We’ve done some house repairs at Casa Arcoiris for the past few days — a broken counter, rotting floorboards, bugs creeping through the floor. The residents don't know how much longer they’ll be living here, whether it’s because they'll find another house they can buy, or because they can no longer afford the rent. Even so, we wanted to make their stay at the house as comfortable and difnified as possible - no matter how long they'll call it home. Thinking along those same lines, it was easy to find our next project - new mattresses. Now that the house had been patched up and fumigated, we could safely replace some of the old, beaten down mattresses with new ones! This was an especially exciting development for residents who had been living in beds that had become the homes of bugs. Having a comfortable place to lay your head at night can make such a dramatic different in the quality of your sleep, and even the quality of your days. Having a new mattress not only helps … [Read more...] about A Soft Place to Sleep

We’re spending another day doing the doable with Casa Arcoiris, an LGBT migrant house in the heart of Tijuana. Today, we’ve focusing on getting everyone here a good night’s rest. The residents of the house live in a dorm-room style, with bunk beds tucked against the walls and a little bit of room in the middle for people to walk. We were happy to be able to fund the construction of several bunk beds when we met with Casa Arcoiris the first time in September. Living in such close quarters can be hard, but the residents all seem to take it in stride. But, some of the beds have bugs. We weren’t sure if they were bed bugs or fleas, but as soon as they showed up in one room, they started to spread. It was uncomfortable for the residents using these beds - something we couldn’t even imagine having to deal with long-term. Now that the counters had been fixed and floors repaired, making it harder for other insects to make the house their home, we decided to have everything … [Read more...] about Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite

When we sat down with the house members of Casa Arcoiris to talk about their ideas, there was a need that came up quickly and seemed to resonate with the whole group - fixing the kitchen counter. After talking things through, we asked to see it and could immediately understand why it stuck out to people. The wood underneath the tile had started to collapse and rot, causing some of the tiles to dive into the counter itself, and there were fruit flies surrounding the holes in the counter. We knew right away that this was something we wanted to help them address, and were excited when we found out they already knew a repair person who would be able to come fix it. We scheduled the repair, and while we had them there, we asked for to also fix some of the floor that had rotted away: the holes in the ground were letting critters come in and out of the house. This way, we’d be able to make sure that people didn’t get hurt stepping on the cracks and keep the house members away … [Read more...] about Keeping the Critters Out

The migrant home, Casa Arcoiris, is relatively new. But you wouldn’t know that by visiting. The community here is really strong and they support each other, not only emotionally and socially but also through shared house duties. The house is an intentional living community that provides a safe space and services to LGBT migrants, asylum seekers and deportees. It was founded in the summer of 2018 by a diverse group of activists, and has housed people from all over the world, from Ghana to Iran, Cuba or Jamaica, the community members come with many different experiences. When we sat down to talk with the house about what they wanted to do and how, we found out that their car battery had recently been stolen. This meant that the house members’ mobility was somewhat limited, and might prevent them from doing things they would otherwise. We made a trip to AutoZone in Tijuana and got a new battery that would get their extra large van and house members out and about again! It … [Read more...] about Get Your Motor Running

The residents of El Jardin have already experienced break-ins and vandalism in the past – as well as some anti-LGBT harassment on the street outside their residence. They were getting concerned about how they would protect the residents of the house, as well as their own items within it. El Jardin already has a robust, iron gate, whose door only had one key to let visitors in. And residents also decided to buy security cameras as a way to better protect the house. The problem was, they didn’t quite have enough money to get the cameras installed. The installation was going to be a bit over 500 dollars, because additional wiring had to be bought, and it would take lots of time to hook up everything properly. We decided to help them take that extra step by using the day to have the security cameras set up! This came as such a relief, now that the cameras weren’t just sitting in boxes on a shelf but doing what they were originally intended to do. Now they can rest a little … [Read more...] about Keeping an Eye Out

It's incredible how connected we are to our phones and computers - it's hard to imagine a world without it. So many people still rely on internet cafes, phones of family members and friends, or public internet access to get by. El Jardin De Las Mariposas, one of the LGBT houses we’re working with in Tijuana, has Wi-Fi that its residents can use. But they were missing both a computer and printer at the house. And while our phones have evolved to be able to do many things, this still presented a problem, especially when they need to print out paperwork for a house member planning to seek asylum in the U.S. They also needed a desktop computer to manage a home security system that would provide their residents more security. We decided to help them set up a computer in a small office downstairs, and have a printer installed at the house! Monica, the on-site psychologist, and Jaime, who helps run the organization, were both so excited. The day after we set both items up, … [Read more...] about Plugged In

We’re still here in Tijuana, soaking in the Baja California sun and working with yet another amazing LGBT refugee community, El Jardin De Las Mariposas! Founded in 2011, El Jardin houses LGBT persons struggling with addiction, many of whom are also refugees. It was founded by a Mexican woman named Yolanda who herself struggled with addiction, and was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) by a transgender woman many years ago. When the trans woman later died of AIDS, Yolanda dedicated her life to supporting the LGBT community struggling with addiction. She and her son, Jaime, don’t live at the house, but they do all they can to make sure it runs smoothly. The organization first got a physical house in 2013, and has since moved locations to a nicer house in a quiet neighborhood. Even though they’ve been steadily improving the services and building increasingly strong community, there are still some things that their budget hasn’t allowed them to achieve. We wanted to … [Read more...] about A Place at the Table

Today is our last day working with Casa de Luz, a cozy collective house for LGBT migrants near the beach in Tijuana. While we’re sad to say goodbye, we’re excited that our last evening together as a group will be in celebration! When speaking with house members about what they wanted to do to celebrate our time together, Irving mentioned the idea of going to a movie. Many of the house members were waiting to cross the border and seek asylum, and the waiting process can feel incredibly long, like being in limbo with nowhere to go, nothing to do. For one house member, the day to cross was in sight - his number was going to be called in the next couple of days. But he was starting to feel anxious about crossing and going through the process. Irving said that something like a movie would be a fun way to ease the tension for both him and the rest of the house - even for just a couple of hours. So we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a cake - an Oreo cake to be specific - … [Read more...] about A Night Out

Many of us like the idea of being able to do things ourselves, and the house members at Casa de Luz in Tijuana are no exception. In fact, there are many ways in which they want to take self-sufficiency to a whole new level. Not only did they do the work to put up wooden reinforcements to protect the house members from falling through railings or down the stairs, but they even have a bicycle-pedal operated washing machine! This helps them keep down on their electric and water bill and be as environmentally friendly and self-sufficient as possible. But in order to do things yourself, you need the tools to do so. To get them a little closer to where they wanted to be, we got them some helpful things for the house — a hose to drain water from their washing machine, hooks for hanging bikes, poles for hanging clothes, a bathmat, saw, some nails, whatever they needed to supplement the supplies they already had. Not even a full day after these were purchased, someone had already … [Read more...] about Working Together

Living with dignity means access to things that help you live and feel healthy. Casa de Luz was already making delicious and nutritious food, but access to getting regular exercise was a little bit trickier. Some house members would go down to the beach and use some of the free, outdoor exercise equipment, but this option proves harder for LGBT people – particularly transgender and gender non-conforming residents - who often face harassment in public places. This was a problem we could solve. We set out to get gym equipment that works for many different types of exercise - the jump rope can be used for indoor cardio, weights for strength training, and a yoga ball and two mats for restorative exercise. Seeing the exercise equipment spread a quick smile across some of the house members’ faces. As many of them spend most of their time at home, their new "gym" offers an alternative activity to do within the confines of the house - and stay fit at the same time. … [Read more...] about Living with Dignity