Student raising money for education after being cut off financially for being gay
Craig, right, was cut off by his grandparents because he’s gay. (Craig Flynn)
A third-year university student has been cut-off financially by his grandparents after they found out he was gay.
Craig Flynn lives in Scotland and his tuition fees are taken care of by the Scottish government, but his grandparents were giving him money for his other university expenses.
Flynn, who loves working with kids and hopes to be a teacher, studies politics, history and professional education. He is now raising money via GoFundMe to help him stay at university and finish his degree.
He told PinkNews: “Coming out has been a mostly positive, good experience for me. I’m one of the lucky ones.
“I told my parents and my dad said: ‘Oh, thank God, I thought you were about to say you were a Man Utd fan.'”
“The thing with my grandparents is that I never told them, and I never told my extended family either.
“I had a really good relationship with them, but every now and again there would be a comment about something happening on TV. I’d hear them use words like ‘poofter’ or other slurs and it made me afraid to tell them and spoil that relationship.
“I have no idea how they found out, and I have no desire to know how they found out. I’m hopeful that my extended family haven’t found out yet, or simply don’t care that I’m gay, and I have no intention of telling them any time soon.”
The student said that his parents are managing to help him pay his rent, but that he is using the crowdfunding site to raise money for books, materials and a new laptop, as his is seven years old and “not really for purpose anymore”. He is aiming to raise £500 to replace it.
“My parents have been absolutely amazing. There was a lot of anger on the phone, my grandparents said that they can’t support someone who ‘is part of that lifestyle’ and that it is unnatural.
“My parents and I sat down and have tried to work out a way we can make this work. They’ve been incredible and I love them.”
The university student said the situation made him feel “worthless”.
The situation has affected Flynn, but it has made him all the more determined to get on with his life.
He continued: “As for me, I felt completely worthless. It was like someone had punched me in the gut and I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t want to talk to anyone at all for a while.
He added on his page on GoFundMe: “There are a million other causes that are far more important than mine to donate to but I’d really appreciate any help that comes my way because of this.
“If you don’t want to donate to me, there are loads of great LGBT+ charities out there helping people whose situation is far worse than mine, so please have a look at charities like the Albert Kennedy Trust who help homeless LGBT+ people.”
