Help Gerard’s Family Find Housing After Forced Relocation

Hi everyone,

I’m Gerard Lapuente (he/him), a first-generation, low-income college student and LGBTQIA+ Filipino American trying to hold things together while everything around me is shifting.

Right now, I’m facing forced displacement. My family and I are being kicked out of our home by a company that bought the property in our heavily gentrified Miami neighborhood. They claim three months is enough time for us to uproot and find somewhere else to go—but the truth is, that’s not nearly enough.

My mother is now a single parent, after leaving a dangerous and abusive relationship. She has limited access to government support, making it even harder to find stable housing or get help when things go wrong. She works full-time to support our family, but the system was never built to protect or uplift someone like her, and she’s already stretched impossibly thin.

My father has a long and violent history of domestic abuse. He once threw a brick through our window after we called the police on him and had him arrested. We later placed a restraining order against him, intending to never let him back into our lives. That moment—him stalking us, retaliating, trying to remind us that we were never safe—still haunts me. It’s why I can’t risk living anywhere he might find me.

Even though I’m the youngest in my family, I’ve become the protector, especially for my 23-year-old sister, who has the mental and physical capacity of a third grader. She lives with an intellectual disability, shaped by years of financial hardship and systemic neglect. She needs routine, care, and patience—things I’ve tried to give her while balancing school and survival. My mom can’t do this alone. None of us can.

As I juggle being a full-time student, I’m asking for help to keep my family from falling through the cracks.

I’m raising $4,500 or more to secure safe, stable housing. This will cover:

First + last month’s rent and a security deposit: $3,400

Utilities, groceries, application fees, and moving costs: $900

Emergency support for basic furnishings and transportation: $200

My family needs a space where we can stay safe, especially from my father, and where my mom and sister can live with dignity. This isn’t just about rent. This is about survival, healing, and staying grounded in a city pushing families like mine out.

If you can donate or share, thank you. Every act of care helps keep us safe and keeps me in school.

With love and hope,

Gerard