For Eve: Trans Visibility, Trans Stability

Hello, and welcome to our story. Thank you for being here!

My name is Alyssa, and this fundraiser is all about my beautiful, transgender queen of a wife, Eve—the incredible person I’ve spent nearly a decade with. Eve is uniquely extraordinary. If you know her, you know exactly what I mean. And if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her yet, I hope you do.

Years ago, when Eve proposed, she did so with a poem she wrote about two comets—both flying alone through the universe until one day, they collided. Their paths changed forever, and from then on, they traveled the vastness together.

It’s kind of a parable for what we’re doing now.

About five months ago, the U.S. election results collided with our world. We were not prepared. Before the election, we dealt with little backlash as queer persons in a red Midwest state. But afterward, things changed. Our state began passing anti-trans legislation before the president-elect was even inaugurated. People became bolder. We dealt with politically charged situations that at one point required us to call the police. And, of course, there was Project 2025 looming overhead.

We didn’t feel safe.

We realized we had to leave. For Eve. For her future. Leaving was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever been forced to make. We had built a life in Cincinnati. It was where Eve grew up. Where our best friends—our chosen family—lived. Where our spiritual community was. Where our pet-care business thrived. Where we had built meaningful relationships with our clients. But we knew we had to go.

So we did.

We saved what we could and, over two weeks, drove 36 hours and over 2,000 miles to a queer-friendly city in Oregon. We’ve been here for three months now, and Eve is thriving in so many ways! She’s finding friends and community. She’s finding new aspects of herself. She’s grappling again—something she’s wanted back in her life since childhood—and in a queer-led class! Her insurance is covering gender-affirming care we thought she’d have to wait years for. She’s even going to art class! (She’s an amazing artist— instagram linked in update.)

But it hasn’t all been easy.

Shortly after we arrived, my papa passed away, and I couldn’t afford to get back. The cost of living here is higher, and income is not. Our business is building—just slower than we anticipated. And we quickly realized we aren’t alone in this struggle. Queer and other marginalized people across the country are migrating to progressive cities and states for safety and community. The city we chose to move to has been inundated with these hopeful people. Housing prices have skyrocketed. Housing services have years-long waitlists. Nonprofits are stretched thin, and things are only getting harder under the current administration.

We’ve now been houseless for months. Our permanent address is our car.

This is one of the hardest and most stressful things I have ever experienced…and I’ve got experiences. My heart goes out to everyone—especially those who don’t even have a car to call home. It becomes your entire existence. It has been a study in taking care of our mental, emotional, & physical health. We are trying SO hard to do what we can to find a home, to find stability. Many people here have turned to camper life, communal housing, or even moving to small towns nearby. Our funds are dwindling & we simply don’t have the money to make any of those happen right now.

So here is our call back to the title—Trans Visibility, Trans Stability.

Today, on International Transgender Day of Visibility, we are opening up this fundraiser to ask for your help in creating stability for Eve (and me). We want a home—whether it’s an apartment, a room, or a camper.

Anything you can give will bring us closer to tha! And if you can’t donate, you can still support us by sharing this fundraiser as well as following and sharing our pet-care business’s Facebook page (linked in update).

Thank you for reading. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your support.

We love you! You are worthy! We’re all in this together. <3