Housing Support for Trans Woman Of Colour
Donation protected
Hi! My name’s Robyn and in case you don’t know me: I’m a British Asian non-binary femme in the West Midlands. I’m currently employed full-time however have only been able to work a few days since December and none in the last six weeks after the stress of work got to be too much. My telephone customer service role often had me dealing with abusive, belligerent and transphobic customers with almost all misgendering me for 40 hours a week- a difficult role at any point but especially so when working from during a pandemic. I strongly fear never being healthy enough to return to work between my collection of mental health issues, ADHD and chronic pain which have all been severely exacerbated by the current pandemic.
Since Statutory Sick Pay in the UK is capped at £95.85pw and my latest paycheck was only £42.50, I’ve struggled to make ends meet and my meagre savings were exhausted by rent payments. I’m also not in contact with family so am unable to turn to them in emergencies.
As it stands, I’ve been able to make three payments this year. However at the end of the month, two payments from arrears will be due as well as the next rent payment. This is also when the UK governments COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted on private landlords, allowing them to commence eviction proceedings (UPDATE: now extended till August 23rd, currently looking into how this affects me). I’d obviously like to do avoid that since I can say from experience that homelessness is not easy and getting to this level of relative stability as a trans person of colour has taken years and more sacrifice and pain than I’d ever wish on an individual.
My landlord has made it clear that if a payment isn’t made at the end of the month, he is not willing to discuss anything beyond me vacating the flat immediately. I’ve set the goal for the three rent payments due at the end of June as well as the smaller bill payments due throughout the month. I understand the situation most find themselves in right now and the financial difficulties being forced upon many and I don’t begrudge anybody unable to help. There’s certainly a lot of worthy causes far more deserving. However, please do donate if you find yourself in a position to do so without causing yourself any detriment.
Take care of yourselves and one another <3
Since Statutory Sick Pay in the UK is capped at £95.85pw and my latest paycheck was only £42.50, I’ve struggled to make ends meet and my meagre savings were exhausted by rent payments. I’m also not in contact with family so am unable to turn to them in emergencies.
As it stands, I’ve been able to make three payments this year. However at the end of the month, two payments from arrears will be due as well as the next rent payment. This is also when the UK governments COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted on private landlords, allowing them to commence eviction proceedings (UPDATE: now extended till August 23rd, currently looking into how this affects me). I’d obviously like to do avoid that since I can say from experience that homelessness is not easy and getting to this level of relative stability as a trans person of colour has taken years and more sacrifice and pain than I’d ever wish on an individual.
My landlord has made it clear that if a payment isn’t made at the end of the month, he is not willing to discuss anything beyond me vacating the flat immediately. I’ve set the goal for the three rent payments due at the end of June as well as the smaller bill payments due throughout the month. I understand the situation most find themselves in right now and the financial difficulties being forced upon many and I don’t begrudge anybody unable to help. There’s certainly a lot of worthy causes far more deserving. However, please do donate if you find yourself in a position to do so without causing yourself any detriment.
Take care of yourselves and one another <3
Organiser
Robyn Kara
Organiser
