

BID (Bail for Immigration Detainees) 020 7456 9750 (mon-thurs 10-12)

JCWI (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) 0800 160 1004 (mon, tues, thurs 10-1)

If you do not have legal representation:

Duncan Lewis are taking on cases for anyone detained for the purposes of removal to Rwanda, contact [email protected] or call 0333 772 0409

Wilson are also taking on cases, contact [email protected] or call 0208 808 7535

IF YOU ARE DETAINED DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING WITHOUT LEGAL ADVICE, AND IF THEY OFFER YOU TO GO TO RWANDA 'VOLUNTARILY' OR FOR MONEY SAY NO.

URGENT! Please Help A Homeless, Disabled & Mostly Queer Family Get Ready For Housing By Helping With Paying For Much-Needed Loans!

PAYPAL | AMAZON WISHLIST | KOFI | GOFUNDME

VENMO: @penaltywaltz | CASHAPP: $afteriwake23 | ZELLE: DM me for email address

4/29/24 - New Post

So some stuff has happened, some of the loans I listed before have been paid, and I missed a few things, so I'm making a new post!

So, we still haven't heard about Section 8, and while I'm grateful for the shelter housing and feeding us, there's been some pretty toxic activity on my floor and I'm at my wit's end. I'm not sleeping well, I have constant headaches from grinding my teeth, and my blood pressure (which is already high and I'm already on meds for it) keeps being high when I get it checked. So we need to get housing with or without the Section 8 voucher as soon as possible.

Now, I have a list of low-income apartments all over North County. While not ideal, we have also heard of a complex of studio apartments available for $1400 which give preferential treatment to shelter occupants. But the problem is that I not only have a bunch of payday loans to pay, but I also have a payment on a two-month loan, a five-month loan, a six-month loan, and a year-long loan that eat up my entire income until I at least pay off the first three. My mom only gets $1300 and my daughter isn't on disability yet. So we can't even afford the studio until October and we'll have been kicked out of the shelter long before then.

I can probably cover the remaining payday loans and this month's payment for the two-month loan and still pay for the storage units. But I need to pay off whatever I can on the other loans, and the longer I wait the more interest that compiles. So I need a lot more than I was asking for before and I need it quickly to cover at least all of this month's payments while I work on paying off the totals of the bigger loans.

This is the list of payments I need to make as it stands now:

$300 for my loan from Ace Cash Express (due by May 2nd)

$300 for my mom's loan from Ace Cash Express (due May 2nd)

$408 for my loan payment from Ascend Loans (due May 3rd)

$277 for my loan payment from Greenline Loans (due May 3rd)

$177 for my loan payment from Green Arrow Loans (due May 3rd)

$148 for my loan payment to Possible Loans (due May 3rd)

$148 for my mom's loan payment to Possible Loans (due May 3rd)

$321.80 for my mom's loan from Moneylion (due by May 15th)

$285 for my Moneytree loan (due by May 25th)

$285 for my mom's Moneytree loan (due by May 26th)

I can't make partial payments on any of these loans except the Moneylion loans my mom has. I need the full amount for the payment to pay it off early, and for the four non-payday loans, I can't make an early payment but if I can cover the payments in my bank account with donations I'm good.

The Ascend loan was for $1,000. The Greenline loan was for $500. The Green Arrow loan was for $400. The Possible loans are $300 each, coming out as two payments of $148 (one this May, one in June) per loan. So I'm going to set two goals: covering all of the above payments and then covering the bigger loans as a whole throughout the month of May.

I can't take much more of the toxicity at the shelter at the moment, though I have hopes some of it will subside if the most toxic resident on my floor leaves this week like he's threatening to, but yeah. We just need to get all this paid off and get into housing of our own, even if it's just a studio for now. I'm including the $35 I got from a GFM towards the current totals because I spent all the rest of the money I had and I still haven't gotten that donation in my account yet.

