Support Anastasia After Prison Medical Neglect

UPDATE: 8/25/2024

Hello everyone,

First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported me so far. Your generosity has helped me tackle a significant portion of my medical debt, and I couldn't have come this far without you.

Since starting this journey, I’ve raised $4,700 through GoFundMe and received another $1,000 directly. Additionally, I’ve personally managed to pay off $23,171.37 of my debt. This has been a challenging process, but thanks to your support, my remaining medical debt is now $33,138.63.

As I prepare for my upcoming gender-confirming surgery this winter, I’m making one final push for assistance. This surgery is essential for my health and well-being, but it also means I’ll be on short-term disability (SDI) during recovery, reducing my income. I’m asking for your help to chip away at my existing medical bills so I can focus on my recovery without the added financial stress.

I want to emphasize that any donations will go directly toward my medical debt. My friends and family are stepping in to help with other needs, so your contributions will be used solely to pay off my existing medical loans.

I can’t thank you enough for your continued support. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a significant difference. Together, I believe we can get through this, and I’m so grateful to have such a compassionate community by my side.

In Solidarity,

Anastasia Franco (She/her)

UPDATE 12/1/2023: Thank you everyone who has donated so far, I have used this money to pay down my medical debt. Wednesday 11/29/2023 I was assessed the final half of the procedure and adding the final $28,500 plus interest to my existing debt. I also have surgery this coming Monday the 4th. With this new debt, my current expenses now exceed by income by about $1,000 per month so any help would be greatly appreciated. Lastly, while I have ways to donate to me directly (see below), my three loans are through Care Credit, Alpheon, and Lending Tree. I give you the payment instructions if you email me, You can donate directly to the existing loans if you'd like. Again, thank you all so much. Eventually, I will get past this.

In Solidarity,

Anastasia Franco (She/her).

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Hi, my name is Anastasia. I am a formerly incarcerated, trans-feminist activist, abolitionist, and person of color. I am humbly requesting your help in covering my dental bills, which will total almost $60,000.

Being in prison meant not receiving adequate dental care for 17 years. In 2007, prison dentists extracted all but 9 of my molars. Years of no front teeth left me with severe alveolar ridge bone degradation (bone loss in the upper arch of my mouth and jawbone, where the teeth used to be).

Why do I need dental implants? Medically, I have a hereditary condition called Enamel Hypoplasia, which causes my teeth to be more susceptible to tooth decay. When prison dentists extracted nearly all of my teeth so long ago, I was left in a position where implants are really the only viable solution. Socially, as a trans-activist and abolitionist, I am personable with a lot of people. I would love to eat my favorite foods, talk with comfort, and smile with confidence again.

After being incarcerated for 17 years, I don’t have savings or a safety net to draw from for this support, which is why I am asking my beloved community to support me by donating to my GoFundMe Page, to help cover these medically necessary dental procedure costs which will total almost $60,000, paid in two installments. I have already finished one dental procedure which cost me $28,000, and will have the second procedure this October, after my healing is complete, which will cost another $28,000. I don't have the money to pay for my second procedure or the ability to get more credit to cover it and am in medical loan and credit card debt for the first procedure. I have realized the predatory nature of these loans after advocating to the loan company regarding unexpected fees and urgently need to come out from under this new debt. Further, delaying the next procedure could mean risking more advanced degradation and a more invasive and more expensive procedure. (Note: GoFundMe is taking approximately 9.33% from the donations, so I am increasing the goal from $56,000 to 62,000 to help cover those fees. - Added 6/12/23)

Your kind donation will help pay my existing medical loans, allow for the completion of my procedure, and allow me to continue the hard work of trans-rights activism, abolishing the prison industrial complex, and supporting marginalized people in our community.

Thank you in advance for any amount you can contribute and for sharing this with your friends and networks. Even a small amount would go a long way to helping me feel like I am not in this alone.

You can also donate directly by Venmo (@Anastasia-Franco-23), PayPal (PayPal.Me/AnastasiaFranco1134) or CashApp ($AnastasiaFranco23) if you prefer. I also invite you to check three rad groups I work closely with. Flying Over Walls <- website, or Instagram, a Bay Area-based queer/trans prison abolitionist collective for more info on our work & how you get involved/support! TGIJP, works to end human rights abuses against transgender, intersex, and gender-variant people, particularly trans women of color in California prisons and detention centers, and Critical Resistance seeks to build an international movement to end the prison industrial complex (PIC) by challenging the belief that caging and controlling people makes us safe.

In Solidarity,

Anastasia Franco (She/her).