My name is Jephtha and I am a musician and community organiser from the Bronx. I'm raising $15,000 to secure stable housing and leave behind a hostile living situation. Before explaining myself further, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story.

After losing my job last summer, I spent ten months fulfilling my lease and taking care of myself through gig work, rent parties, and even a freelance massage business. Searching for full-time work was fruitless despite my prestigious college degree and a stacked resumé. So, I moved back to the Bronx for financial and emotional stability. Sadly, the people I thought would care for me while I recover and find my footing are threatening to throw out my belongings.

I've tried to have patience with my family and put my best effort into reintegrating, but at this point I am more scared to live at home than I am to live at a shelter or figure it all out on my own. My conservative Christian mother and I can't coexist on speaking terms as she is constantly demeaning me, and my relationship with my siblings has become so tense and argumentative that my home life offers no respite from the constant harassment I experience as a Black trans woman on the cold streets of New York City.

My family has made me feel strange, unsafe, and worthless.

But I know my worth, and that I am valued deeply by my community. So I come before my community, vulnerable, transparent, and optimistic. I believe in my future and my right to a safe pathway forward, and I hope you do too.

Our Goals: