One of the most horrendous things that happens when trans people die is that they are not laid to rest or remembered for who they are. Often, our biological families who abandoned us in life maintain rights to our bodies, to be buried or disposed of as they see fit. These families will label our remains under names and pronouns that never belonged to us. They will mark our graves with our deadnames. For many trans people, we die a double death: our names are blotted out, and our bodies are taken away by the so-called families that disowned us years prior. The families we chose for ourselves, who accepted us for who we truly were, can do nothing about it.

This has happened to many of our dear friends, so many that we are reaching out for support to make sure it doesn’t happen to us. Our names are Artemis Stardust and Ryann Beaufort. We are both non-binary and we are in love with each other. Because we are both disabled, even though gay marriage is legal now, we risk losing access to our scant resources if we get legally married. We don’t want to think about death, as we are both just turning 30 this year. But we want to make sure that if either one of us dies, the other doesn’t lose the chance to give their partner the legacy and resting place of their choosing.

To protect our names and legacies, we need to do four things:

1. Change our names legally
2. Get new identification cards that match our names, with a non-binary gender mark
3. Write wills that legally designate the rights to our remains and resources (and pets!)
4. Enroll in life insurance so we have some resources in case of loss of life

Securing end-of-life plans is the primary concern we haven’t been able to save money for. Once these things are in place, we will have obtained peace of mind beyond expression. We hope to grow old together, but we do not know what the future holds.

On a brighter note, we have another vital need that will help extend and improve our quality of life while we are still living. One of these needs is a special kind of bed. We both work from our laptops, most often in bed. It would improve our posture and support tremendously if we had a bed with an adjustable base. This kind of bed can be adjusted at the head and foot like a hospital bed, but is designed to hold a queen-sized mattress. We could both therefore sit up with ample back support, or elevate our feet as needed to promote healthy circulation.

Thankfully, we do not need to raise funds for medical transition needs, as these are covered by our insurance. We are extremely grateful that this is the case.

The final needs we are including in this fundraiser are technological: a phone and a website. Art is using an old, broken phone, and needs to upgrade to a new one when possible. This may seem superficial, but they do not have the spare income to save up for a new phone.

The blog you’ve come to recognize, CynthiaJeub.com, is going to be archived when I can launch the new website under my real name. ArtStardust.com is a domain I own, but I need the resources to design, host, and launch the site. When I can establish an online home for my creations and those who enjoy them, I will be uploading a gallery of my paintings. I will also resume blogging with a new approach to structure and form.

Thank you for reading, and if you can, please share this fundraiser on every platform and with everyone you know who might be able to help.

Our goal (dropped based on pricing as of 5/3/2022) is $4,600. Here is the cost breakdown, with each amount rounded for simplicity and any unforeseen costs:

-Name changes: $300 each (Ryann's name has been changed! Artemis is waiting.)

-ID cards: $100 each

-Wills: $200 each

-Life Insurance: not yet determined, but will likely be an annual cost of about $1000 (see updates for details on specifications)

-Bed with adjustable base: $1,366.37 (Ordered!)

-Cell phone: $500

-Site design/host/launch: $500 (So far we've spent $110 on domains. The rest is needed to set up the new site. Placeholder here: https://artstardust.godaddysit...)