Help Us Move To Escape Florida Anti-Trans Laws

Howdy y’all, I’m Logan. It’s a grim time for the transgender community in Florida. I am reaching out to ask for help with the goal of relocating myself and my partner Sarah (known as Thorn to friends) to Illinois, where we feel we will be safe and have access to the medical care we need.

Our Hormone Replacement Treatment provider has informed us that they can no longer lawfully provide us with the lifesaving treatments we need, and options to legally get it elsewhere are severely restricted as well as backed up by the thousands of other trans people in our area who now have to find new providers. The three doctors I’ve called so far each had over 6 month wait times for appointments- well after we will be out of medication. Stoping hormones after years of being on them poses significant health risks for both of us.

Our situation as it stands: I am a full time student as well as the main financial provider for myself and my partner, who is disabled and cannot sustain even a part time job. She is in the process of applying for disability and in the meantime doing what she can to make money doing writing commissions and submissions, which are few and far between. I lost my full time job in March and have been relentlessly applying to local retail and food service positions since then. In the past two months I have applied to over 30 jobs and received only one interview, with no word since. In that time I have burned through my savings, my credit limit, and some very generous help from friends and family simply feeding us, paying for our medications, and caring for our two pets. Thankfully we have a safe place to stay for now. I am now pivoting to applying for remote data entry work as I have experience with it in the past and would be able to keep the same job after the move. I have also finally given in and signed us up for food stamps so that the little money I have left can be stretch as far as possible. We plan to save up as much as we possibly can for this move, but given our short timeline we will not be able to do it entirely ourselves.

In Illinois we have friends and family, legal protections, and the bonus of a significantly lower cost of living. It's a no brainer. There is also a thriving queer community in the town we plan to move to, and I have already located a doctor who will provide us treatment.

Below I have listed the recent bills signed into law in Florida and how the effect Thorn and I directly and immediately.

SB 254 Prohibits state funds from being used to provide gender-affirming care. This means Medicaid will not be able to cover care-which will directly impact us as Thorn will soon turn 26 and no longer be on her parents healthcare plan, as well as myself 6 months later. Additionally this bill states that only Physicians (those with specific medical degrees) may prescribe hormones for gender affirming treatment. This means that nurse practitioners can no longer provide our medicine. Our clinic, served by nurse practitioners, treated over 5000 local patients for gender affirming treatment, and all of them will now be scrambling to the handful of local physicians willing (see SB 1580) to treat them.

SB 1580 allows FL healthcare providers to refuse service based on their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs. This is known as the “let them die” bill in our community as it allows EMTs and emergency room staff to deny us lifesaving care in the event of an accident or emergency. It also effects our ability to find new doctors as even now many providers choose simply not to learn how to provide gender affirming care, and refer patients elsewhere. Considering the current moral panic over trans issues these doctors now have a legal recourse to simply deny us care and move on with their day.

HB 1521 says that people must use restrooms aligning with their sex assigned at birth, and is punishable by misdemeanors and jail time. This bill is highly concerning to us because we are both visible trans and unable to pass at all times in public, and no matter which bathroom we chose there would still be room for bigots to question our right to be there.

Along with these bills comes the concern of increased violence against people like us inspired and encouraged by these lawmakers and those who follow them. I don’t think I need to tell you how scary it is to live in a state with virtually no gun control and where it is legal to shoot and kill a trans person under the “trans panic defense”.

So here’s the plan. We have approximately 5 months of hormones left each. Factoring in time to get established as patients in our new town we have to move within 4. Ideally I would like to aim to move as soon as possible however, considering the increasing safety risks.

Heres the breakdown of how we plan to use any funds donated here:

$5000- deposit, first months rent, turning on utilities, and associated fees

$2000- a moving truck to transport our belongings to Illinois, possibly movers since I am small and Thorn is disabled and furniture is heavy.

$1000- gas for the moving truck and my car, as well as lodging while we travel.

$1000- to fix my bedraggled car and ensure it survives the journey. I’ve been unable to afford important repairs for almost a year.

And finally $1000 to cover any unforeseen circumstances along the way, as well as anything we may need for the new apartment, and a small savings cushion.

If you've read this far thank you for your time and concern, and if you are unable to contribute it always helps to share our link with those around you.