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

When you move into a new house, it can take a while to learn the little idiosyncrasies of the place and the right place for all your things. For the residents of Casa de Luz in Tijuana, this was an especially interesting task. They needed a lot of space to be able to fit as many people as they had, and decided to rent out an old club to be their new home since it had lots of space. But this meant figuring out where people would stay and sleep, and what that might look like. They decided to set up one area specifically for families, and another for solo LGBT refugees, many of whom felt most comfortable in a pitched tent in the house that offered a little bit more privacy. One thing they hadn’t quite figured out was how to keep everyone safe. A small child could easily slip through one of the many railings they had, or stumble down the stairs. To help solve this, we decided to stop by a second-hand shop with more things than you could have imagined — lots of old scrap … [Read more...] about From Club to Crib

One of the hardest things about communal living is keeping things straight and organized. When you live in a house of thirty people, it’s easy for things to get out of hand — dishes piling up, food spilling out of the fridge, bathrooms that need a thorough cleaning. Casa de Luz already does a great job of keeping things clean and orderly. But the residents recognized that they could only do so much with the materials they had. When we met with them to brainstorm ideas about what they wanted, the need to stay more organized came out loud and clear. To remedy this, we bought a couple of different things...For the kitchen, we bought two tall shelves to house items that were otherwise sitting on the floor in plastic bins. We also bought some whiteboards and whiteboard markers to help them break up different house duties. When we got back from the store, the shelves went up pretty instantly. Everyone was so excited about the new whiteboards, trying to figure out what part of … [Read more...] about Good Organization Makes Good Roommates