Thrive House shelter for Black trans women and trans youth is not just a compassionate resource it is a lifesaving necessity rooted in the realities of systemic inequality, violence, and exclusion.

Our mission is to protect, house, and uplift Black transgender people in Texas by confronting systems that criminalize, displace, and endanger our lives. We provide affirming shelter and community led support while fighting anti-Blackness, transmisogyny, and state violence through advocacy, mutual

I grew up learning how to survive before I learned how to be seen. Every day, I navigate a world that questions my right to exist, yet I continue to choose myself. My identity was not handed to me. I fought for it, shaped it, and claimed it with intention.

Black trans people have played vital roles in queer liberation history. Icons like Marsha P. Johnson and Stormé DeLarverie helped spark the Stonewall uprising a turning point in LGBTQ+ activism. Their legacy lives on in the organizations that continue to advocate for safety, dignity, and rights.

* Housing instability across Texas is severe, especially for marginalized youth who may face family rejection, discrimination, or economic hardship.

I’m a Black trans woman living in Texas black trans women live at the intersection of multiple systems of oppression racism, transphobia, misogyny, and economic inequality within a political and social environment that is often openly hostile to our existence.

Before Thrive House, I was exhausted in every sense of the word. I was navigating life as a Black trans woman in Texas without stable housing, without safety, and without the kind of support that tells you, you matter and you belong here. Every day felt like a test of endurance. Not because I

Thrive House gave me shelter when I didn’t have any. A real place. A door that closed. A bed. Safety. The kind of safety where your body can finally unclench because you’re not watching your back every second.

Rooted in the belief that everyone deserves dignity and safety, our mission is to reduce homelessness, violence, and systemic barriers faced by Black trans people through trauma informed care, peer-led support, and holistic programming.

The shelter that helped me stood as proof that compassion can exist in a system that often fails people like me. It showed me that care can be intentional, that safety can be created, and that survival does not have to come at the cost of dignity.

Thrive House Shelter Saved My Life

At Thrive House, I wasn’t treated like a problem to be fixed. I was treated like a person worth investing in. Someone with a future. Someone whose life mattered. That belief shown through action, not just words helped me begin to rebuild myself piece by piece.

There’s a lot of talk about “community,” but when Black trans women are homeless, unsafe, or struggling to stay alive, that community often goes silent. Support dries up right when it’s needed most. And the systems that are supposed to catch people when they fall rarely extend that safety

Every young person deserves a safe place to call home a place where dignity, opportunity, and belonging are not just dreams, but realities. In Texas, Thrive House often associated with its emergency shelter programs and transitional housing like Thrive House) is doing just that for LGBTQ+ young

Burnout, Scarcity, and Internal Collapse
It’s also true that many people on the left are burned out, underpaid, and struggling themselves. But that reality has been weaponized to justify abandonment rather than solidarity. #SolidarityNotSilence #PerformativeAllyship

Across movements for racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights, Black trans and gender-diverse people have long been leaders from Stonewall to community care efforts today. Yet the very communities that contribute so much often receive the least support.

Being Black taught me resilience. Being trans taught me truth. Living in Texas taught me how powerful it is to remain soft, joyful, and unapologetic in a place that often demands silence. I am becoming more of myself with every step, honoring the woman I am and the journey it took to get here.