TOTAL GOAL: $47/$4850

IMMEDIATE GOAL: $47/$2650

“Hello! My name is Ameer Azara, I am raising funds for my family in Gaza. My family and I are seeking your kindness so that we can evacuate to a safe place and complete our lives, our dreams, and live in peace.

The situation has become increasingly dire. Everything has changed, turned to ashes. Streets, buildings and people are all ash now. We have already been displaced within Gaza three times. The first time from our home, a large part of which was destroyed and is not fit for living, to refugee schools in central Gaza, the second time to Rafah without shelter, electricity, food and clean water.

Meet my family which consists of six people.

Ameer (me): I was working as a digital marketer in an advertising company. They destroyed my work office, my essential equipment, and the company I was working for.

Ahmed (father) & Asmaa (mother): My father used to work as a teacher at the UNRWA and had a family business (a grocery shop). The shop and his car were bombed during the war. My mother is a housewife.

Aya (sister): Aya is studying architecture. She studied for two years and has 3 years left to complete her studies. She was forced to stop studying due to her university being bombed. Her dream is to complete a bachelor's degree study and work in her field of specialization. She lost her laptop and engineering study tools that she used during her studies.

Afnan & Rafef (sisters): Afnan was in her last year of high school and was preparing to go to university to fulfill her dream of studying dentistry. Rafef is still a child in elementary school. She dreams to grow up in peace and complete her studies.

Ibrahim (brother): He is an international student studying in Hungary. He finds himself very far from our family, feeling helpless because he cannot help us through the hardships of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

I have initiated this GoFundMe campaign to raise $45,000 to facilitate my family's evacuation to Egypt. Here's a breakdown of the funds:

$3,000 for Immediate Support: This portion will go towards providing immediate assistance to my family. It will cover their basic needs for accommodation, food, and other essentials during the transitional period.

$42,000 for Permits and Crossing Fees: The bulk of the funds, $42,000, is crucial to cover the expenses associated with obtaining permits to leave Gaza and the crossing fees required at the Egypt-Gaza border in Rafah. This amount breaks down to $7,000 per person.

Your support matters: Your donation, no matter how small, will make a significant impact and contribute to reuniting my family in a safe environment.

Please share this campaign with your friends, family, and colleagues to help us reach our goal and bring my family to safety. Your support means a lot to me, and I am grateful for any assistance you can provide during this challenging time.”

Long shot since I haven't been around lately

But we're in the process of getting our food stamps renewed, it's been nearly two months and they keep asking us for the same documents and keep scheduling phone interviews even though we have done every single thing they've asked. Our state switched over to an online hub and directed us to upload our documents there. We do, they don't see them, prompting another interview. We had food stamps last month, but obviously, none this month. We're nearing the end of the emergency food I had put back and after them rescheduling a fourth interview, I don't know how we're going to get any food on this table anytime soon. There are food banks here, but 'due to the influx of people requiring aid', there wasn't much they could give us. Not ungrateful, but it's not going to be enough to get us to whenever they decide we've given them enough documents. Or see the ones we've already uploaded or whatever is going on there, i have no clue. My partner doordashes and with our rent being raised, coupled with the fact that he only earns on the whims of people who tip him, it's been rough and there's nothing extra we can put aside for food because we're month-to-month here and sincerely worried that we will be evicted if we're late at all on the rent. I can't drive and am currently in limbo with disability, trying to get benefits because of my strokes/aneurysm/continuing issues related to those. So I am asking, no begging. Please. If you have anything you can donate, anything at all, I just need to get some groceries to get us through this week. Me and my partner are down to 1.5 meals a day because there are 3 growing children here who take precedent. I just need enough to restock our pantry and fill in this gap. $100 total would probably cover it. I've lived below the poverty line my entire life and even with grocery prices what they are, $100 would help us out tremendously, I can make it stretch. I just can't stretch the nothing we currently have. I'm linking my paypal and ko-fi below. I also linked an Amazon wish list with some shelf stable things on it. If you could just share this, it would be amazing. Please and thank you so much.

