Hello! Thank you for visiting this page. I am a DREAMER, and I am reaching out to community for support because for 5 years now I have tried every route possible to resolve my situation and all of my opportunities have faded away. I am a disabled undocumented immigrant who came to the US at 9 months old for a medical treatment that was unavailable in Honduras where I was born. I have grown up for my entire life in the US, and it is the only place I know. In December 2021 when DACA started taking new applicants, I applied. But 5 months later, a Texas judge ruled the DACA Program illegal which put an indefinite pause to my process. As of now, all first-time DACA applicants are prevented from completing our application process, and there is no word as to when that will change so I have to move on with my life as best I can.

 

I am a hard worker and an excellent student, and I have always done my very best to navigate the many obstacles stacked against me. After graduating with honors and even AP English credits from Academy for Young Writers high school in Brooklyn, I worked several jobs and internships in NYC, Texas, Arizona, and received an award from Urban Art Beat where I wrote poetry and songs for social justice campaigns. I recently moved back to NYC this past spring when my out-of-state work opportunities disappeared. The restaurant job I have been working in NYC also had to cut shifts as a result of the pandemic, and I’m hitting nothing but dead ends trying to find more work.

 

Thankfully Urban Art Beat, which is the organization I received an award from, would like to hire me as an intern but they don’t have enough funding, so this fundraiser is to cover both my internship and legal fees to process my citizenship. We would very much appreciate any amount you are able to contribute! In this internship I will be working with young artists, sharing my skills as a poet and writer and helping them to develop their own in service of social justice campaigns.

I have the opportunity for a second internship with Make the Road where I will offer youth programming at their Youth Power Space in Bushwick and at the Bushwick School for Social Justice. The programming is related to youth poetry, rap, music production workshops, community building circles, mental health, and homework help. Similar to Urban Art Beat, Make the Road doesn’t have the funding so we are raising money here through Go Fund Me to pay my stipend.

I am passionate about social change, and I believe that every young person should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. One day I want to go to college, but because I am undocumented I am not eligible for financial aid so I am trying to build a career with the hope of pursuing higher education one day. Any funds you contribute will allow me to make a living through my internship, and the remaining funds will be used to resolve my citizenship.

Here is a breakdown of how I plan to use the funds:

--$6000 will cover 6-month internships at Urban Art Beat and Make the Road NY, which will support my living expenses in NYC, including travel to my internships

--$9000 will cover future and current and legal fees, including:

1) a consultation with a lawyer to help me fill out paperwork for citizenship, a very challenging process due to my visual impairment and the complexity of the system

2) legal and processing fees to the lawyer and government

3) travel to the many organizations I have to visit to find a way to resolve my citizenship