It was near midnight just a couple days before Thanksgiving 2020 when 17-year-old Kayden Asher arrived at yet another temporary home during his yearslong tumble through Texas’ chaotic foster care system.
His caseworker had given him just two hours to pack his bags before they drove into the night from a short-term shelter in South Texas to a nondescript building in Austin where foster kids in need of emergency shelter can live temporarily. When Asher arrived, the staff pulled him aside to ask some questions.
“What are your pronouns? Do you feel safe talking about being trans around your caseworker?” Asher recalled them asking.
After his father effectively disowned him years earlier for being transgender, Asher shuffled between caseworkers and temporary guardians. Many of them also refused to accept his identity — until he moved to Austin.
Read the full article on the Texas Tribune here.
Image courtesy of Greta Díaz González Vázquez
