Jamie needs a home

Hi everyone,

I am starting this fundraiser after being strongly encouraged by friends who have told me that there are plenty of people who want to help a working class trans community organiser buy a boat to live on.

I have been working full-time to open and run FORT, a non-profit queer creative studio, for the last 2 years. In this time, I haven't been able to pay myself and have been living off universal credit, meaning my financial situation has gotten pretty desperate.

I have been living in property guardianships for the last 6.5 years and I'm starting to find it extremely stressful as I have no savings and no family money or home. If I get evicted which is likely to happen this year, I can't afford a deposit on a new place and being on benefits means a lot of housing including new property guardianships won't be available. Plus the guardianship I'm with at the moment absolutely hates me (suspected transphobia as they always misgender me) and so are unlikely to rehouse me. If I lose my current housing, I might face homelessness while I look for another full time job, and my work and FORT may no longer be possible.

I've been dreaming of living on a boat since before the pandemic, but it's never been a realistic option due to financial barriers, until recently when a friend offered to redistribute some of their inheritance to help towards my housing security. They have been able to help me start off with £15k so I am looking to raise another £10k so I can buy a project boat and afford to do the necessary work on it, or buy something closer to £25k that's already liveable.

I want to emphasise that this fundraiser is mainly asking for money from those who have housing security themselves or are likely to inherit money etc and want to redistribute wealth to someone who has none of these opportunities. I really don't expect donations from anyone who experiences similar levels of financial insecurity.

Once I have a boat, if the work is cheaper than I thought and there is any money leftover from this fundraiser, I will donate it to The Outside Project to support their work in providing shelter and refuge for homeless Queers.

Thank you so much for reading, I'm really grateful for the amazing community who has supported me and FORT in more ways than I ever could have imagined and thank you to the friends who forced me to get over myself and make this fundraiser.