Updated: Jul 22, 2021
Just three years after first coming to BRC, Richard was able to move into permanent housing.
After being disowned by her family for coming out as transgender, Kimberly found herself without a place to live. After suffering through domestic violence from her former partner, and being laid off from her job, Kimberly was homeless and without a support system off and on for six years.
Over the course of many months, she interacted with BRC’s outreach teams in Port Authority, eventually coming to one of our safe havens in 2010. BRC assisted in helping her obtain identification and entitlements to pursue permanent housing, and in June of 2012, Kimberly was reunited with her sister in California, where she planned to move. But in early 2016, Kimberly was back in New York and had returned to living on the street. Shortly thereafter, she reached out to BRC’s outreach team to work toward permanent housing.
Before long, Kimberly was safely back at BRC and beginning the housing application process. While Kimberly was waiting on a housing opportunity, she continued her support and advocacy for the LGBTQ community through internships and peer advocacy groups with several New York organizations, to campaign not only for the acceptance of the LGBTQ community, but specifically for those who were young and homeless.
In March of 2017, Kimberly successfully moved out of BRC’s safe haven and into her new studio to start the next chapter of her life. She has aspirations to go back to college to complete her degree, and continues to advocate for the LGBTQ community.