While I was drinking coffee, a fifty-foot oak limb tore through the roof of our home, splintered beams, shattered rafters, and changed everything. The damage is extensive — and the emotional toll is real.

My partner, Alex, is a leading civil rights attorney, and I'm a Trans Puerto Rican filmmaker whose work centers social justice. We are first-time homeowners who poured our life savings into this 32-acre ranch to create something rare: a trans and BIPOC-owned refuge for our community's artists, organizers, and healers to gather. At a time when we are under relentless political and economic attack, this land has been a space of restoration, laughter, and dreaming. We’ve stretched every dollar to make it possible — but this storm threatens to undo years of work overnight.

We are in insurance purgatory with the rainy season fast approaching. Even if they pay out, we face a $10,000 deductible before we can begin repairs. On top of that, they’ve refused to pay to remove a second massive limb hanging precariously over the door. It will cost $4,000 to remove this "widow maker" to prevent further damage or worse. We’ve been eking by, holding this space together with love and sheer determination, but these unexpected costs could bankrupt us and close the ranch.

Please give today and share to help raise $14,000 to start roof repairs and remove the dangerous limbs. Every contribution helps protect a living sanctuary for liberation and belonging.

** Because the house is in our names, this is an emergency individual campaign to help us rebuild and is not tax-deductible. Donations to fund future community programming can be made through the 501 (c) at www.transbloom.org/donate . If you work at a Fortune 500 company, reach out before giving about how your gift can be twice as powerful with Benevity. **