Empower Skyler's Transition to Stability

UPDATE 5/14: I can't believe we got to $1200! You all are so incredible.

I updated the goal to $1600. Hitting that will allow me to hire movers to help ease the stress on moving day. Anything beyond that just goes to boxes and other moving supply.

Thank you all so much!

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Hello, my name is Skyler. I’m a queer transwoman trying to leave an abusive partner and unsafe living situation. I have been disabled with chronic pain, cognitive impairment, and PTSD for many years, and have lived on Social Security Disability Insurance for most of my adult life.

My ex-partner and I have been married for five years, and this year I finally decided I had enough and had to get out of this situation. Since making that decision, I have retained an attorney and started seeking any financial assistance through government and charitable programs that I could find, as well as through mutual aid. I am lucky enough to have had some stand-up friends help me pay to retain a lawyer. Without them I would not have been able to get any legal aid. I had been expecting a temporary alimony to help me get back on my feet but my ex, who makes six figures, seems to have done everything in her power to deplete her savings and destroy her income in the time since I told her I was ending our marriage, making that extremely improbable. I have even begun listing some of my most cherished possessions that I’ve acquired over the years for sale online, which pains me but I recognize is necessary.

Unfortunately, the entire process has been slow, but I have been grinding through it. This, as well as the prospect of finding myself unhoused again, has taken a huge toll on my already precarious mental health. I Just got a caseworker, and have been looking at public housing options in my city, but the waitlists are years long, and Section 8 housing vouchers haven’t been available since 2019. I have looked at several options for house shares, but even renting a room in someone else’s place seems to be beyond the scope of my budget.

Recently, I found a place I felt would be safe and almost within my budget (it would be tight but I could manage), but they requested an upfront payment of $1200 as a deposit and last month’s rent. I absolutely cannot afford this on my own, not to mention the expense of moving itself. This is the reason I decided to make a GoFundMe. This isn’t simply a moving cost, it’s the cost of me attaining some measure of stability, independence, and emotional recovery. Living there, I’ll be closer to the queer community, less isolated, and better able to make friends so I can build a new support system. I’ll be able to find part-time work nearby, and finally take a deep breath and feel secure.

Thank you so much for reading this, and if you’re able to contribute, I would appreciate it more deeply than you know. If you can’t, just sharing this with those you think would be sympathetic is a huge help as well.

Funds from this will only be used for the up front cost of moving. If there is any extra, it will go to help cover moving expences.

Thanks again,

Skyler