Paypal || Ko-fi || Amazon Wish List

$0/$100

Just a general reminder that these kinds of posts are spam. These "shops" are buying products from aliexpress/alibaba and charging 20x the price or more. They are scams. This item is 1 dollar. This scam shop wants to sell it to you for 25. See below. Please reblog.

Hey, so my bestie got a gofundme up to help her pay for her bills and rent. if anyone can share it or donate something, i'd really appreciate it. i want to try and get as exposure for it as i can.

Share and pass about.

Raids are gunna increase massively for a while.

I really hope this reaches more people, I'm only reposting this information from Instagram, the least that I can do. (Update: I changed their upbringing as it appears to have been listed wrong) Wiki page

When I just saw this information I couldn't stop crying thinking about it, and now my heart aches. They were the same age as me, I know for a fact like any other teen they dreamt of their future, who they would want to become, what to achieve, create, wondering if they meet those in the future they can call friends, wondeting if it'll get better when they grow up, maybe wished to leave that terrible place or maybe wanted to stay. How could anyone let this happen, why were they discharged from hospital so easily? And the school, we all know why. I hate to think about how, even with all the progress made, these things still happen.

"murdered schoolgirl Brianna Ghey on February 16, 2023. Candlelit vigils are being held across the UK this week for Brianna Ghey, 16, who was stabbed at Linear Park in Culcheth, Cheshire last Saturday. Brianna was a transgender girl and police are now investigating her killing as a hate crime. A boy and girl, both 15, have been charged with her murder"

An article that explains trans hate crime murders as on 2023

I hate everyone who have ever committed such vile hate crimes, I wish them in prison and hell. But i would never go down to their level. But I also blame the government, the school, and even those bigoted online accounts that teach their followers hate. In this case LibsOfTikTok, who targeted the teacher of this school, who supports lgbtq+, so they had to leave their position. It must have been the push for this to happen. I think their tiktok account has been thankfully deleten. But i have no idea about Twitter or any other. Please check and mass report them if it still exists. (Link to Instagram reel that this information is from)

ADDITION, PLEASE MASS REPORT THESE ACCOUNTS

FEDERAL INQUIRY INTO ADHD MEDICATION SHORTAGE ANNNOUNCED

IF YOU HAVE STRUGGLED TO GET YOUR ADHD MEDICATION, YOU HAVE 60 DAYS TO TELL THE FTC YOUR STORY FOR CONSIDERATION IN THIS INQUIRY AT THE LINK BELOW! The FTC must read all responses. So tell them about having to call multiple pharmacies, being unable to get generics, your struggles with insurance coverage, everything!

Great news for uninsured adults in the USA who want a COVID-19 booster! It now appears that ALL CVS locations are now active participants in the Bridge Access Program. The Bridge Access Program gives out free Covid-19 vaccinations to 18+ adults who otherwise can't afford one, so if you have a CVS near you, please go get one! For others who don't have a CVS near them, please go to vaccines.gov, click on "Find Covid-19 vaccines", fill out which vaccines you prefer (you can mix different vaccines if you have to so i reccomend just marking all of them for the age groups you need), and when the next page loads mark the "Bridge Access Program Participant" option to see only locations that are Bridge Access Program participants. Hopefully, other places that aren't CVS will start participating soon, so just check back every so often to see if there are any updates. The CDC Bridge Access Program website also has more details on what locations will be participating, but only CVS is appearing as an active participant on the vaccines.gov location finder at the moment.

US folks, tomorrow (December 7, 2023) the senate is going to vote on sending $14.3 billion more in funding for Israel. (It’s a huge funding bill for “defense funding” for many things, but they also included more funding for ICE in the bill). Please take 2 minutes to use this action tool to call your reps and demand they vote no to more funding for Israel

And please share this action tool with 3 people you know. You can literally copy-paste this post to them if you don’t know what to say

AO3 Subscribers Poll

(please reblog and share for a bigger reach <3)

i’ve run out of smart words and metaphors, just please please help this father from gaza evacuate his son for treatment. the goal is $15k please help them reach this ASAP.

