Laurel Carlsen, a passionate fighter for social justice, has learned that she has Hotchkins Lymphoma, a type of cancer, and will have to undergo nearly a year of chemotherapy. She is currently uninsured and will be unable to work during her treatment. Laurel graduated from UCSC in 2007 where she majored in Community Studies. She focused her field study on organizing workers at Walmart and was active in defending undocumented workers and many other social justice issues.

She was involved in a number of communal living and cooperative projects in Santa Cruz before she moved to Palmer, Alaska to be with her mother and sister. There, she found employment that put her compassion to work, obtaining jobs caring for developmentally disabled adults and working with battered women. Laurel’s whole life has been dedicated to caring for others and now her friends want to create a widespread culture of mutual aid in Santa Cruz, starting with a series of fundraisers to support Laurel. Read More