Queer family needing immediate shelter and safety

Joy Rising GoFundMe

Community! My brother Ajay, his 5 year old, and I are facing an emergency eviction that could upend our lives—and put us at grave risk. Less than 24 hours ago, a city inspector condemned the studio we’ve called home, declaring it an illegal rental property—information our landlord, a white racist and Transphobic woman, never disclosed. Effective June 17th, the utilities will be shut off, forcing us to move immediately into an unstable street environment. In an era when the Trump administration and its allies have ramped up attacks on Transgender people, living without a safe and secure home dramatically increases our chances of arrest, hospitalization, or multidimensional forms violence simply for existing. We cannot afford to be left out in the cold.

Ajay has lived in this building for three years; I arrived just a few months ago. We share caregiving duties and co-parent Ajay’s five-year-old child together—and we depend on each other financially. In today’s failing economy, both of us are unemployed and desperately searching for work, but without stable housing we cannot focus on applications or interviews. We need at least the first two months’ rent to secure an apartment, move our belongings (and possibly into storage), and gain the breathing room to rebuild our lives—and keep our family safe.

My immediate needs

* First two months’ rent + deposit: $5,000

* Moving expenses & storage: $1,500

* Phone bill (monthly): $72

* Groceries (monthly): $400

* Subscriptions, medication, business expenses: $200

* Travel to DR for fall term: $2,000

I was accepted to the top art school in the Dominican Republic—and this fall I’ll begin a three-year film program that will transform my creative career. But without a safe home here, I can’t focus on travel logistics and caring for family.

Additionally, LA REINA TAÍNA, LLC pours Reina’s passions into a range of creative and professional offerings:

* Trans Conscious Leadership workshops & trainings—inviting organizations and communities into deeper, transformative dialogue.

* Entertainment & performance—most notably her solo theatre piece The Autopsy of Joice Heth, in which she channels the spirit of Joice Heth, a Black enslaved woman caged and chained for colonial spectacle and ultimately dissected before a white audience, drawing a powerful parallel to today’s ongoing struggle for collective liberation.

* Merchandise—available at https://www.lareinataina.com/store, each piece a statement of resilience and identity.

* Music—released on Bandcamp (www.lareinataina.bandcamp.com), including her most recent single “LUIGI,” now streaming on all major platforms.

* Podcast—VAMOS HABLAR INGLÉS (www.lareinataina.com/vhi-podcast), with Episode 8 just published; listeners are invited to download their favorite episodes and share them across their communities.

Explore more of her work and connect here:

https://linktr.ee/camoisnotdead

Thank you for showing up for me. Every dollar brings me closer to safety, stability, and the freedom to create.