We Have Decided We Want More Kids

Raider and I (and the kids) attended the Trans-Health conference in Philadelphia in May. In one workshop we attended, a young trans person spoke about the support and love they had received from their mother as they were transitioning. I don't remember the specific details of their story; what I remember was the stillness and concentration in the room as they spoke, and the yearning. "You have the best mom in the world," someone said when they finished. Hearing this young person talk about their mother's love and acceptance filled the room with a mix of grief and tender wishfulness. If it is common for gay and lesbian youth to suffer estrangement from family, it is even more common for transgendered kids. And many people in the room had experienced that.

Another woman, the cisgendered mom of a gender-nonconforming child, said that one of her best resources had been a local support group for transgendered and transsexual people. They were very accepting of her, she said, and really helped her learn what she needed to know. Also, so many had been rejected by their families of origin that she became a kind of "surrogate mom" to many in the group.

There's a real need for people willing and able to be those parent figures for young people who've been cast out. Look at this infographic from the National Center for Transgender Equality:

I recently re-connected with a high school friend on Facebook. When I posted this graphic, she commented,"I'm guessing if we could lower the percentage rejected by families, the homelessness and suicide rates would drop dramatically." I suspect she's right. 57% is too many kids left without resources.

Raider and I have long had a kind of hope that someday we would be in a position to help such a young person. Twice in the last few years, we've taken people into our home who needed a place to stay for awhile, and it has worked out well, the biggest problem being our single bathroom. Last night, we had a wonderful date, sitting on the patio at a local coffee place sipping drinks and having the best kind of talk, and one of the things we talked about was wanting to be more intentional about this, getting the word out that we have a place for someone who needs one. And possibly putting in a half-bath.

Keep us in mind. If you hear of a young person who needs a place for awhile, we have one. If they're not local to us but willing to come to mid-Michigan we'll help with travel. (That's kind of a tall order, we know. We love it here but outsiders tend to see it as the middle of nowhere.) There is very little we can do to change the world, but we would very much like to do what we can to change a life.