For support, call Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386; or text to 678-678.<\/em><\/p>\n

Josie had put off packing long enough. The high school sophomore in St. Augustine, Florida, sat on her bed while her mom, Sarah, pulled clothes from her closet.<\/p>\n

It held a trove of good memories \u2014 like the red dress Josie wore to the winter homecoming dance and a pink cover-up she sported at a friend\u2019s pool party. Good times like these have felt scarce lately. Josie, who\u2019s transgender, no longer feels welcome in Florida.<\/p>\n

Her family requested they be identified by their first names only, fearing retaliation in a state where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials have proposed, politicized, and passed policies in health care and education that limit identity expression, access to certain school activities, and accommodations for trans people.<\/p>\n

The ACLU is tracking bills<\/a> it calls an \u201cattack on LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth.\u201d State legislation has forced some residents like Josie to rethink where they want to call home.<\/p>\n

Josie moved more than a thousand miles from St. Augustine \u2014 and her parents \u2014 to start a new life in Rhode Island and stay with her aunt and uncle, who live outside Providence.<\/p>\n

Preparing her for the move, Josie\u2019s mom held up outfits and asked, \u201cStaying or going?\u201d<\/p>\n

The formal dress could stay behind. Cardigans and overalls went in the suitcase. At one point, the family dog, Reesie, crawled past the luggage to snuggle up to Josie.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has a sense when I\u2019m sad, and just comes running in,\u201d said Josie, 16.<\/p>\n

Moving to Rhode Island had been Plan B for some time, but Josie said she never thought it would happen. Much has changed in the past year.<\/p>\n

