Help Kaiden and Mel relocate to a safe place!

Kaiden and Mel need your help!

Kaiden and Mel are a trans couple living in Orlando, FL and need to relocate urgently due to the passage of dangerous bills that will severely restrict gender-affirming care for adults and criminalize trans people for using restrooms that align with their gender starting July 2023. Kaiden and Mel have been struggling to cope with the increasingly anti-trans atmosphere in Florida for a while, but these bills are creating an immediate emergency that does not allow them to stay. Kaiden and Mel will no longer be able to receive healthcare coverage or access their gender-affirming care, including medications and routine check-ups. Their primary healthcare provider, an inclusive LGBTQ+ health clinic in Orlando that provides care to thousands of people in and out of state, will also be barred from administering ANY care entirely .

Some extreme measures of the ban on gender-affirming care (SB 254) include imposing criminal penalties on providers who give gender-affirming care, taking licenses away from those providers, prohibiting Medicare and private-insurance companies from covering gender-affirming care for trans youth and adults, and allowing the state to remove trans children from their parents if they are receiving gender-affirming care. SB 254 is just one of many anti-trans bills that has been passed or proposed in FL that will cause serious harm to Kaiden and Mel in their day-to-day lives.

No one deserves to have their basic needs and healthcare stripped away like this. No one deserves to have their identity banned and criminalized. Please help Kaiden and Mel relocate to a safe place where they can live and thrive together! Any amount you can give is so appreciated.

Relocation Plan

Kaiden and Mel’s plan is to relocate to Baltimore, MD, where Kaiden’s sister lives (she helped set up this fundraiser -- hi!). They are looking forward to living in a state that is supporting trans people by expanding access to gender-affirming care through the Maryland Trans Equity Act .

Kaiden and Mel are trying to move as soon as possible, sometime between June and August of 2023. Your donations will help them get to a safe place sooner!

Relocation Expenses

Like many people living in the United States, Kaiden and Mel live paycheck to paycheck. They do not have the funds needed to relocate to another state on such short notice. Here is a list of their planned relocation expenses for transparency.

Early-termination fees for current lease: $1,875

Moving container to ship belongings: $2,640

Move-in costs for a new home (application fees, security deposit & pet fees): $2,200

Flight tickets to Baltimore (including pet fare for 2 cats): $800

Total expenses: $7,515

Any funds raised that exceed their needs will be redistributed directly to other trans folks needing relocation assistance.