A TRANS COLLEGE STUDENT IN A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT NEEDS YOUR HELP.
One of my close friends named Brent (pictured above, he’s the one with short black hair and glasses) is in an extremely dangerous situation.
To give you a little background information, Brent’s a transgender individual living with two extremely conservative parents who show zero respect for Brent’s gender identity, preferred pronouns and name, and little sympathy for his overall well-being. We met this fall at Bowling Green State University, and I became one of his close friends over the year. This year has been huge in terms of him coming out as trans and developing confidence in his gender expression. He’s made so much progress and I’m incredibly proud of him, but he’s had major fallbacks in terms of his relationship with his parents. They stopped paying for his schooling for a period of time (which nearly caused him to leave school), have put him through a disgusting amount of emotional abuse because of a past sexual identity and his current gender expression. They don’t believe in gender expression or identity other than the one assigned at birth, and refuse to acknowledge that it’s something that Brent’s been dealing with throughout his entire life. They thoroughly believe being Trans* is a choice, and this is something he has been persuaded to do.
They believe that the individuals he has befriended at Bowling Green State University have caused this change, and they don’t understand the support he’s received. They don’t believe someone who identifies as trans* can lead a successful life and that this “behavior” shouldn’t be “encouraged”. Because of this, they’re forcing Brent to transfer to another nearby University (University of Toledo) and commute every day, which would be extremely hazardous to Brent’s mental well-being.
Brent would be completely cut off from those who support him the most, including myself, his girlfriend, and his sports team, and would be completely and utterly at the whim of his parents. His parents have tried seeking therapists to “fix” this issue, and force Brent to present in a way in which goes against his preferred gender expression.
Understandably, this takes a huge toll on Brent’s mental health. He has already begun falling into a depression because of his current situation, and is a risk to himself in terms of self harm and suicidal thoughts.
This is our final hope for keeping Brent at Bowling Green State University where he has an overwhelming support system, and is in a lgbtq+ positive environment. Brent’s girlfriend and myself have set up a indiegogo fundraiser in which we are attempting to raise enough money to pay for this upcoming school year.
Our goal is roughly $10,000, and literally any possible donation can help Brent continue his college education at the university he’s currently attending.
If you can’t donate money, which is completely understandable, PLEASE HELP BY REBLOGGING THIS POST. The more we can spread this post around the better and it’s just as important as any donations made.
I know this post is extremely long, but one of my best friend’s mental sanity is on the line and it’s so important to me that we at least try to raise a little money to help him. This is our last hope and I know I’ve seen tumblr do so many wonderful things.
Here’s the link where you can donate: http://igg.me/at/brent-at-bowling-green/x/7677726
Thank you so so much, and please signal boost.
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