Help a Mentally Ill Transgender College Student
Donation protected
Context for above photo: I've hovered around 150-160 lbs since I reached my final height of 5'4". During quarantine, a number of factors detailed below have led me to now be about 120 lbs, the lightest I've been in my entire adult life.
Hi, I go by Jake. I'm an environmental science major and currently a junior in college. I suffer from depression, adhd, anxiety, and c-ptsd. I'm a transgender nonbinary, masculine leaning person (he/him, they/them) who currently is not out to their parents, due to understanding that my folks would have issue with it/disapproving in some ways). During quarantine I have been working overtime just to keep my head on my shoulders, as the aforementioned makes being a functional human a struggle during the best of times.
I was living on my own from May 2016 til October 2018, when I had to move back in with my dad and his wife due to health complications where I needed additional help and support. I had moved out previously due to there being tension and issues between my family and I. Since having those health issues and moving back home, I was able to make progress with getting back on my feet in some ways, including going back to university to finish my degree. Due to the course load and my own physical limitations, I had to quit the retail job I previously had to maximize my ability to succeed in school, and thus get scholarships I was relying on for both tuition and contributing financially at home.
With the quarantine now intensifying those preexisting issues, I've basically been forced to move out for the sake of my own health and well-being. I would like to be able to have a healthy relationship with my dad and his wife, but there are major issues on both of our ends. While I will do what I can to work on myself, I know there's aspects in there I can't control, which means that house is not healthy or safe for me to live in for the foreseeable future.
Currently, this means I'm couch surfing while figuring out next steps. I'm with a trusted friend, continuing to quarantine and keep everything clean and do what I can to not spread the virus. I still have some of my scholarship money, but not enough to support getting my own place, I can't return to my parents' place if I want to succeed academically and improve my physical and mental health. Because of this, my priority is to pull together some kind of savings so I can safely and responsibly move out of my parents' on a more permanent basis. (This was already my plan before things escalated to the point of having to move out right away, but I haven't been able to balance taking on work to make any kind of savings for rent and such since, ya know, 2020, and my parents being in at-risk groups for COVID.)
So, the aim of this GoFundMe is to provide me some degree of long-term funding. I'm not sure when I'll be able to work - I was hoping to pick up something during the winter break, but my home life has been wearing me down to the point that I'm currently working with my professors so that I can use that break to finish my courses, due to my falling way behind thanks to major anxiety at home (to the point that I felt unsafe eating with my parents home) and basically being kicked out around Thanksgiving.
The goal that I've put is overall what I would like to have by the time I move into a more permanent place. This would allow me to have at least several months' rent stashed away, so that I can focus then on just doing the best I can with my schoolwork, continuing to qualify for scholarships, and generally recovering physically and mentally.
I don't expect to meet this goal, but any bit you can toss my way will help me stay healthy and under a safe roof. This money is 100% towards daily needs - rent, groceries, anything that I know I won't be able to cover with my scholarship money.
Thank you for reading this wall of text. I hesitated a ton on writing this, because god knows I understand so many are struggling right now and I'm at least safe with a friend at the current moment, but I really don't have a long-term safety net thanks to the many aforementioned external factors. Spreading the word or chucking me a few dollars is deeply appreciated.
Stay safe, tell someone you care about that you love them, and thank you for your time.
Hi, I go by Jake. I'm an environmental science major and currently a junior in college. I suffer from depression, adhd, anxiety, and c-ptsd. I'm a transgender nonbinary, masculine leaning person (he/him, they/them) who currently is not out to their parents, due to understanding that my folks would have issue with it/disapproving in some ways). During quarantine I have been working overtime just to keep my head on my shoulders, as the aforementioned makes being a functional human a struggle during the best of times.
I was living on my own from May 2016 til October 2018, when I had to move back in with my dad and his wife due to health complications where I needed additional help and support. I had moved out previously due to there being tension and issues between my family and I. Since having those health issues and moving back home, I was able to make progress with getting back on my feet in some ways, including going back to university to finish my degree. Due to the course load and my own physical limitations, I had to quit the retail job I previously had to maximize my ability to succeed in school, and thus get scholarships I was relying on for both tuition and contributing financially at home.
With the quarantine now intensifying those preexisting issues, I've basically been forced to move out for the sake of my own health and well-being. I would like to be able to have a healthy relationship with my dad and his wife, but there are major issues on both of our ends. While I will do what I can to work on myself, I know there's aspects in there I can't control, which means that house is not healthy or safe for me to live in for the foreseeable future.
Currently, this means I'm couch surfing while figuring out next steps. I'm with a trusted friend, continuing to quarantine and keep everything clean and do what I can to not spread the virus. I still have some of my scholarship money, but not enough to support getting my own place, I can't return to my parents' place if I want to succeed academically and improve my physical and mental health. Because of this, my priority is to pull together some kind of savings so I can safely and responsibly move out of my parents' on a more permanent basis. (This was already my plan before things escalated to the point of having to move out right away, but I haven't been able to balance taking on work to make any kind of savings for rent and such since, ya know, 2020, and my parents being in at-risk groups for COVID.)
So, the aim of this GoFundMe is to provide me some degree of long-term funding. I'm not sure when I'll be able to work - I was hoping to pick up something during the winter break, but my home life has been wearing me down to the point that I'm currently working with my professors so that I can use that break to finish my courses, due to my falling way behind thanks to major anxiety at home (to the point that I felt unsafe eating with my parents home) and basically being kicked out around Thanksgiving.
The goal that I've put is overall what I would like to have by the time I move into a more permanent place. This would allow me to have at least several months' rent stashed away, so that I can focus then on just doing the best I can with my schoolwork, continuing to qualify for scholarships, and generally recovering physically and mentally.
I don't expect to meet this goal, but any bit you can toss my way will help me stay healthy and under a safe roof. This money is 100% towards daily needs - rent, groceries, anything that I know I won't be able to cover with my scholarship money.
Thank you for reading this wall of text. I hesitated a ton on writing this, because god knows I understand so many are struggling right now and I'm at least safe with a friend at the current moment, but I really don't have a long-term safety net thanks to the many aforementioned external factors. Spreading the word or chucking me a few dollars is deeply appreciated.
Stay safe, tell someone you care about that you love them, and thank you for your time.
Organizer
Jake Richardson
Organizer
Fullerton, CA