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Florida is one of more than a dozen sta<\/a>tes<\/a> that have passed bans on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and certain surgeries.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s medical boards began debating those bans last summer. For months, Josie was terrifie<\/a>d<\/a> she would lose access to hormones she takes to help her body align with her identity.<\/p>\n
Board members argued gender-affirming treatments were \u201cexperimental\u201d and, in March, barred doctors from prescribing them to minors. They allowed children who had already started care to continue. But Josie didn\u2019t trust that her access would last.<\/p>\n
This spring, the legislature considered forcing<\/a> all trans youth to stop treatment by Dec. 31, part of a bill to bolster restrictions on transgender care.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that they would realize what they\u2019ve done wrong and repeal some things,\u201d Josie said. \u201cBut they just kept going. It just became, like, too real, too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawmakers ended up<\/a> stripping that provision just before the session ended this month, allowing young people like Josie to stay in treatment.<\/p>\n
But she had already made her decision to move out of state. School has been challenging at times since Josie came out as trans in eighth grade. Some childhood friends rejected her.<\/p>\n
Josie wanted to play on the girls tennis team, but Florida law<\/a> bans trans girls and women from competing on school teams meant for athletes assigned female at birth.<\/p>\n
She said living in Florida was also especially painful after the state passed the Parental Rights in Education law<\/a>, which \u201cprohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.\u201d Critics call it the \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d law and said it has had a chilling effect<\/a> on some teachers. Josie noticed stickers signifying that areas were \u201csafe spaces\u201d for LGBTQ+ people had been taken down at school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is just ridiculous, like you want your students to be comfortable and safe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/iframe>\n<\/p>\nThe new laws and anti-trans rhetoric are hurting kids across Florida, said Jennifer Evans, a clinical psychologist at the University of Florida\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/endo.pediatrics.med.ufl.edu\/resources\/youth-gender-program\/\">Youth Gender Program<\/a> in Gainesville.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m seeing more anxiety, more depression,\u201d Evans said. \u201cThings I hear patients say are, \u2018The government doesn\u2019t want me to exist.\u2019 They don\u2019t feel safe.\u201d<\/p>\nStates are pushing measures on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/11\/28\/1138396067\/transgender-youth-bills-trans-sports\">all so<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/11\/28\/1138396067\/transgender-youth-bills-trans-sports\">rt<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/11\/28\/1138396067\/transgender-youth-bills-trans-sports\">s<\/a> of gender-related issues \u2014 not just health care, but what schools can teach or which bathrooms people can use.<\/p>\nBills don\u2019t have to pass to cause harm, said Evans, who is queer.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a lot to feel like enough people in this country don\u2019t agree with your existence \u2014 which actually isn\u2019t affecting them \u2014 that people want to shut down other people\u2019s access to living complete and affirmed lives,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s painful to see that.\u201d<\/p>\nFour families who sought care at Evans\u2019 clinic have already left Florida, she said, while another 10 plan to move this year. Some older teens she treats also want to get out when they turn 18.<\/p>\nBut moving isn\u2019t easy for many families.<\/p>\n\u201cJust financially, it\u2019s difficult to uproot what we\u2019ve set up,\u201d Josie\u2019s dad, Eric, said.<\/p>\nThey\u2019ve owned their home in St. Augustine for a long time. Eric recently started a new job. Josie\u2019s mom, Sarah, works at a private college that offers a benefit that allows Josie and her older sister to get reduced tuition at some colleges around the country.<\/p>\nSo her parents decided that, at least for now, Josie would go live with her aunt and uncle and they would stay behind.<\/p>\nThe choice was devastating.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was just terror in my heart, like you could just feel that cold burst in my chest just going all throughout my body,\u201d said Sarah. \u201cJosie is part of everything I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Josie (center) moved to Rhode Island to flee policies in Florida that target transgender people. Her parents, Sarah and Eric, can\u2019t go with her yet.(Stephanie Colombini \/ WUSF)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJosie will finish her sophomore year in Rhode Island before returning to St. Augustine for summer break. Her family sees it as a trial run for what could be years of separation.<\/p>\nOne night before Josie left, she invited friends over for a going-away party. The teens played a dance video game, laughing as they performed a hip-hop routine.<\/p>\nSarah brought out a Black Forest cake. \u201cWe love you Josie\u201d was piped in frosting along the platter, framed by two hearts.<\/p>\nIt was a simple but powerful send-off from the support system Josie has relied on in Florida. A few days later, she and her mom flew north to get Josie settled. Leaving her daughter in Rhode Island was \u201cagony,\u201d Sarah said.<\/p>\n\u201cI was a mess,\u201d she said. \u201cI cried the whole way to the airport. I just felt I was going the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\nSarah is still adjusting to life without Josie at home, but they talk every day. And Josie is getting used to her new environment. Her aunt and uncle have been great, she said, and she\u2019s making friends at school.<\/p>\nHer new school is a little smaller than her old one and in a community that feels more liberal-minded, the family said. Josie said she loves seeing pride flags in the halls and plans to join the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club. It all feels like a \u201cbombardment of support.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cIt was just, like, such a shock to me \u2014 like, not a bad shock, but, like, just shocked that this is how schools can be,\u201d Josie said. \u201cIt\u2019s just that Florida\u2019s choosing not to be like that.\u201d<\/p>\nDeSantis\u2019 office did not respond to several requests for comment to address concerns of families like Josie\u2019s.<\/p>\nSince Josie moved to Rhode Island in April, DeSantis has signed <a href=\"https:\/\/wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu\/politics-issues\/2023-05-17\/lgbtq-advocates-blast-desantis-signing-bills-target-their-rights\">four bills<\/a> that would curb health care and gender expression of trans people.<\/p>\nJosie\u2019s parents said they\u2019ll keep their pride flag waving in the front yard and advocate for equality while she\u2019s away.<\/p>\nJosie said she thinks about the trans kids who can\u2019t leave and urged them not to give up hope. But right now, she needs to move on.<\/p>\nThis article is from a partnership that includes WUSF, <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/npr.org\/shots\">NPR<\/em><\/a>, and KFF Health News.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"meta-authors meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/aside>\n<section class=\"block--category-tag-list \">\n<div class=\"category-tag-list__content-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"block--category-tag-list__title\">\n\t\t\t\tRelated Topics\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__contact-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/contact-us\/\"> \n\t\t\tContact Us\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__tip-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/tips\/\"> \n\t\t\tSubmit a Story Tip\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For support, call Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386; or text to 678-678. Josie had put off packing long enough. The high school sophomore in St. Augustine, Florida, sat on her bed while her mom, Sarah, pulled clothes from her closet. It held a trove of good memories \u2014 like the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1307,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305\/revisions\/1307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}