EDIT: UPDATED campaign link for Fadi has been posted so keep scrolling. I also posted the campaign link of razan(see pinned) who’s mother needs treatment. Razan’s campaign has fallen under the radar so please share and donate. Please scroll and read the whole post for the crucial info. thanks for sharing!

EDIT: CAN YOU ALL PLEASE AMPLIFY MY PINNED AS WELL!! PLEASE SHARE THIS POST BUT ALSO MY PINNED POST!!!!!!! ITS URGENT SO DONT IGNORE. DONT KNOW HOW MANY OTHER WAYS TO TELL YOU. RAZANS FAMILY STILL NEEDS TO GO TO EGYPT SO PLEASE SHARE MY PINNED AND DONATE!!!!! THERE NEEDS TO BE DONATIONS, REBLOGS ALONE CANT PAY FOR THEIR REGISTRATION TO LEAVE. DONATE PLEASE

edit: are u guys even reading the edits. AMPLIFY RAZANS CAMPAIGN. ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

UPDATE TO EVERYONE REBLOGGING: Fadi and his family have evacuated to egypt now. They still need to cover living expenses AND his medical expenses for his son so this is Fadi’s new campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/brain-surgery-of-a-sixyearold-child-due-atrophy?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=chat&utm_source=whatsApp

this is Fadi’s p@yp@l to help with their living expenses: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GLVYEA82FPMX2

MORE URGENT INFO: I would like to add that another family needs your help. I’ve made several posts about Razan’s family(including her mother who needs treatment) and this campaign has fallen under the radar. their goal is $50k and they have not raised even half. we really need to pick up the slack, so i would like to please ask everyone to donate to razan’s campaign AND find a friend to match your donation!! one you have done so, please make your own post about razan’s campaign and share it with all your mutuals. we need this campaign to have so much more visibility so please join me in amplifying and #floodthedash4razan!! let’s work together and help razan and her family. give some love, support and donations towards razan’s campaign‼️‼️ I would like to direct everyone to please AMPLIFY and share Razan’s campaign(please also checked my pinned where you can see more about her campaign!!) i will also share her campaign in this post, again please show some support and amplify and donate to her:

Thank you all for sharing!

A dear, courageous activist friend from Gaza is still trying after months to raise enough money to get his parents out of Gaza and getting them the medications they need. If you could please share or donate I’d appreciate it so much. He’s been an incredible advocate for years, and his family deserves our support!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/saving-lives-of-our-precious-relatives-in-gaza

Generative AI Policy (February 9, 2024)

As of February 9, 2024, we are updating our Terms of Service to prohibit the following content:

Images created through the use of generative AI programs such as Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and Dall-E.

This post explains what that means for you. We know it’s impossible to remove all images created by Generative AI on Pillowfort. The goal of this new policy, however, is to send a clear message that we are against the normalization of commercializing and distributing images created by Generative AI. Pillowfort stands in full support of all creatives who make Pillowfort their home. Disclaimer: The following policy was shaped in collaboration with Pillowfort Staff and international university researchers. We are aware that Artificial Intelligence is a rapidly evolving environment. This policy may require revisions in the future to adapt to the changing landscape of Generative AI. 

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Why is Generative AI Banned on Pillowfort?

Our Terms of Service already prohibits copyright violations, which includes reposting other people’s artwork to Pillowfort without the artist’s permission; and because of how Generative AI draws on a database of images and text that were taken without consent from artists or writers, all Generative AI content can be considered in violation of this rule. We also had an overwhelming response from our user base urging us to take action on prohibiting Generative AI on our platform.  

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How does Pillowfort define Generative AI?

As of February 9, 2024 we define Generative AI as online tools for producing material based on large data collection that is often gathered without consent or notification from the original creators.

