Jae Douglas is a 21-year-old Black and Latine trans femme advocate living in Tallahassee. Activism began after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting when Douglas helped organize a student walkout. At 15, Douglas experienced homelessness and connected with Capital Tea, which helped secure shelter and later opened a safe house where Douglas lives. Executive director Janel Diaz inspired Douglas to contribute, starting with administrative duties and progressing to conferences and events. Homelessness and childhood domestic abuse shaped Douglas's focus on providing resources and support for people with similar experiences. Survival skills from the streets inform Douglas's advocacy work.
I didn't go to that school, but just being in a Florida school, it really unsettled everyone, and I was just tired of the gun violence that was happening and the lack of care,
I had experienced lack of care my whole life from at home, and I kind of envied other children and having happy homes. And they can't even go to school without being petrified.
I think a lot of my activism skills come from survival. I feel, I always say, like the streets prepared me for the work that I'm in,
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