Hi! My name is Gigi. I'm a trans woman living with my transphobic family in an area without access to public transportation—the nearest bus stop is about three miles away on roads that largely have no streetlights or sidewalks, and very little shoulder area. So naturally, when my van's transmission failed in early October, my family has used the situation to isolate me from my friends, my community, and the ability to do even the most basic tasks for myself. This one bit of independence was crucial for both my mental health and my ability to find a better paying job. I've been able to stay somewhat afloat with my current position, but the van is financed and the cost of the payment and insurance eat up over half of my monthly take-home pay. So, I'm hoping to raise some money to help cover the cost of fixing it.

My dad has been working on the van, which has helped me save money compared to taking it to a shop, but it also gives another point of control to my parents, because if I upset them—which I'm prone to do just by existing, since they disagree with me transitioning on a fundamental level—then they can threaten me with the car not being worked on. It's also been botched to a level where, even if I raised the money to take it to a shop, I would either have to have them do some work on it to get it able to drive at all, or pay for a tow.

Taking the van to a mechanic would be between $4,000 and $6,000, but at $2,000 I could at least pay my parents back the money that they put into the van and get a transmission rebuild kit. It's still not an ideal situation, but I figure it's more achievable financially than being able to get a shop to work on it. Alternatively, I owe roughly $3,000 on it and being able to pay off the loan would allow me to be done with the car payment and change my insurance coverage while the van is still inoperable. This would save me several hundred dollars a month and allow me to attempt to save up money for whatever the ideal next step is.

My hope is that however I can resolve this, it'll allow me to get back to living my life, rejoin my community, and hopefully achieve escape velocity from my parents soon so I can finally be free of the constant control, harassment, and transphobia that has been my life.