Urgent help following arson attack

This crowdfunder has been set up to aid Novaya, Harper and Bart as over the weekend following a targeted hate crime that took place at their top floor apartment which has resulted in arson.

Fortunately, Novaya, Harper and Bart all survived the blaze and there were no other fatalities. They are safe enough to be able to tell the story and survive through one of the most terrifying situations any of them have had to face.

The fire took place around 6 am (just before rush hour) on April 14. Luckily firefighters managed to climb to the fourth floor and put out the flames after forcing themselves into the building. It took 4 fire engines & 25 fire men to get the blaze under control. Met Police issued a statement saying the fire is being 'treated as suspicious.' However, so as not to impact any ongoing investigation, we are unable to share further details at this stage.

If Novaya had not been awake to hear an explosion from her window at the other end of the flat, the outcome would have been fatal. None of the buildings nor internal flats fire alarms sounded, leaving all inside entirely unaware of any fire whilst Bart & Harper slept.

If the fire brigade had arrived 5 minutes later the fire door would have entirely burnt through, resulting in all three people within the property to be exposed directly to the fire.

We are raising urgent funds to try and cover the costs of:

Loss of income – Novaya, Harper and Bart are self-employed freelancers and will suffer significant losses due to being unable to work and having lost their base

Loss of assets - the fire wiped out a lot of personal and professional belongings and everything in storage from props to kit as well as stock needed for freelance creative work

(Luckily the fire hasn’t wiped out much to the main flat so a lot of personal belongings are safe and sound).

Therapy for trauma/PTSD therapy that will be needed to help recover from this abhorrent situation.

Costs to help with legal battle against the letting agents/landlady due to the fire system in the building not complying with legal standards. The landlady and estate agent have not been forthcoming in sharing insurance company details, have not arranged any temporary accommodation during the aftermath of the fire or secured the property (leaving their tenants with no front door or security from Friday (day of the incident - today ‘Monday 17th April’). This is obviously an extremely distressing situation and does not feel safe given the nature of the incident.

We will definitely share more information as we go on as this will no doubt be an ongoing complex battle for Novaya, Harper and Bart to:

A. Either secure their apartment and restore it to a state where it’s safe for them to stay there - as it’s a home they love.

B. Find alternative long-term accommodation (which they need emergency help with as they’re all freelancers and this has a huge impact on their ability to work).

Currently at times when trans people are being so heavily scrutinised in the media and in public these are the ramifications it has - our lives become table conversations and our eradication becomes less important due to the sheer amount of violence we face. we wholeheartedly hope you will support not only this gofundme but the entire trans community from here on out. If you cannot help with funds during these challenging times, please share and advocate for our community as much as possible.

Norvaya, Harper and Bart are deeply thankful for the outpouring of love from their community, family and friends at this trying time and sincerely from the bottom of their hearts know that they have so many that will help them through this.