(trumpet playing jazz)
♪ ♪
KAYLA GORE: There's richness in this soil.
I envisioned four walls,
a window,
a door,
maybe a porch.
I'm a visionary.
(rock music playing)
I am Kayla Gore.
And I'm a trans advocate
and founder of My Sistah's House.
We were thinking like, how can we prevent trans people
from having to sleep on the back porch of the community center?
We had to create a space because no one
was going to make this space available for us.
So we started housing people.
Elian in her apartment.
Myself in my family home.
We just wanted to make sure
that they could have safety and comfort.
And know that somebody cared about them.
(soft piano playing)
As a child, I knew I wanted to do something with people.
I knew I wanted to not be forgotten.
I just knew that I wanted to make my parents proud of me.
♪ ♪
A little over 10 years ago, I started my transition.
I found myself experiencing homelessness.
And started hanging out with folks who also experienced
homelessness who were also transgender.
And I'm seeing this,
I'm being welcomed into a space as I am.
And I had never been in a space so welcoming
as a transgender person in the south.
I think it was divine intervention
that put me in that space for a year
and allowed me to be home.
Allowed me to be who I am.
And I wanted to pay that forward.
I wanted to make sure
that people felt like they could thrive.
And it felt like they live.
We started The Tiny House Project to provide homes
for trans people in need.
We want to build a four walls,
windows, doors, sink, bathroom.
Our architectural design firm DKGR,
they came in very eager to help.
And they have helped us in so many tremendous ways
with the designs of the home.
-So there'll be more side-to-side.
-That'll be nice to see all the way through.
Kind of have the natural light flowing all the way.
-The process of going from idea
to then what we're seeing here,
built space.
It's amazing.
-I was on board because of the nature of the project.
But once I found out a little bit more about Kayla, I had questions.
Because of my Christian faith.
So I reached out to my Pastor,
and he agreed that I was making the right decision.
I felt it was the right thing to do because I believe
everyone needs affordable and decent housing.
And I know I can provide that.
-I just don't think that you could do anything
more satisfying than give somebody
something that helps them sustain their life.
KAYLA: Do I belong here?
Should I stay here?
Should I continue to live?
And the answer that we came up with
at My Sistah's House is yes,
you should continue to live and thrive.
And we're hoping that we can provide that
in our community land trust with our Tiny House Project.
(blues music)
Not always do we get the opportunity
to relish in our victories or our accomplishments.
Because it's such a rampant and consistent attack on our community
that we have to stay on our toes.
And we have to stay fighting for the liberation
of all people, not just trans folks.
But of all people.
In a time where there's so much anti-trans legislation,
the show of support from people all over the world
has really shown that there are people who care about us.
(serene music)
I believe that people have turned away from the communities
that we have specifically chosen to build in
because they're older black communities that are blighted.
That the homes have been demolished in certain areas.
That the people who are still there are seen as outcast.
But I see the beauty in the neighborhood
because I grew up in these spaces.
And I remember the richness that was there.
When we had black businesses on every corner.
Where there were houses occupying every lot
up and down the street.
And there were children able to play in the streets.
This is where I grew up.
And as you can see,
I'm standing literally where my bedroom used to be.
So there's no home here now.
This house here burned down.
There was a split tree,
where we would climb up both sides of it
and hang off the branches.
This is land, it's a beautiful place.
I am super excited and privileged,
and thankful and grateful
that I get to be a part of the revitalization
of a street that I grew up on.
Where my house that I grew up in, no longer exist.
That there's just green grass there.
Now we can build houses there where people can live
and thrive like they once did.
We're going to be the reason that gentrification doesn't happen
because we're acquiring all the land
that we possibly can in these areas.
And we're going to build some of the most beautiful homes
in our community land trust.
That's going to provide generational wealth
for the people who also grew up there.
When I see trans folks who are overcoming.
When I see trans folks who are overcoming obstacles
and the ones that survived like myself.
That gives me hope.
When I see young trans people,
that gives me so much hope.
And it gives me the drive and the ambition to continue this work.
Because it's not about me
and may not even be about the people
who are here and live right now.
We've got to do this work for
the people who don't even exist.
Because somebody did it for me
and I have to pay that forward.
I am a strong Black woman.
I am a strong Black trans woman.
I am resilient.
There's nothing I'd rather be in this world.