Help African LGBT AsylumSeeker
Donation protected
Dear friends and family:
Please help me raise money for an incredibly brave woman who was forced to leave her country because of gender identity discrimination. She is (to our knowledge) the first person in her country to come out as an Intersexed person. Unfortunately, her courage to raise awareness and help others like her did not go well. She and her family were subjected to physical violence and threats. I can't provide too many details (i.e., her name, country of origin) because of the very real threat of violence against her parents. I will be happy, however, to do so privately if you email me. I must respect her wishes for privacy and protect her anonymity.
What I can share is that she came to the US before the election in November (2016) seeking asylum. After almost 5 months, she successfully submitted her paperwork to the Department of Homeland Security with the assistance of a wonderful NYC law firm, pro-bono. The problem is that she has to wait 150 days from the date of submitting her paperwork to get a work permit. She did not come here with a lot of resources and when I met her almost a month ago she was very close to being homeless and thinking about engaging in some risky work to get by. I do research on HIV prevention, so when I heard this...I had to act.
On April 26th (6-8pm), a very good friend is throwing a benefit (The Lavina Draper Show) for her at the historic STONEWALL INN (53 Christopher Street in the West Village, Manhattan). PLEASE, COME IF YOU ARE IN NYC!
We may have found her housing (keep your fingers crossed) but still, she needs help to stay afloat (food and transportation) until she can legally work. With the money we raise, I'm going to see if the MTA system in NYC will allow us to create a credit line so that she can have monthly MetroCards. I will also buy Target gift cards so that she can buy toiletries and job interviewing clothes. Finally, I'd like to give her some cash so that she can go buy staple foods at the African market up in Harlem.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me privately. I will be happy to discuss. Again, there is a real threat that her parents will be targeted; she has been bullied on social media.
Best, Tonya
Please help me raise money for an incredibly brave woman who was forced to leave her country because of gender identity discrimination. She is (to our knowledge) the first person in her country to come out as an Intersexed person. Unfortunately, her courage to raise awareness and help others like her did not go well. She and her family were subjected to physical violence and threats. I can't provide too many details (i.e., her name, country of origin) because of the very real threat of violence against her parents. I will be happy, however, to do so privately if you email me. I must respect her wishes for privacy and protect her anonymity.
What I can share is that she came to the US before the election in November (2016) seeking asylum. After almost 5 months, she successfully submitted her paperwork to the Department of Homeland Security with the assistance of a wonderful NYC law firm, pro-bono. The problem is that she has to wait 150 days from the date of submitting her paperwork to get a work permit. She did not come here with a lot of resources and when I met her almost a month ago she was very close to being homeless and thinking about engaging in some risky work to get by. I do research on HIV prevention, so when I heard this...I had to act.
On April 26th (6-8pm), a very good friend is throwing a benefit (The Lavina Draper Show) for her at the historic STONEWALL INN (53 Christopher Street in the West Village, Manhattan). PLEASE, COME IF YOU ARE IN NYC!
We may have found her housing (keep your fingers crossed) but still, she needs help to stay afloat (food and transportation) until she can legally work. With the money we raise, I'm going to see if the MTA system in NYC will allow us to create a credit line so that she can have monthly MetroCards. I will also buy Target gift cards so that she can buy toiletries and job interviewing clothes. Finally, I'd like to give her some cash so that she can go buy staple foods at the African market up in Harlem.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me privately. I will be happy to discuss. Again, there is a real threat that her parents will be targeted; she has been bullied on social media.
Best, Tonya
Organiser
Tonya Taylor
Organiser
Brooklyn, NY
