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Non-profit

Trans Housing Coalition

Website:

www.transhousingcoalition.org/
Location:

Atlanta, Georgia
Type:

Left-Of-Center Grassroots Organization
Director:

Jesse Pratt López

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The Trans Housing Coalition (THC) is a left-wing, LGBTQ group focused on helping homeless Black transgender people in Atlanta, Georgia. 1 The organization began in 2019 as a grassroots crowdfunding project on GoFundMe titled the Homeless Black Trans Women Fund. 2 The fund grew out of photojournalism by Jesse Pratt López, a trans woman whose photos captured the lives of trans women in Atlanta dealing with “sex work, addiction, and homelessness and living with HIV.” 3

The Homeless Black Trans Women Fund gained more attention on social media in late May of 2020. In June 2020, Jesse Pratt Lopez officially organized the fund into the Trans Housing Coalition.  In fall of 2020, THC gave $108,000 directly to 149 transgender and gender non-conforming people in the Atlanta area. 4 In March of 2021, THC purchased its first permanent housing unit. 5 As of June of 2021, the Trans Housing Coalition has received over $3,000,000 in donations through its GoFundMe. 6

Trans Housing Coalition has links to many left-of-center organizations. In 2020, it received a “six figure” grant from Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 7

History and Leadership

In 2019, the Trans Housing Coalition started as a GoFundMe titled the Homeless Black Trans Women Fund. The GoFundMe grew out of photojournalism done by Jesse Pratt Lopez, a transgender woman. Lopez was a photographer, and her work has been published in multiple left-of-center publications, including VOGUE, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. 8 Lopez’s photojournalism in 2019 captured the lives of trans women in Atlanta dealing with “sex work, addiction, and homelessness and living with HIV.” 9

In late May of 2020, the Homeless Black Trans Women Fund began receiving more attention on social media. By mid-June of 2020, the GoFundMe for the Homeless Black Trans Women Fund had received over $2,000,000 in donations. 10 In June of 2020, López officially organized the Homeless Black Trans Women Fund into the Trans Housing Coalition. 11 The goal of THC was to provide long-term housing for transgender and gender non-conforming people, particularly Black transgender women, in Atlanta. 12

In the fall of 2020, the organization began its THC Emergency Fund Grant program. It gave a total of $108,000 directly to 149 transgender and gender non-conforming people in the Atlanta area. 13 In March of 2021, THC purchased its first permanent housing unit in Atlanta. 14

As of June 2021, the Trans Housing Coalition had raised over $3,000,000 according to the organization’s GoFundMe page. 15 As of June 2021, the Trans Housing Coalition had not yet received tax-exempt status. 16

Political Activism

In 2020, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation announced that Trans Housing Coalition was one of 30 organizations to receive a grant as part of the foundation’s first cohort of official grantees. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation committed to a “six figure” grant for Trans Housing Coalition. 17

THC has worked closely with many left-of-center organizations in the Atlanta area, including Southern Fried Queer Pride and Solutions not Punishment Collaborative, an organization that also received a “six figure” grant from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. 18 19 20 In 2020, Trans Housing Coalition granted $25,000 to the Trans Housing Atlanta Program, an organization with similar goals. 21 22

References

  1. Trans Housing Coalition (THC). Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/.
  2. Trans Housing Coalition (THC). Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/.
  3. Willis, Raquel. “Across the South, a Trans Housing Movement Grows.” VOUGE. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/article/across-the-south-a-trans-housing-movement-grows?fbclid=IwAR2FnPXv1BxjDMbhBoBRAa3vLMrI044UitriYAnCM_oDJO6iUjlIIxNKQc4.
  4. López, Jesse Pratt. “THC Emergency Grant Results.” Trans Housing Coalition. October 2, 2020. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/announcements/tknu606g2gv1oi366jhr9apsw5xypm.
  5. Fleming, Mike. “Fund for homeless black trans women hits $3M, buys permanent housing.” Project Q Atlanta. June 8, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.projectq.us/fund-for-homeless-black-trans-women-hits-3m-buys-permanent-housing/
  6.  “Trans Housing Coalition Fund.” GoFundMe. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.gofundme.com/f/trans-housing-coalition-fund.
  7. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. “BLACK LIVES MATTER 2020 IMPACT REPORT.” Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/2020-impact-report/.
  8. “Jesse Pratt López. VOUGE. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/contributor/jesse-pratt-lopez.
  9. [1] Willis, Raquel. “Across the South, a Trans Housing Movement Grows.” VOUGE. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/article/across-the-south-a-trans-housing-movement-grows?fbclid=IwAR2FnPXv1BxjDMbhBoBRAa3vLMrI044UitriYAnCM_oDJO6iUjlIIxNKQc4.
  10. Fleming, Mike. “Atlanta artist raises $2.5M for homeless black trans women.” Project Q Atlanta. June 19, 2020. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.projectq.us/atlanta-artist-raises-2-5m-for-homeless-black-trans-women/.
  11. “Our People.” Trans Housing Coalition. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/our-people.
  12. “Our Story.” Trans Housing Coalition. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/our-story.
  13. López, Jesse Pratt. “THC Emergency Grant Results.” Trans Housing Coalition. October 2, 2020. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/announcements/tknu606g2gv1oi366jhr9apsw5xypm.
  14. Fleming, Mike. “Fund for homeless black trans women hits $3M, buys permanent housing.” Project Q Atlanta. June 8, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.projectq.us/fund-for-homeless-black-trans-women-hits-3m-buys-permanent-housing/.
  15. “Trans Housing Coalition Fund.” GoFundMe. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.gofundme.com/f/trans-housing-coalition-fund.
  16. “Trans Housing Coalition Fund.” GoFundMe. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.gofundme.com/f/trans-housing-coalition-fund.
  17. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. “BLACK LIVES MATTER 2020 IMPACT REPORT.” Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/2020-impact-report/.
  18. “Our Story.” Trans Housing Coalition. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/our-story.
  19. Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.snap4freedom.org/home.
  20. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. “BLACK LIVES MATTER 2020 IMPACT REPORT.” Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/2020-impact-report/.
  21. Fleming, Mike. “Fund for homeless black trans women hits $3M, buys permanent housing.” Project Q Atlanta. June 8, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://www.projectq.us/fund-for-homeless-black-trans-women-hits-3m-buys-permanent-housing/.
  22. “What We Do.” Trans Housing Atlanta Program. Accessed July 26, 2021. http://transhousingatlanta.org/what-we-do/.
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