Generative AI tools do not require skill on behalf of the user and effectively replace them in the creative process (ie - little direction or decision making taken directly from the user). Tools that assist creativity don't replace the user. This means the user can still improve their skills and refine over time. 

For example: If you ask a Generative AI tool to add a lighthouse to an image, the image of a lighthouse appears in a completed state. Whereas if you used an assistive drawing tool to add a lighthouse to an image, the user decides the tools used to contribute to the creation process and how to apply them. 

Examples of Tools Not Allowed on Pillowfort: Adobe Firefly* Dall-E GPT-4 Jasper Chat Lensa Midjourney Stable Diffusion Synthesia

Example of Tools Still Allowed on Pillowfort: 

AI Assistant Tools (ie: Google Translate, Grammarly) VTuber Tools (ie: Live3D, Restream, VRChat) Digital Audio Editors (ie: Audacity, Garage Band) Poser & Reference Tools (ie: Poser, Blender) Graphic & Image Editors (ie: Canva, Adobe Photoshop*, Procreate, Medibang, automatic filters from phone cameras)

*While Adobe software such as Adobe Photoshop is not considered Generative AI, Adobe Firefly is fully integrated in various Adobe software and falls under our definition of Generative AI. The use of Adobe Photoshop is allowed on Pillowfort. The creation of an image in Adobe Photoshop using Adobe Firefly would be prohibited on Pillowfort. 

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Can I use ethical generators? 

Due to the evolving nature of Generative AI, ethical generators are not an exception.

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Can I still talk about AI? 

Yes! Posts, Comments, and User Communities discussing AI are still allowed on Pillowfort.

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Can I link to or embed websites, articles, or social media posts containing Generative AI? 

Yes. We do ask that you properly tag your post as “AI” and “Artificial Intelligence.”

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Can I advertise the sale of digital or virtual goods containing Generative AI?

No. Offsite Advertising of the sale of goods (digital and physical) containing Generative AI on Pillowfort is prohibited.

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How can I tell if a software I use contains Generative AI?

A general rule of thumb as a first step is you can try testing the software by turning off internet access and seeing if the tool still works. If the software says it needs to be online there’s a chance it’s using Generative AI and needs to be explored further. 

You are also always welcome to contact us at [email protected] if you’re still unsure.

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How will this policy be enforced/detected?

Our Team has decided we are NOT using AI-based automated detection tools due to how often they provide false positives and other issues. We are applying a suite of methods sourced from international universities responding to moderating material potentially sourced from Generative AI instead.

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How do I report content containing Generative AI Material?

If you are concerned about post(s) featuring Generative AI material, please flag the post for our Site Moderation Team to conduct a thorough investigation. As a reminder, Pillowfort’s existing policy regarding callout posts applies here and harassment / brigading / etc will not be tolerated. 

Any questions or clarifications regarding our Generative AI Policy can be sent to [email protected].

HEY PLEASE READ !!

if you guys AT ALL enjoy using the internet whether it's for news, entertainment, or communication purposes there is a bill floating around right now that has a good possibility of being passed that will influence the way we ALL use the internet. this bill is called KOSA and it presents itself as "kids online safety act" but in reality it is and will try to sensor SO much important information out there about LGBTQ+, POC communities, feminism and women's rights, and so much more. the bill targets mainly people under 17 but this bill will affect adults too. your favorite social media and websites will become highly cleansed from anything the government deems as "dangerous" to children online. one of the ways they are trying to ensure kids aren't accessing content that is "dangerous" enforces EVERYONE to upload private information or a photo of your ID to access social media apps and websites. IF YOU CARE AT ALL ABOUT PROTECTING FREE SPEACH ON THE INTERNET AND THE WAY WE USE IT TO COMMUNICATE PLEASE HELP ENSURE THAT THIS BILL DOES NOT PASS.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS TO SHOE THAT YOU DO NOT SUPPORT THE KOSA BILL.

PLEASE REBLOG AND SHARE !!!!

HERE IS A FREE PETITION YOU CAN SIGN TO HELP: