At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I lost my housing, my education, and my income. My family disowned me and my boyfriend because he is Asian. They were blinded by fear and it turned to hatred, telling me that I no longer had space in their home. Without a place to go, we moved in with our friends, unable to pay rent or contribute to the household as we both had lost our jobs and sources of income.

We tried to search for jobs but couldn’t find anything to support us. All the while we were afraid of what would come next if we would contract COVID-19 if our families would be put in harm’s way if we would get kicked out of the home we were invited into if my boyfriend would face more misguided discrimination. We were scared to leave the house we were staying in but needed to stand on our own feet. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world and there is nowhere safe to hide from the virus.

I took a job and felt nervous about the danger I was putting myself, my boyfriend, and my hosts in. The workplace was negligent about safety protocols and I almost immediately contracted COVID-19. Thankfully, I survived and my friends and boyfriend did not contract it. This made me so thankful for the roof over my head and the new support system we had found. We’re still scared of the hatred towards Asians but very thankful for our new family.