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3 月 31, 2018

当我们的客户林恩在与药物滥用和贫困进行了长期斗争后正在重建生活时，遭遇种族和反跨性别歧视——在一个非营利组织，其使命正是为有需要的人提供支持——可能会对她的进步造成打击。

相反，林恩正在抵制这种歧视，以确保这种事情不会发生在其他人身上。

2016年，波多黎各跨性别者林恩主动与自己的毒瘾作斗争，这种毒瘾的根源在于她自童年起就遭受歧视的困扰，她走上了康复之路。

You don’t have to face (discrimination) alone. Stand up for yourself. Don’t let anybody think they can treat you like that.

琳恩向 Tapestry Health 寻求帮助。Tapestry Health 是一家位于马萨诸塞州西部的社区医疗服务机构，致力于解决药物滥用等公共卫生需求。通过 Tapestry Health 的“服务、机遇、觉醒、康复”（SOAR）项目，琳恩联系上了 Tapestry Health 的员工兼前个案经理艾米丽。SOAR 项目专注于为有药物滥用和创伤史的女性和跨性别者提供创伤知情型全方位护理。

As Lynn’s case manager, Emily connected Lynn to community resources to meet their needs and support Lynn’s journey to self-sufficiency. Emily set-up an appointment for Lynn to visit the Give-Away Center, a distribution center open to the public that provides items like clothing, toiletries and household supplies to those in need, at no cost. Notably, the Give-Away Center is run by Springfield Rescue Mission, which characterizes itself as a Christian nonprofit whose mission is to help the less fortunate.

由于琳恩只穿男装，所以他们打算在赠品中心只买男装。然而，琳恩开始买衣服后不久，赠品中心的一名员工就大声告诉琳恩，“男装区只允许男性进入”，“女装区只允许女性进入”。该员工后来还表示，由于琳恩的身份证明上写着女性，所以他们不能从男装区拿走任何衣服。

“我当时很尴尬，”琳恩说。“中心里还有好几个人。那时候，我只想赶紧离开那里。我当时觉得自己什么也做不了。”

We learned about Lynn’s experience at the Give-Away Center through GLAD Answers, our legal information line, and soon after, Staff Attorney Allison Wright started working with Lynn and Emily to fight back. In January 2017, Allison filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination arguing that Lynn was discriminated against by a place of business based on their gender identity, sex, and race in violation of Massachusetts Public Accommodation Laws. Springfield Rescue Mission moved to dismiss the case by arguing their religious character exempted them from coverage under the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law. Allison has since submitted a rebuttal to Springfield Rescue Mission’s position statement and an opposition to Springfield Rescue Mission’s motion to dismiss the case.

Even though I don’t know what the outcome will be, nobody deserves to go through what I did. I’m fighting against it with GLAD so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

斯普林菲尔德救援团拒绝一名需要帮助的人，这其中的讽刺意味，林恩对此心知肚明。但这并没有动摇他们的决心。

“他们应该提供帮助，这就是他们的使命。我只是想让赠品中心学会如何公平待人。”

这个案例标志着林恩从童年开始的坚韧历程的一个转折点。

“我早在八九岁就认定自己是跨性别者，”如今已年过四十的琳恩说道。“我不知道发生了什么，总是想，‘为什么是我？’我很难被别人接受，早年也没有得到任何支持。”

校园欺凌、家庭的不支持以及社会的不接纳，都是造成琳恩压力的因素。最终，家人和同龄人的排斥让琳恩走上了抑郁、吸毒、贫困和自杀的深渊。

“I hated that feeling of thinking something was wrong with me,” Lynn says. “The verbal and emotional abuse was really overwhelming and I just wanted to cover it up with something.”

尽管琳恩如今与母亲的关系很好，但她并不总是接受琳恩作为变性人的身份。

“我和妈妈的关系很艰难，但现在很好，”琳恩说。“我们的关系很好。我爸爸就不太好。他不接受我的身份，觉得这是件坏事。他就是不明白。”

GLAD is proud to work with Lynn, who remains resilient in fighting the discrimination they faced by the Springfield Rescue Mission. Lynn hopes their case encourages others to stand up for who they are, too.

“You should feel comfortable as a person,” Lynn says, when asked what they would tell someone facing similar circumstances. “If you find yourself in the same situation, you don’t have to face it alone. Stand up for yourself. Don’t let anybody think they can treat you like that.

Even though I don’t know what the outcome will be, nobody deserves to go through what I did. I’m fighting against it with GLAD so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”