Daine Grey was 22 | Photo: Facebook/Daine Faolan Grey
Friends raised over $20,000 for a transgender man’s funeral after his estranged parents didn’t claim his body from the coroner.
Daine Grey took his own life on 2 July. He was 22-years-old and a student at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF).
When several days past and Grey’s parents did not claim him from the coroner’s office, friends and the larger community set up a GoFundMe for funeral expenses.
Lady Katerina, manager of CCSF’s Queer Resource Center, wrote on the page: ‘As of of July 16th his parents, who have disowned him, have been notified have yet to claim the body. Tomorrow is day 10 of parents not responding to SF Coroner and as a community we can claim the body.’
So far the community has raised nearly $24,000. The money will go towards funeral expenses (a casket, burial, etc.), as well as transportation for people and a memorial.
Lady Katerina also wrote on the page that all receipts are available upon request, as they are ‘all about the transparency’.
Further, Grey’s mother reportedly got in contact with Lady Katerina, asking to be involved after the coroner asked her to sign over the rights and responsibilities.
Not wanting to lose people
In September, Grey came out publicly on Facebook.
Daine Grey’s coming out post | Photo: Facebook/Daine Faolan Grey
The post reveals Grey legally changed his name and gender and had also begun taking hormones.
He finished the post: ‘Hope this doesn’t lose me too many friends and family.’
Stephanie Haught, Grey’s mother, told NBC News she hadn’t spoken to her son since he was 16. She found out he was trans via Facebook and said Grey’s father, Peter, told her he would claim the body.
The funeral is being planned for Grey at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California.
Trans youth face higher rates of suicide ideation, but one proven way to lower depression and this ideation is to respect their gender and chosen name.
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