Hello, I created this GoFundMe because I need financial help.

I am someone who recently underwent vaginoplasty, a surgery I needed my entire life in order to live fully and feel at peace with myself. Thank God, the surgery was covered, but I am currently facing many financial difficulties.

I know some people may ask, “Why did you have this surgery if you were not in a good financial situation?” It’s hard to understand, but gender dysphoria is something very intense, especially as an intersex person. I was born with different physical characteristics: I have female hormones and feminine traits, but I had intermediate genitalia. This prevented me from living my life normally. I felt like a woman, but my body did not fully allow me to live that reality.

Not having fully developed genitalia, neither male nor female, caused me a lot of insecurity and difficulty forming relationships. I don’t have many friends because I fear being judged, and growing up I was bullied when people found out about my condition. This made me a very reserved and isolated person.

I currently live in an abusive household and have since I was 12 years old. I do not have my own room: I share a space with my grandfather, who is transphobic and constantly insults me. Many of us live in a very small space. I have no privacy, not even for basic things like dilating, changing, or properly recovering from my surgery. I sleep in a bunk bed and have never had a personal space.

My only support has been my mother, who has been with me throughout this entire process. After my surgery, I had to stay at the Ronald McDonald House to recover in a safe and adequate environment, since my home was not suitable for recovery.

My mother works, but she does not earn much. She has wanted to divorce since 2020, but my father refuses. He has psychologically abused her, controls her finances, and takes advantage of the fact that she does not speak English. In the past, there was also physical abuse, but we were unable to gather evidence. This stopped after I began calling the police whenever he came home drunk or aggressive. Even so, there is still constant yelling, threats, and emotional abuse, including toward my sisters.

I have tried to leave this situation by looking for work, but I have been rejected when employers see that I was assigned a male name and sex at birth. This is something many intersex people face, where decisions are made for them at birth. I have also applied for jobs at my university, but I have been placed on waiting lists.

Because of all this, I need financial help. I want to support my mother so we can afford legal assistance, leave this abusive environment, and move into an affordable apartment in New York with my sisters.

I also need help to:

- Pay for medications and post-operative care needs

- Continue my education without having to drop out to work full-time

- Cover basic expenses like food

- Buy food for my cat

We currently do not even have proper access to benefits like SNAP, because my stepfather controls the card and does not use it for us. He also keeps tax refund money and other state benefits for himself, spending it on personal interests like DJ equipment instead of supporting his family.

He has said himself that he does not want to get divorced because he does not want to lose the financial benefits he receives for having us as dependents. This keeps us trapped in this situation.

As an intersex person who has transitioned, I am asking for help from my community and from anyone who can empathize with my story. I was very afraid to create this fundraiser because I feared judgment, but we have been through so much, especially my mother, and we no longer know where else to turn.

Any donation, support, or even sharing this campaign would mean so much to us. We just want a chance to live in peace, safety, and dignity.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.