Help Myka Survive: A Lifeline for a Resilient Trans Woman

I am a queer, trans, autistic Latina who has spent a decade fighting for survival, justice, and community empowerment. This weekend, I discovered my bank account drained, leaving me with just $8 in cash and facing potential housing insecurity.

My journey has been marked by persistent challenges. In the ten years I have been out, I've weathered repeated professional and personal obstacles. Seven years ago, I lost my stable full-time job due to workplace discrimination. I was forced to emergency move to escape an abusive, transphobic roommate, which launched me into five years of housing insecurity.

Determined to build a sustainable future, I went back to school and studied web development. Despite my qualifications, I found it increasingly difficult to break into the tech industry.

It is a truth that is part of my own story, but one I learned through my research I spearheaded into trans workplace experiences was systemic as well. The only trans professionals who successfully secured full-time employment were those who had already established their careers before transitioning.

Despite learning this I continued to try and break through. Surviving from a pieced together an income earned through dog walking, day labor gigs, and whatever freelance development gigs I could fight to secure for experience.

A breakthrough came when I joined a queer-owned marketing company. As a full-time freelancer for them, I worked my way up to lead developer and project manager, finally achieving a semblance of stable housing. But in 2022, everything changed when the company was sold to a new owner who demanded I "not be trans in the workplace." When I chose to live authentically, my work hours were drastically cut from near-full-time to just a few hours a month.

Since then, I've been cobbling together gig work—dog walking, home improvement, copy editing—while continuously searching for employment in any field matching my lifetime of acquired skills. The work has grown scarcer, and barriers from increasing transphobia have made housing security increasingly precarious.

This has been, all the while, personally living through the traumas, large and small, that make up the unending journey of resilience that is a trans person's life. From microaggressions and the harsher slurs, to the systemic workplace, medical, and legislative discrimination which the new administration has only promised nothing less than making our very existence a crime. As well as the daily vigilance to avoid the outright verbal and physical assaults that I experience from merely existing in public.

What Happened:

The Illinois Department of Revenue placed a lien on my account for freelance taxes, which I had deferred to pay for rent and food. Despite recognizing my legal name change for the purpose of the lien, the state has refused to recognize my it for crucial benefits like unemployment, SNAP and healthcare. Deepening my financial instability.

What I Need:

I'm seeking $2,600 to:

• Restore my bank account to a positive balance

• Cover the remaining tax lien

• Secure rent and utilities, and maintain critical medication

My Community Work:

Beyond my personal struggle, I'm committed to social movement work supporting all marginalized peoples. My advocacy focuses on creating systemic change, amplifying voices that are often silenced, and building collective power for those facing intersectional oppression.

Your Support Means:

• Immediate housing and food security

• Continued community advocacy

• Preventing another marginalized professional from facing similar barriers

I've never stopped fighting—for myself, for my community, for a more just world. With your help, I can keep pushing forward, continuing to build solidarity and hope.

Every contribution is an investment in collective liberation.

Thank you for seeing me, hearing me, and standing with me.