<div>UPDATE March 2025: I have secured a career in Washington, along with an apartment! Any donations will go towards helping me get settled (furniture, bills, food, etc)!
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<div>Hi everyone! I’m <a href="https://youtu.be/jEZGfflocRg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Vanessa</strong></a>. I’m an autistic trans woman currently living in Northeast Ohio.
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<div>Like other trans Americans, the election of Trump to his second term was the actualization of a living nightmare.
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<div>The Republican Party spent approximately <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/11/06/after-donald-trump-s-victory-marketers-weigh-their-role-countering-divisive" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$215 million</a> on anti-transgender ads during the election.
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<div>You may recall that I <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-transgender-candidate-disqualified-elections-board-b1dd935b8f941bf5c2cae9aef98f96d1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>ran for office</strong></a><strong> </strong>late last year, and was disqualified in January. I made international news with that adventure, which put a target on my back.
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<div><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/heres-what-trump-said-hell-do-immediately-once-he-becomes-president-192532490.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trump has made it clear</a> as to what he has planned for people like me: “On day one, I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on gender-affirming care — ridiculous. I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.”
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<div><strong><em>At any age</em></strong><em>.</em>
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<div>Come inauguration, myself and millions of other trans Americans could <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/11/08/gender-affirming-care-providers-prepare-for-trump-administration-moves/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">very well lose our access to healthcare</a>. For me, that could well be a death sentence, as my body does not produce hormones naturally.
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<div>The false rhetoric being spread by Trump and the Republican Party puts my community in danger. Hate crimes are on the rise. Misinformation has run rampant.
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<div>I find myself in an extremely difficult situation. In public, I only sort of “pass.” I have been fighting my insurance to obtain <a href="https://www.wpath.org/newsroom/medical-necessity-statement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">facial feminization surgery</a>, but they have been denying it, despite the l<a href="https://www.them.us/story/aetna-facial-feminization-surgery-lawsuit-trans-women" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aw saying they must cover it</a>.
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<div>Additionally, should I lose healthcare, Ohio has no state-level protections, and with one of the most discriminatory state legislatures in the country, none will likely be put in place.
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<div>The first phase of my surgery starts around $11,000. That doesn’t include loss of business, expenses, extra fees, etc.
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<div><strong>With my safety in jeopardy, the urgency of escaping Ohio and obtaining this surgery has expanded exponentially.</strong>
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<div>While I plan on fighting insurance, that process can take years.
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<div>Additionally, the first portion of the money crowdfunded will go toward my relocation to Washington State in January. Ohio is not a safe place for me to live. It is only going to get worse with time.
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<div><strong>My fundraiser is twofold: to be able to quickly get surgery for both my intense dysphoria and my safety, and to have an emergency fund for my move.</strong>
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<div>I don’t want to leave. I’ll be leaving behind my son and the woman I love. But for trans people, we’re facing a life or death crisis.
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<div><strong>I need to run in order to continue to live.</strong>
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<div>Any money that I do not used will be paid forward to other Trans people for their own escapes.
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<div>Thank you!
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<div>Update: I found a job and an apartment in Washington! I’m a good $1500 short of what I need to move, but regardless I’m leaving Ohio on March 17th. Any help is greatly appreciated!
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Support Vanessa's Urgent Relocation and Surgery

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