The day our van was towed away was like discovering the family dog was missing, our stomach was knots, our hearts sank, I was panicked and knew it would mean a fortune to get it back, if we were able to at all. Katherine was certain from the start, that failure was not an option for us. We had to get the valuable member of this family back!
When we put the status on Facebook about our van being taken, along with the estimated amount for the bill, we got an immediate donation that was used the next day to send off for the title from Colorado. Our next step that day, was to search for a charity, a church, or other organization that had funds for assistance for things like transportation costs, and eviction prevention. Not much to our surprise, each one had a reason why they couldn’t help. A couple places said they were out of funds for the month but we could apply for the next month. A small number of them stated their services only helped people with leases or mortgages; since we live in a flexible living apartment home, we didn’t qualify for rental assistance. The final location we called, told us they no longer had funding to run the program and didn’t offer any financial assistance, only a food bank and thrift store. As our readers know, we had been homeless two years and eight months, so having credit to get a bank loan wasn’t an option. When we came out as transgender, we lost all of my family members, and all save one of Kat’s. That one person is her father, who is not in a position to help us with a sum of that amount. We were literally hoping for a miracle. A few days past from our first Facebook post, our friend Tori, from Australia, sent a plain message asking how much we owed for the van and rent. I told her and she pretty much just said “Okay, well I can help, I will send you what you need on Sunday”. That she did. We were able to pay our rent up until Kat’s next check. We were able to combine what she had plus what Kat got with her last check and hold back for the registration. We were able to get insurance back and I donated plasma today to afford the smog test. We got a permit to park and we are as legal as we can be. It feels so nice to be falling into place. Although we still have to pay her back, it won’t be loosing everything to gain a foot. Thankfully, with help from people like Tori, we were able to keep the stability we’ve worked hard to accomplish. Yay, our van has returned home!
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Authors:James and Katherine are a transgender couple raising two kids. They were southerners when coming to understand themselves as trans. Ultimately it lead to a nearly three year road trip to find home. Now they are re-housed and still focused on outreach in the transgender community! Archives
October 2020
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