Unfortunately, Florida has become an increasingly hostile and unsafe place for trans people to live, and my family and I are being forced to cut our ties here and flee to safety. We are asking for your help and support so that we can (a) pay for us to break our lease in Florida, and (b) afford the expenses of relocating (travel, gas, meals).

My name is Jude Speegle. I am a transgender activist, husband, parent of two young children, and a writer. I have lived in Florida for twenty-two years, which is a majority of my life, and have resided in Volusia County this whole time. I grew up in Deltona. Yes, the same city where Representative Webster Barnaby called me, my family, and my friends "mutants, demons, and imps" straight to our faces.

The political landscape in the U.S. has been changing and worsening so quickly that many people aren’t aware of how terrifying and dangerous it is for a trans person simply to exist.

We can no longer call Florida our home, not when they're banning people from bathrooms, banning inclusivity, banning identity and diversity. How are we supposed to thrive when we're being treated like subhumans?

I love Florida. I live three miles from the beach, work a good and rewarding job, and feel comfortable here. I go hiking regularly and revel in the beauty this world has to offer. But the illusion of safety has been cracking this past year, and the shadows are snaking their way in.

It's a lie. I am not comfortable nor safe here, and neither are my children. Every day brings fresh news of some additional horror proposed by a legislator - something else that will further grind trans people into the ground.

The threat looms over us, heavy and intoxicating. We all know where this is headed, and it's that I could lose custody of my children not only for being transgender, but because I may have to provide gender affirming care in the future for my eldest.

Let me spell it out for you: I AM SCARED. I AM TERRIFIED. We are not safe here and it's only going to get worse.

I want my children to thrive, to feel safe as they grow up, to feel free to explore their identity in peace. I want my husband to stop fearing for my safety every time I leave the house, because as a visibly trans person, my very existence is a threat, every hour of every day.

I want to be able to sleep at night without being haunted with the fear that my children, my friends, my family will be hurt. The fear is all-encompassing and ever present; it suffocates and smothers us all. I no longer feel safe even doing things like going to the grocery store, because we are surrounded by hate on all sides. My husband and I try and protect our children as much as possible, but they can feel our terror, no matter how much we try and keep it from them.

I don’t want to be asking this. I don’t want to be forced from my home; I don’t want to lose the only community I’ve ever known. But I can’t allow the people I care about most to be afraid for their safety and mine anymore.

This is where you come in. We need to get out, and to get out we need help. Plans are in the works to get us to a safe state, but our lease isn't up until February 2024. The cost to break the lease is money we don't have. The cost to move an entire family is money we don't have.

We are planning to move to Connecticut, which is one of the safest states in the U.S. for trans people. The sooner we can leave, the better– many of the most horrific bills pending in the Florida legislature will go into effect on July 1st.

I need help. My family needs help. Please. Help us.

Step by step, our humanity is being stripped away. We are being made subhuman. I am begging for our lives.

We are deeply thankful for any assistance you can provide. Please know that we will pay it forward, a thousand times over.

I will update periodically with our plans etc. as we solidify them.