Stand with Kiera: Secure Her Future and Safety

Hi Everyone. My name is Phoenix and I am organizing this GoFundMe page for a member of this community that likely many of you already know. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to help raise awareness around her current struggle. I believe we can help her if we, as a community, can come together.

With this in mind, it is my privilege and honor to introduce Kiera, owner and founder of Sonic brew, the Saturday morning Clark park one stop coffee shop where you will find your favorite local barista, Kiera, serving up shots of espresso while also spinning smooth jazz for us on Saturday mornings at the farmers market. As you can see in the photo collage, Kiera is well known in our community, and now it’s time for us to show her hkw

much we appreciate, love, and support her.

Over the past 5 months, we haven’t seen Kiera, heard her beats, or drank her espresso, and her absence has not gone unnoticed.

When we talked this past week, Kiera shared that she was recently cyber-stalked, bullied, and threatened. Someone broke into her apt, stole her wallet, ID cards, and vandalized her instruments. They also destroyed her roasters and coffee apparatuses.

Kiera went to the police, filed multiple police reports, and was told that they have an overload of homicide cases throughout the city and simply cannot help her with her situation.

Meanwhile, Kiera is out of work and facing an eviction at the end of the month. She doesn’t have any savings left and is understandably concerned about becoming unhoused. She only has until the end of this month to secure housing. That’s less than two weeks away!

Prior to our conversation, Kiera has shared that pride tends to keep her from reaching out to the community for support, and this feels relatable, which is why I am here right now asking everyone in this community to uplift Kiera in her most desperate time of need. She has shared that she is at her wit's end with our justice system and has come to the realization that she has no choice but to embrace vulnerability and accept this GoFundMe page as her last hope of recovery from an unbelievably complicated situation. .

I can attest that kiera has exhausted every other option prior to the creation of this go fund me page. She went to the cops, then called the Philly housing tenant hotline, then contacted Jamie Gauthier’s office to speak to someone in her office who specifically handles housing disparities. Kiera was told that to receive help she must first sign into a shelter, forfeiting the option to sleep on a friends couch, should it come to that. This is not ideal and will likely cause even more trauma to an already overwhelming situation.

This is why we are here. Kiera is the smile you didn’t know you needed on an early Saturday morning. I definitely appreciate and admire this about her, and probably, a lot of people feel the same way. I’m hoping we can help her out, so that this precious being doesn’t have to be put into the system just to have a roof over her head.

An eviction has an immense impact on one’s ability to obtain housing in the future. It is unfair, unjust, and can destroy a parsons sense of safety and security. There will be fees and back rent, and it’s impossible to recover from under a system of oppression that was made to destroy us, especially Black, Indigenous, and non-Black people of color. This is a call to action. This is how we can show up right now.

My hope is that we can raise enough funds to allow her to remain amongst community and friends. This is her home.

Please donate what you can. Not everyone is able to offer the same amount, and that’s okay.

Let’s come together and uplift this soulful young creative Black female artist & entrepreneur, show her that we see her, appreciate her, and value her for so many reasons, including the vibe she brings to our community every Saturday in Clark Park.

Here is the breakdown. Kiera must come up with $4,522.45 to cover the deposit on a new place by September 30th, when she must be out of her current home.

She then must come up with $4,477.35 to pay back rent and attorney fees.

In exchange for your generous support, Kiera would like to offer her donors a free coffee (once her biz is thriving again, a free bag of coffee) and a personal thank you when she returns with her very own Sonic Brew coffee shop located at Clark Park, Saturday mornings.

Thank you all for your time and generosity. Please remember that every donation counts no matter the amount!

Peace and love.