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10th and final 'Team Abad Coat Drive’ to take place for transwomen in Detroit
The coat drive has offered a safe space, a warm meal and those winter essentials to so many people who stay in that neighborhood.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - It is one woman's mission to help an under-served community stay warm.
Julisa Abad sorts through the many donations coming in for her annual 'Team Abad Coat Drive’ on Dec. 15 to benefit the area's transgender community.
"it's going to keep someone safe in my community. It's going to keep them from freezing this winter," she said. "Basically anything that people are going to need in the wintertime, I try to provide."
Coats, hats, gloves, socks, and even toiletries because this community is especially vulnerable.
"A lot of trans women are displaced," she said. "As we know, the life expectancy for a trans woman of color is 35-60% of transwomen experience homelessness. 40% of them are unemployed."
But this coat drive, held each year at Menjos on McNichols, offers a safe space, a warm meal and those winter essentials to so many people who stay in that neighborhood.
"I usually do it in the 6 Mile and Woodward area because that's unfortunately where a lot of trans women of color have to do survival sex work, so I want to make sure that the community that needs it the most is able to utilize the resources," she continued.
She's collecting those donations at Corktown Health which will also be the site for Abad's next name change clinic coming up on Dec. 6 - offering trans people in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties free legal help to change their names and gender markers.
"To date, we've been able to facilitate and help 591 trans individuals in Michigan, so I'm really proud of that."
She is also really proud of the coat drive that's coming up on Dec. 15 at Menjos, which will be her tenth and final year for the event.
"I want the community to come out, support. It is my last coat drive it is the most special one to me, I've been doing it for ten years. I can't even imagine that it's been this long, it has been a monumental service for my community and I just really want them to enjoy the last one."
You can drop off those new and gently used coats and other donations at Corktown Health, at 1726 Howard in the city of Detroit. You can also check out their GoFundMe by tapping here.