HerPLEA

HerPLEA (Project for Love, Equality, and Acceptance) refers to Leelah Alcorn's plea for us to "fix society". These words, which appeared at the end of her suicide note, resonated with thousands of people around the world after her death, igniting a call for change in the transgender community. In Leelah's letter, she describes her experience with being a transgender female in a conservative Christian household that did not support or accept her gender identity. She wished to undergo transition treatment, but her parents denied her wishes and instead took her to conversion therapy, hoping Leelah would learn to accept her gender assigned at birth. Leelah was removed from public school and her social media privileges were temporarily revoked by her parents, completely isolating her from her friends. In her note, Leelah describes a heartbreaking amount of loneliness, lack of support, and lack of love, which made each passing day worse-eventually leading her to make the decision to end her life. Leelah's death cannot, and will not, be in vain. Leelah's plea for us to "fix society" has already been heard internationally. But it is not enough for her story to simply be heard. She stated in her note, "The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren't treated the way I was, they're treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights". This campaign is dedicated to fulfilling this wish of Leelah's-not only for her, but for each person struggling with these experiences. We must make a change in the world. We must work to change the hearts and minds of others, so individuals are not driven to such a devastating option. Suicide rates are unbelievably high within the LGBT community, with the number of suicide attempts (amongst transgender individuals) at a staggering 41%- nearly nine times the national U.S. average. (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/28/local/la-me-ln-suicide-attempts-alarming-transgender-20140127). We will work to fix this. We will work to fix society. My goal with HerPLEA is to raise funding for two American organizations that are dedicated to helping LGBT individuals, namely The Trevor Project and Human Rights Campaign. I have chosen both due to the focus of each- reducing suicide rates among LGBT individuals and promoting full-range equality for the LGBT community, respectively. Donations will be raised until the date of what would have been Leelah's 18th birthday, November 15th. This gives us almost an entire year to kick-start our goal in making society a better place by supporting these organizations that work to help people just like Leelah. Her story will not be a candle in the wind-destined to die out in a few months. Her story will live on, and it will change lives. And it starts here. Let's work together to give her the best birthday gift she could have ever asked for-and help make her last wish come true.