Hello, we're Alice (22, it/she) and Xena (20, it/it's) a trans lesbian couple in Newmarket, UK. This fundraiser is a general fund to help us with costs, we are struggling massively in the face of transition costs, prescription costs, rent, bills and fuel costs as well as food costs. Alice had to quit her job on the railway due to mental health issues while Xena works full time as a delivery driver, and we haven't been able to access any state support beyond getting a council flat.

Transition is expensive, especially when the NHS won't let you access it, and sourcing estrogen, progesterone and blockers is a big cost we are facing right now. We also need to buy new clothes and pay for the changes to our documents (new passports are expensive!) and with our current income and savings this aren't expenses we can easily spare at present.

The NHS has repeatedly shut Alice out of the mental health support she needs, including talking therapies ("too high risk"), community mental health teams ("too low risk") and dedicated BPD services ("not the right place at this time"), from dealing with transphobic GPs who wont take concerns seriously, to mental health staff who care more about "having made the right decision at the time" than offering literally any support to someone actively suicidal. As a result, she is currently unable to manage her complex needs as someone with BPD, Autism and likely ADHD, and without any support is unable to get back into employment, or cope with the process of Universal Credit and PIP claims alone.

We recently moved to a council flat in Newmarket, and the costs of buying white goods and furniture have drained our savings and placed us in debt. In the medium term, we hope for Alice to return to employment (likely part time) with the right mental health support in place, which may include paying for therapy as accessing this through the NHS has been exceedingly difficult.

In the longer term, both of us hope to be able to get gender affirming surgeries and any extra money would be set aside for this or other emergency costs that come up, including dental care, which has been a recurring issue.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, we really appreciate any donations of any size, as well as sharing this fundraiser! :)