Help Lucy to Maintain Stable Housing

Hi I’m Lucy. I’m a 42-year-old trans woman musician and composer who has lived in NYC for about nine years. In that time I’ve produced solo and collaborative work that articulates new possibilities for the electric guitar in experimental and harsh noise settings. I’ve also been deeply involved in the DIY community, especially by living and working at Chaos Computer, where I was instrumental in making the only DIY space in Brooklyn more explicitly trans and gay.

Unfortunately the years haven’t been kind to me. After the Chaos Computer eviction in July 2023 I was never able to find another job, and I’ve continually lost my housing because I couldn’t keep up the rent. As I write these words I am in the process of becoming homeless.

There are a lot of barriers to stability for me. I live with headaches, chronic pain, a permanently damaged shoulder, and complex PTSD from police violence and sexual humiliation during two arrests. I have ID problems that make it hard to access social services or get a regular job. And I was raised in the south by homophobic christians who I cut ties with long ago so I have no safe home anywhere to return to.

As a poor trans woman who’s been ‘out’ more than a decade I’ve been homeless a lot. I just want the simple peace and dignity of having my own space and being able to make my music and support myself. While there are possibilities of that on the horizon, I need some help to get there.

As I lose my housing again on this two-year anniversary of our eviction from Chaos Computer, I’m asking my community for some kindness, help, and grace so I can stay on my feet. Hopefully I will not have to be homeless for long.

Thank you for reading.

Best wishes,

Lucy York