Actress and non-binary advocate Indya Moore wants to bring more holiday cheer to trans youth this winter season.
Moore has partnered with Chase Strangio, the deputy director for trans justice at the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, for TranSanta, a campaign delivering free gifts to trans, non-binary, gender-non-conforming and intersex youth in need.
The gift-sharing project is open to trans and non-binary people under the age of 24. Leaders hope the campaign can provide support to LGBTQ youth who are often forgotten about during the holidays.
“Pose” star Indya Moore teams up with ACLU’s Chase Strangio to reach young people in need
“For the holidays, we want to show trans young people that they are loved, supported, and have a family around the country and world of people who care about them,” the project’s organizers wrote in an Instagram Post.
The post continued, “Right now trans young people particularly Black and Brown trans youth are under attack in the states across the country and around the world. The Covid pandemic has exacerbated unsafe conditions for trans youth who are houseless, in foster care, in detention, or in abusive situations.”
Research shows, the pandemic is widening health disparities queer youth face compared to their non-LGBTQ peers. A poll from the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention and crisis organization, found COVID-19 is taking a huge toll on their mental health.
Researchers surveyed 600 LGBTQ youth. Half of all trans and nonbinary respondents reported hiding parts of their identity while in quarantine.
Before the pandemic hit, trans youth were already at a much higher risk. More than half of transgender people have attempted suicide, shows a report published last year by UCLA’s William’s Institute, a policy think tank. Experts note that homelessness, an unsupportive home, and joblessness contribute to this.
These stories are all too familiar to Moore. Moore escaped an abusive home and entered the foster care system at the age of 14.
Trans youth from across the world are asking for everything from cellphones to headphones and gift cards. These are necessities that Moore said they desired at that age, too.
“I am trans and those wish lists were my wish lists too,” Moore said in an Instagram post. “It was incredible to see there’s an opportunity for kids to have their wish lists heard and responded to in real life.”
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