She is petitioning Guyton Colantuono, Director of Interim Housing at People Assisting The Homeless (Path) asking that this non-profit help builds a Transsexual Empowerment Shelter based in LA.
Alexis is seeking 200 signatures for her Petition. When that goal is reached, she will take it to Mr. Colantuono and is confident he will help.
The need is real. We read about our slain sisters almost daily and really, 200 signatures isn't asking a lot. So I asked Alexis to tell us about herself and what she hopes to accomplish.
In her own words.....
I have always wanted there to be more attention brought to helpful resources that improve people's lives.
In Nov of 2013, I had some very tough personal things going on in my life that was deeply affecting my outlook. I had had some friends come in my life that were instrumental in helping me avoid isolation, I had been homeless for a couple of years following a heartbreaking divorce...
It wasn't easy to get through those months because when I entered homelessness I had to distance myself from a previous support network of friends, I didn't want to have my friends see me as a failure because I lost my family, home and job. I was the provider that people counted on and I was feeling defeated, humiliated and exhausted.
At the same time I had been helping many people on the streets with empowering themselves and I was feeling abandoned by my community because I felt so isolated.
I was communicating the same shelter/center ideas with many organizations in the non profit world, but nothing was really being done it seemed.
I had some new acquaintances enter my life that became my friends and they were in the trans community. When I was feeling like nobody cared, they showed me that in fact some people do care, and aided me with some much needed support.
I had to put things into perspective, I was no longer feeling alone, I had finally found other good hearted people in the community that helped me hold things together emotionally and my heart started healing.
Knowing that I would pay it forward I began to revisit the ideas I had for the community that were geared towards improving another's life.
I knew I had a good design for a empowerment program/shelter and wanted to see it go from an idea to a reality.
So I pursued it while I still had a momentum.
I don't enjoy popularity and don't want to be considered a leader of trans people. I believe in equality where everyone can lead themselves and we have no hierarchy. I am a very private person and I don't like a lot of attention, so it's difficult for me be an advocate and have my privacy surrendered.
I realized I had to do something though so I followed my heart. It has taken me here...
So, to answer your question...
I have had people in the community help me stay strong enough to follow through with tackling the challenges and working together to improve our shared community. And it just became apparent that I had some pretty revolutionary ideas on how to do that. I felt it to be a worthy challenge to follow through with.
I have lived in two shelters and dealt with much abuse and want to see a world where trans people can enter a shelter and get treated with respect. I have lived on the streets for almost 3 years, aside from a brief exodus.
This shelter/center is about community and discovering a support network while improving the quality of life for yourself and those around you.
It is a dream I have always had.
Please sign her Petition and we can all pay it forward.
