Help a trans enby get out of a red state!

Call me Jack, or Joaquin (legal name change happening in the next year, I hope). I'm a queer, neurodivergent, nonbinary/transmasc Latine with chronic health issues, in a living situation that's less than ideal for me. I need help to change that.

When Covid hit, I was staying with family in Southeast Louisiana, recovering from an unrelated health issue. I had a stable place to live and Medicaid during the worst of the pandemic, and I started going back to college via distance learning, finally got treatment for my ADHD, and even went on testosterone for several months, before a change in medical providers left me hunting for an accessible place to get treatment. But given the political climate in the South these days, as well as my lack of a car and any local support network outside my immediate family, I've been feeling increasingly unsafe in the bastion of Trump supporters my parents settled down in. That neighborhood was the first place I ever experienced transphobic violence, and while I've survived there, it's not a place I can thrive. I have a partner in San Francisco, and I've wanted to move to the Bay Area for decades, but it always seemed impossible.

That changed last month, when my partner flew me out for a four-week visit. They were able to help me rent a room from a fantastic human being in Berkeley who shares a lot of my values... and who, it turns out, has been looking for a long-term roommate for a while now. I expected to grit my teeth and endure being uncomfortable in someone else's space. Instead, I've found myself in the home of someone who's thoughtful, kind, trauma-aware, and skilled at clear, open, and accessible communication. They seem to think I'm a good roommate, and I feel the same about them. My visit's coming to an end on Jan 9, and ideally I'll be able to go home, take some time to pack my stuff up, and be back here in early February.

Here's where I need help, though: I'm an independent contractor, and while my math shows I can pay for rent and utilities on a monthly basis, actually paying to move my furniture and computers and fish tanks over is a whole other challenge. So I'm asking for help in transporting my stuff and covering the costs of my medication once I lose access to Louisiana Medicaid and apply for Medi-Cal.

$3.5k would cover truck rental, gas and medications. If I can reach $5k, that would also cover the rest of January's rent and the additional deposit required for extending my tenancy past one month, giving me a little bit of breathing room.

Here's how that breaks down:

Any help at all, no matter the amount, would be amazing. Moving to Berkeley could literally save my life, allowing me easy access to necessary medical care and gender-affirming practitioners, actual public transportation, a supportive community, and the ability to walk around my own neighborhood without feeling afraid. If you can't donate, I'd be grateful if you share this on your social network(s) of choice.

I've met so many amazing people in the Bay Area who've been generous with their time, have volunteered to help me pack and drive my stuff over, and have pointed me at community resources to help me out. I spent a long time struggling with the idea that someone like me even deserved that kind of help, and I'm looking forward to the day when I get to pay that forward and help someone else find the community they need.

Thanks, all of you, for your kindness and support.