Thank you to everyone who has supported the effort to help pay the fees and bond needed to get Meagan out of jail. If you would like to donate to Welcome to support our other work with LGBTQ homeless individuals you are welcome to use the donate button above.
Now that Meagan is Free if you would like to provide her with additional funds or support, please contact her directly.
Funds raised and designated to Welcome to "Free Meagan": $4,719
$955 in additional undesignated donations to Welcome between 6/21 and 7/23 were approved by the Welcome Board to cover additional fees (if needed) and to ensure that Meagan is able to legally change her name and get a new ID. We apologize for not being clearer about this earlier, but our priority was Meagan's privacy, getting Meagan out of jail and ensuring that she was able to make her own decisions without pressure. Donations will not be deposited in to Welcome's bank account until 8/13/2015.
Total Funds expended to date: $5,381
Final Expense Accounting:
- $88 in web conferencing fees with Meagan in jail
- $2,276 wired funds to pay Meagan's bond at the Polk County Jail ($2,100 of this will be returned after Meagan appears in court or the charges are dropped)
- $1,825 wired funds to Meagan's family that paid her fees in Illinois
- $646 funds wired to Meagan in Iowa
- $546 Instead of actual expenses for name change and ID fees, Meagan has opted to receive $500 to get the money in advance.
Meagan Taylor was the only individual making decisions about how funds were expended. Welcome did not reimburse or accept requests for unsolicited reimbursement. We were saddened that so many strangers, expected funds raised to pay for Meagan Taylor's legal, would be distributed to them.
* Notice that has been on this donation page, since start of the campaign: Welcome is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donation will
be acknowledged with a letter for your tax records. We are committed to paying Meagan's fees. Any remaining donations raised above the actual cost of fees will be used to support LGBTQ homeless youth and transgender individuals living in poverty. Meagan has requested that we pay it forward to other people in need.
Meagan Taylor was arrested in Des Moines because she was transgender and it upset hotel staff. She is currently being held in Polk County Jail with a $2,000 bail amount. You can learn more about the case here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/rekha-basu/2015/07/16/arrested-transgender-sex-inmate-tests-jailers/30269945/
We don't know all the information about Meagan's story, nor do we wait to help people until we learn all the details of their past. Poverty is complicated and no one is perfect. Deeply rooted in faith, we believe that all people deserve another chance. If you agree, we hope you will help raise attention to this issue.
While not homeless, Meagan's story is familiar to us. At Welcome, we have traveled the country to document the stories of LGBTQ homeless youth. And the affects of laws targeting homeless youth and LGBT individuals of color.
Here is a video from New York to learn more about some of the issues that Meagan is experiencing.
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12 comments:
Thank you so much for creating this fundraiser! As the president of the University of Iowa's Trans Alliance, I was looking for ways for the group to help Meagan, and this was the only fundraiser page online I could find. We've been sharing the page with members, friends and allies, and other organizations as much as possible. Meagan's situation is absolutely unacceptable and the Trans Alliance stands strongly in solidarity with her. Our efforts were made possible by you; we appreciate it very very much!
Thank you for your help. We tried setting something up with the traditional fundraising sites, but they don't let you raise money for bail. Thanks for trusting use with your funds. We're excited to have hit the goal of raising the bail money, now we need to raise funds for any fees that might come up and the Illinois fine that might keep Meagan in jail despite the bail being paid.
Megan, thank you so much for setting this up! I am so happy to see the bail goal has been hit and exceeded and crossing my fingers that we hit the goal for fees and Illinois fines. Bless you for your time and effort and for making this possible!
Thanks Dawn Marie. We're doing what we can to help with a problem many of us transfolk have feared.
Well done, thank you for doing and fighting for what is right!
You're welcome. I hope it raises attention to the issue around the country. This is for Meagan and the other trans folk this could also happen to.
No it isn't funny Cipriano, any future comments like this will be moderated and you'll be banned from posting. As for David, we aren't nominating her for sainthood, though these are a few minor infractions that don't lead to arrest and jail sentences. I don't want to wax poetic with you about your sainthood comment, but a person is in jail due to her non-conforming gender identity. Poverty and non-conforming in our communities shouldn't warrant arrest. This country is obsessed with prison culture.
Such an interesting article, thanks for sharing! I've recently discovered Tony Charalambides fundraising blog, you should check it out.
Megan thanks for this great info. The problem with crowdfunding campaign is that being so new few of those in your support network will have direct experience.
Why was she carrying prescription drugs in an unmarked bottle? That is what she was arrested for, not for being transgender. Does she not have a valid prescription or did she lose her bottle? Let's not start a pity party and obscure the truth with paranoid reasons of persecution. It makes the whole movement look bad.
Eliseo Weinstein @ JR's Bail Bonds
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