Kimi's Gender-Affirming Care Fund

Welcome and thank you to everyone who reads this. I'm Delaney, a Philadelphia public defender, painter, and musician. I'm creating this fund on behalf of my partner Kimi, the most beautiful, brilliant, and impactful woman I have ever met.

Mattie Chaya Kimberly Klauser ("Kimi" for short) is a blind queer Jewish musician who has been giving to the Philly music community for as long as I've known her. She has created hundreds of queer spaces and shows, given platforms to so many marginalized artists, opened her home to thousands of music lovers, and has spent countless hours building up others and helping them succeed. The world needs her, I need her, and in order for her to continue to give as much as she does, she needs your support.

Throughout our entire relationship, Kimi has fought tirelessly to become the person she's always wanted to be. I've seen her be a thousand different versions of herself, and I've been more in love with each new iteration of her. Although her transition has included physical changes, the most important change has been mental. The space in her brain that was once occupied with self-hatred is now filled with love for others and herself. The reduction of her gender dysphoria has created so much more room for kindness, empathy, creativity, peace, and personal growth.

This pursuit of joy and peace has been long, lonely, and expensive. We've already spent over $4,000 on laser hair removal, at least $1,000 in medical co-pays, plus an endless stream of money on vocal therapy, occupational therapy, medications, testing, and other gender affirming care. I also had the honor to be Kimi’s attorney for her legal name change in April of 2023!

All these efforts have had an immeasurably positive impact on Kimi's quality of life and overall well-being. But as the inner peace and joy increased, so did the danger of transphobia. Every ounce of comfort she has attained has been undermined by transphobic harassment, abuse, hostility, and violence, not the least of which has come from her own family.

This contrast between internal peace and external violence has led us to the biggest challenge we've ever faced. Kimi is beginning the scariest and most expensive stage of this journey with her first surgical procedure on January 11th, 2024. The goal of this surgery is to truly feel joy and personal comfort while reducing experienced transphobia. Transphobic interactions put her mental and physical safety at risk, and any reduction in transphobic experiences would make a world of difference to her safety and well-being.

We've done everything we can to raise money in our own community. So many people have donated their time, art, songs, skills, and money towards this goal. We raffled off gifts and services. We hosted a three-day music festival fundraiser, featuring eleven of our favorite local Philly musicians. We've done everything we can to raise money without family support, and found tremendous care and love in the people around us. But our friends alone are not enough to cushion the incredible expense of these procedures.

Over the next year, Kimi will be getting multiple hours-long facial feminization procedures. On January 11th, a team of surgeons at Penn Hospital will be moving her hairline, changing the shape of her brow and eyelids, widening her cheeks, and shaving her trachea. When this round of surgery heals, she will proceed to a second phase of facial feminization, which will include hair restoration costing between $4-8,000.

All the money we raise will go first towards immediate medical expenses, and any additional money will make up for lost income and cost of living expenses during Kimi's recovery. These procedures are medically necessary to achieve congruence between how Kimi feels, how she perceives herself, and how the world perceives her. I have no doubt that this surgery will allow her to be treated with greater kindness in the world. And since it’s especially hard to be facing all this without Kimi's family to support her, I hope that you all can show her the love and support she deserves. Thank you again for reading; even the gift of your time means more to us than I could ever express.