Hi, I'm Alex, a relationship coach, educator, activist, event facilitator, and founder of the consent-focused, bicoastal LGBTQIA+ play event, QTies.

I lost my health, I'm about to lose my home, and I need help.

We're losing the Iron Giant Loft, our home and the home of my San Francisco Bay Area events, in about a week—just as I've finally recovered enough to restart my work.

I need living expenses for the next couple of months while I rebuild my business after two years primarily spent healing from Long Covid.

I lost my stamina first. No more multiple-mile walks all over Oakland and Alameda; for months, I couldn't stand up long enough to cook an egg. Some days sitting up was too much exertion. It took almost two years before I could walk down to the grocery store without wiping myself out for days afterward. I'm fortunate and grateful to have recovered that much.

The exhaustion wasn't only physical. My memory was shot. I went from speaking on live panels about complex topics to getting confused and hanging up when faced with an automated phone menu with more than three options. Even navigating social media became cognitively overwhelming. I missed everyone dearly, but couldn't keep in touch.

The effects on my memory, cognition, stamina, and ability to sit upright meant that I was almost completely unable to work for most of the past two years. My savings are exhausted, and my credit has taken a beating.

During this time, our landlord—who was aware of my health situation—has been trying to force us out of the Iron Giant Loft since the day after Oakland's pandemic eviction moratorium ended.

They've been retaliating against us for making repair requests—including for significant habitability issues—and for remaining pandemic rent debt despite our offers to enter into a payment agreement.

I've been a long-term tenant (10+ years); they're hoping to turn over the unit for a higher monthly rent.

We pushed back for as long as we could, but with the courts flooded, the legal aid nonprofits were beyond capacity until winter.

Put simply, after two emergency vet visits, one of which I came back from with an empty cat carrier, I ran out of both money and hope. We miss Dorian every day.

What's next?

We have until the start of June. We had hoped to run a couple of last events in the space, make some fantastic last memories, but the habitability issues that we've been raising for months are still present. The space as it is isn't up to the task.

My latex allergy has become more serious and more sensitive; I am now airborne anaphylactic to natural rubber latex and cross-react to multiple foods as well. I've had several (genuinely terrifying) close calls, two of which involved losing consciousness, Epi-pen in hand. It's become tricky to accommodate in shared living spaces, especially with multiple people.

I've been lucky to have a caring, sensitive, and adaptable housemate in Be, but since I was unable to work for so long, I don't have the strong income and credit history needed for us to qualify for a pet-friendly lease together in a competitive market.

I need to stay in Oakland for public transit access and to keep my current medical care team. I'll have to do interim housing while I work hard to rebuild my income and credit.

With my allergy situation so severe now, it's best to minimize shared living spaces. This means my interim options are AirBnB or an extended stay hotel. (AirBnB is cheaper.) Be is looking for a room in a shared home of (preferably queer) housemates who interact with each other.

How will funds be spent?

Cost breakdown:

(This will make it much easier for me to work! My laptop contains latex under the touchpad. When it heats up, my hands turn red and burn, I become lightheaded and disoriented, and it's difficult to breathe.)

One-time expenses: $666 (updated total; PO Box, July 12th transport home after surgery added)

Monthly expenses: $3,102/month; $6,204 for June and July

Monthly expenses, August-September 5th (end of post-surgical limitations): $3,419

Buffer to cover GoFundMe fees and price fluctuations: $114

Combined: $10,403 (updated total; August through September 5th added)

After all of that time away, it's going to take a couple of months to rebuild my coaching practice and create a sustainable income. This would give Boots and me a safe place to land and take away the stress of meeting our basic needs while I work to rebuild my income and look for longer-term housing.

Thank you for donating, for sharing, and for every form of your support. It means so much more than I can say. ❤️