His name is Percy and he is 4 years old. He is the reason I get out of bed every morning.

He is my baby and right now I am scared that I might not be able to keep the home we share together.

I don’t really know how to ask for help. I never have. But here I am. I am carrying a lot of shame asking for help.

I am a visibly nonbinary person living in the South Bronx in NYC. Every single day I face verbal attacks and harassment simply for existing as myself. I have even been physically attacked more times than I can count. I walk out my door and brace myself. This is my daily reality on top of everything else I am carrying.

For the past 8 months, the city program responsible for paying my rent has been failing me. I have gone to their office many times over the last 6 months and spoken with my case worker. I have talked to supervisors. I have been told over and over that it would be handled. It has not been. I now have a housing court date for June 15, 2026 to determine if I can keep my place of residence and I am genuinely scared.

I am barely eating with very minimal food benefits. I am watching everything pile up around me with bills. I am trying to hold myself together while job searching every single day and giving Percy the life he deserves.

On June 20th I will walk across a stage at the Jacob Javits Center to receive my Master of Public Administration diploma. A 4.0 GPA. Pi Alpha Alpha honors. Years of sacrifice to get to this moment. And right now I am not sure I can even afford the costs to even participate in my own graduation ceremony. I have no job yet. I have given everything to earn this degree and I have nothing to show for it financially at this moment.

I have spent over a decade giving and volunteering in the LGBTQIA+ community. I am not someone who quits. I am pretty resilient, but right now things feel very heavy and I need a hand.

If you can help, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you can only share, that matters just as much.

Percy and I love you.

Timothy