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Influencer RaeShanda Lias on Surviving Homelessness, Advocating for the LGBTQ+ Community, and Mobilizing a Movement

Addison Herron-WheelerBy Updated:7 Mins Read
From the depths of personal financial crisis to becoming a celebrated internet personality and powerful advocate, RaeShanda Lias has built a platform on unwavering honesty, resilience, and a commitment to lifting up marginalized voices. Known for her outspoken nature and ability to mobilize action, Lias’s journey is a testament to the power of starting over and never giving up. Recently, she has been working with many nonprofits, including Denver’s own YouthSeen and Black Pride, to uplift Black and queer voices.  The Road from Crisis to a Home Lias’s path to advocacy began with a devastating personal setback. After graduating from Kentucky State University and serving as a veteran, she resigned from her job and cashed out her retirement and army benefits to return to her home state of Mississippi to start a nonprofit organization. The plan was shattered in a moment. “Within four months, I had about $30,000 roughly stolen from me by a family member,” Lias recounts. “And it left me … I found out the day before Christmas. So Christmas Eve, and I was so angry; I drove in the middle of the night with just the money I had on me, me and my children, we drove from Mississippi back to Kentucky.” She arrived in Louisville, a city she barely knew a few hours from where she grew up, and found temporary shelter thanks to a friend. The shock of having to start over financially while being a mother hit her hard. “I remember the moment going into that hotel room and going into that bathroom and just crying,” she said. “I had been through a lot in my life—teen pregnancy, domestic violence, divorce—but I never struggled financially.” Her focus immediately pivoted to action. “The only thing I could think of was, I have to start over, right? I have to get a job. I have to support myself and my family.” Starting with a temp service, Lias worked relentlessly. It took only a few months to make a remarkable leap. “I think March was me moving into a home here in Louisville. So we went from a one-room motel to a five-bedroom house that I had saved up for and worked for.” She credits an older gentleman who took a chance on her for sheltering her and her children.  From Plasma Donations to a Six-Figure Business Lias’s drive didn’t stop once she secured housing. Her journey in business was sparked by an unlikely suggestion from a follower of her Facebook page All is Fair in Love and Fashion.  “One of my followers suggested that I go into retail,” she recalls. While working at Sephora, she launched a clothing business that became a lifeline. “I started a clothing business that took me from selling plasma to pay bills to a six-figure business, and that changed my entire life.” The experience taught her the importance of community and giving back, even when she had little herself. “I was actually donating plasma to give out coats to people that followed me. So I didn’t even have and I was trying to give,” she says. “It’s always been a part of me to do that.” The Power of Being Seen: LGBTQ+ Advocacy Lias’s personal journey of identity is intrinsically linked to her public advocacy. “I’ve been a little lesbian since I was in second grade,” she jokes. Her coming out was a gradual process—telling her mother at 18 and even her ex-husband before marriage—driven by a core belief: “You really can’t stop being who you are for anyone and how uncomfortable that may be … When you stifle who you are, everybody suffers.” Her public LGBTQ+ advocacy grew most active when she settled in Louisville around 2016. She felt a duty to be visible. “When you are a high fem, people tend to forget that you may not be straight when you walk into a place, versus my fiancée or someone masculine presenting,” she explains.  “I always say I am a voice for the voiceless, or people that feel like they can’t say anything. I am big on … I don’t love a bully and a mean girl, and I think that we do better together to empower and uplift.” Her message for the community is simple: “I want people to know that they are seen, that my trans brothers and sisters are seen and loved and heard, that we all matter, and even though we are going to constantly be under attack, we’re not going anywhere.” Mobilizing for the Future Today, Lias is channeling her influence into major initiatives aimed at supporting and protecting the community. She recently partnered with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to promote their new financial planning tool. “They have a new app called the Worth It app, and it is for financial planning and setting up your future,” she explains. “And it is specifically for the LGBTQIA community. And I think that is amazing because I always tease everybody that … Now we need to save, just like everybody else.” “Our rights are under attack. So I want to stand there and be a voice; we can’t allow it to happen.” Lias was recently named one of Ebony‘s Power 100, an honor she deeply cherishes as recognition for using her voice for the LGBTQ+ community, the Black community, and women in general.

Battling Burnout and Embracing the Digital Mobilizer Role

In a political climate that is increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ rights, Lias stressed the importance of self-care for activists. “Number one, I have no problem with lying down,” she shared. “If I’m overwhelmed, I’m gonna go lay down … You have to take a moment and you have to recharge, because there is a community dependent on you.” She reminds people that activism isn’t only for those with large followings. “Platforms don’t really matter if you’re not using them correctly. You have to understand that you can make a difference at your dinner table. You can make a difference on your block, but what you can’t do is stop.” Lias is a staunch supporter of community organizations, including Youth Seen and Black Pride Colorado, which provide safe spaces and resources for BIPOC queer youth. “It is nice to know that there is a place for that,” she says.  She has used her platform to help these organizations raise mutual aid funds, clarifying her role as a connector. “I don’t call myself a content creator. I’m a digital mobilizer. I move people, and that’s what we need right now.” Looking to the future, Lias is considering a run for court office, is working on her own show, and is developing a Fireside Chat series with Black Pride Colorado called It’s Really Very Simple. “We’re going to get down to the nitty gritty of politics and how people who may not necessarily understand how the government works … (can) discuss the state of the country, but also what we can do once the conversation is over, and how we can take action,” she states. RaeShanda Lias concludes with a powerful affirmation of her mission: “I am always here for the underdog. I’m always here for not just the big things, but also the things that go under the radar that the news won’t cover or that we need to know.” Lias’s tireless work highlights a core truth: Personal trauma can be transformed into public power, driving change and providing a voice for those who feel unseen. Photo Credit: Flor Blake
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Addison is Executive Editor of OFM as well as President of the OUT FRONT Foundation.

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