Texas politics leave transgender foster youth isolated – Part II: Falling dominoes

(The Texas Tribune) – Growing up in Beeville, a small town outside Corpus Christi, 17-year-old Kayden Asher and his family knew everyone in their tight-knit, Christian community. That made it all the more difficult to keep secrets from others in town. Asher realized he was transgender when he was 13. His mom wasn’t in the picture and he tried to hide it from his dad at first, but it continued gnawing at him until he couldn’t keep it inside any longer. When he told his dad, the response was jarring. Related Stories “He was like, ‘Don’t tell anyone, absolutely not. Don’t tell your brother. Don’t tell anyone,’” Asher said. His dad refused to come to terms with the fact that he had a trans son. Their relationship fell apart, and Asher’s mental health deteriorated with it. Thoughts of self-harm got so bad, Asher went to a psychiatric hospital. A doctor observed that Asher wasn’t depressed or threatening to harm himself when he was away from home. “CPS finally took me because my dad refused to have me at home,” Asher said. “And I refused to go home.” As Asher was waking up to his identity, politicians in Austin were learning...