Hello,

My name is Natalie, I am a 47-year-old transgender woman, and for the last 5 years I've been a stay-at-home mom with my daughter, who is non verbal and has special needs (diagnosed autism). I currently live with my daughter, and my partner, in my partner's parents' house.

In September, my partner's father violently assaulted me and attempted to throw me out of the house through threat of further violence. I eventually found the courage to press charges, but as a result, I am being legally (as a 'family/guest' , the Residential Tenancy Act does NOT apply) thrown out of the house as of February 1st, with all my savings exhausted and no resources provided to make the transition anything but catastrophic for our family.

My partner cannot afford to move out with our daughter to live with me, and while they do not wish for me to leave, their father's violence means I cannot be safe here, and I need to relocate somewhere close enough to be able to see my daughter on a regular basis. My partner is not able to support me on their own as well as support theirs, and my daughter's living expenses.

I did not realize how badly being assaulted as a woman would affect me, and it's made it extremely difficult to job search while my housing and shelter are unknown as of February 1st but I am also hoping that the legal process that I've initiated against my attacker will lead me to have the ability to proceed with civil action after a judgement is made and get some type of recompense for my trauma.

This fundraiser is so I can use what little I can get from government assistance once I leave this house on Feb 1st, combined with the support my partner is able to provide, to stay somewhere in the Burnaby/Royal Oak/Edmonds area. I will keep it going as long as is necessary to both recover from my trauma, and continue to stay in my daughter's life, as I cannot even imagine being away from her.

I do not know how long I will need to live away from my partner and child, nor how long it will take me to recover and be able to rejoin the workforce, so I am setting a large goal to ensure that I can continue to survive even if I must be away most of the year.