April 9, 2015
Calif. Trans Teen Dies in Apparent Suicide After Posting Videos About Bullying
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A transgender teen girl from Fallbrook, Calif., who posted YouTube videos about being bullied, died on April 2 in an apparent suicide, San Diego's ABC-affiliate station KGTV reports.
Family members of Taylor Alesena, 16, confirmed that the teen took her own life earlier this month, but details on her death have not been revealed.
"There are no words to describe this," Max Disposit, executive director of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center in Oceanside, Calif., told KGTV. He added that Alesena, who was a member of LGBT youth groups, was cyber-bullied and verbally harassed in school.
Alesena posted videos to YouTube detailing her experiences with bullying and her feelings.
"The biggest piece of advice I could give to someone who's transgender is, 'You're becoming yourself,'" she said in one clip, which was posted in November. In the same video, she reaches out to other trans youth and talks about her lonely feelings about being a transgender student at Fallbrook High School.
"I've lost friends -- tons of friends -- and it's been hell. I get my lunch and I sit down," she said.
Disposit explained some of the hardships Alesena went through.
"You could see people stare and be rude to her," he told the news station. He added that the teen complained to school officials about the bullying, but nothing changed.
"She felt unsafe, she felt beat up every day she needed to go to school," Disposti said.
The Fallbrook Union High School District issued a statement on Alesena's death:
"One of Fallbrook High School's students tragically passed away during the spring break, on Thursday, April 2.
We are attempting to honor the family's request for privacy while also helping our students and staff who have been impacted by this sad event. The district has had counselors on site to support our school community.
Fallbrook High has a continuum of appropriate services (social, emotional, academic) to ensure every student is supported and successful at Fallbrook High School. It is never easy when something like this happens, but we are working to move forward together and stronger than before."
The North County LGBTQ Resource Center in Oceanside will hold a candlelight vigil Thursday in honor of Alesena.
Watch Alesena's video below:
