Support a Trans Teen: Help a Family Find Safety

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted people,

It’s not easy to ask for help, but parents will do whatever they must to help their children. Our child came to us in early 2023 and let us know that she’s transgender. We celebrate our daughter and want her to live her best, authentic life! Unfortunately – we live in Florida, where that isn’t possible.

In Florida, Lyenna can’t access life-saving, gender-affirming care. We needed to travel out of state just to see a doctor who could prescribe the medications she needs. Even so, pharmacies can refuse to fill her prescriptions if the pharmacist opposes gender affirming care. In Florida, Lyenna can’t use the bathroom that aligns with her gender identity. If she were to use the women’s restroom, she could face up to a year in jail. Florida has been ground zero for bathroom bills, “Don’t Say Gay” laws, anti-drag laws, and other legislation that persecutes transgender individuals and their families. The increasing transphobia is especially scary when combined with the loosening of gun control regulations – Lyenna and her brother were already threatened by a man with a gun while walking their dog recently.

This attempt to erase transgender people and this genocidal legislation means that Lyenna does not feel comfortable socially transitioning. Thankfully, her family and her friends have been nothing but loving and supportive, but she still struggles daily with the pain, shame, and discomfort of gender dysphoria. Lyenna does not deserve this – like all people, she deserves to be able to live authentically without fearing for her life or her freedom.

Lyenna is a wonderful young woman who adores her calico cat, Ember, and her leopard gecko, Lea, both of whom have comforted Lyenna through tough times. She is a dedicated Dungeons and Dragons player and gamemaster – she participates in three long-term games with both family and friends, and she leads several other games with friends as well. She loves swimming at the beach and bouldering (climbing on rock formations without special gear).

With aspirations to a career in animal care or psychology, Lyenna worked hard during her high school years and earned a full scholarship to college and is now maintaining a high GPA. Even with all the work that entails, she also works nearly full time. She is such a valued employee that just a few months after being hired, she was approved for manager training and promoted. She is very financially responsible, saving all of her money for her future medical expenses as well as helping to fund our move to a safer state.

After four years of living in our RV, we settled down in Florida. This put us near our employers and allowed us to take advantage of Florida’s exceptional college scholarship programs, which we hoped would ensure all of our children had access to a college education. Prior to Lyenna’s coming out, we bought a fixer-upper with the intention of gradually renovating it over time, anticipating making Florida our permanent home.

However, we have had to rethink our future, given the recent wave of anti-transgender laws and the increasing transphobia in Florida. Unfortunately, we face some major obstacles – and this is where you can help us.

We have not had time to build equity in our home and several expensive repairs have come up since we purchased it, making selling it in its current state unfeasible. We need to make expensive plumbing and electrical repairs, as well as replace our HVAC system.

In addition, we have experienced the worst luck with car accidents since we moved here. We made it through our four years of full-time RVing without an accident – but since we settled down, we’ve had three cars totaled. Three! Further, about two months after buying a minivan to replace one of those cars, we discovered it needs a new engine. The truck that we need to tow our RV also needs extensive work done in order for it to be usable.

And we do need the truck, because the most affordable way for us to move to a safe state is to move back into our RV. The RV itself also has damage that needs to be repaired, but we're capable of doing that ourselves. Most of us are happy to return to the RV to keep Lyenna safe, but Lyenna’s mental health really suffered while living in the RV. Thankfully, Lyenna’s aunt is excited to share her home until we can find more suitable living arrangements.

We are hoping that you, our family and friends, are willing to help us provide Lyenna with a safe environment where she can be free to be herself and where she can receive the life-saving medical care she requires. Not only will you be keeping Lyenna safe, but you will be helping to keep our family together.

Your generous donations will go towards the following expenses, in addition to actual moving costs:

House Plumbing Repairs: $8,000

House HVAC Replacement: $6,000

House Electrical Repairs: $500

Minivan Repairs: $6,000

Truck Repairs: $3,000

As you can see, despite two full-time incomes (Lyenna’s parents) and two part-time incomes (Lyenna’s and her brother’s), we need your support. Lyenna is such a wonderful person and deserves to feel safe. She deserves to know that even if Florida’s government wants to outlaw her existence, her family and friends care enough to get her to safety.

We know that times are tight for many families right now. If you’re not able to support Lyenna financially, it would still help tremendously if you could share our fundraising efforts as widely as possible. Anything else you can think of to help would be greatly appreciated. If you happen to have kids who like to play Dungeons and Dragons, they can join me on Outschool! https://outschool.com/teachers/Rachel-Raum

Thank you for standing by us during this difficult time and helping us build a brighter future together. Your support is deeply appreciated.