Ten days ago the Guardian profiled Alena Bradford, an African American trans woman in the deep south of Georgia who is having such difficulty transitioning that she is forced to live in her mother’s house as a man named Christopher.
The article and accompanying video have generated a lot of discussion – among Alena’s immediate family, among the wider LGBT community in Georgia, and beyond. Now an online fundraising page has been set up on the site YouCaring to support Alena as she seeks a new life for herself in her female identity.
Any money raised – so far the fund has reached $812 – will be used to help Alena travel from her home in Albany to the capital Atlanta where she is in touch with doctors trained in transgender health and able to care for her. In the original Guardian article, she explained that she was driven to buy hormones off the internet whenever she could afford to do so because there were no doctors in the local area willing to treat her.
Alena told the Guardian that since her story was published “things are looking up. Things are going great at this point”.
She said she had been pleasantly surprised by how positively people had reacted – both within her family and the LGBT community in Atlanta. “A lot of people are being extremely supportive of me.”
She added that her father had watched the video and as a result they have begun talking about Alena’s gender dysphoria, the condition where her physical gender and identity are out of sync. “We are finally trying to get to know each other,” she said.
Her mother, who allows Alena to live at home but on condition that she remains Christopher, has not read the article or watched the video.
The fundraising page was set up by Alena’s cousin, Micky Bradford, who lives in Atlanta and is a member of the LGBT group SNaPCO. Atlanta members of the Transgender Law Center and the group Transforming have also helped get the fund off the ground.
Last year Bradford watched as Alena’s attempt to set up a new life for herself as a woman in the capital fell apart after she lost her job and became homeless. “I think at some point she gave up hope, and settled for the options that she had,” Bradford said.
Bradford added that “at the core of this is Alena and what she wants – and she has made clear that she doesn’t want anyone’s pity. She’s a proud girl, she doesn’t want charity.”
Alena echoed that sentiment: “I don’t want for people to look at me and think ‘Oh! She needs so much help’.”
But she said she welcomed the fundraising effort. “People want to help and that feels good. I know I should take this opportunity while it’s there.”
She is quoted on the YouCare page saying: “Seeing the reactions online ... Im so TOUCHED. If someone read my story and it helped them, good! I gave up on my dreams but my hope is restored now.”
