Banding Together For Trans Youth In The South

Spring 2024 • Jose Soto He/Him

In July 2024, the Campaign for Southern Equality made their Trans Youth Emergency Project available to trans youth and their loved ones nationwide. Learn more: transyouthemergencyproject.org

As many families of transgender youth continue to live under constant distress and fear brought on by the abominable amount of legislative bans on gender-affirming care, several groups are coming together to connect these families to a network of instrumental support. The Campaign For Southern Equality with its Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project is working closely with the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ+ organizations to help transgender youth receive the health care they need and are entitled to, despite the relentless efforts of extremist politicians to hinder that access, particularly in Southern states.

STYEP is a new regional project aiming to provide rapid response support to the families of trans youth affected by the gender-affi ming care bans in their home states. CSE has built a coalition of local and national organizations such as HRC to create a supportive network of resources, helping to connect families of trans youth to providers in places where it remains safe and legal to receive care. Through the project, families can also receive financial support through small grants, helping to cover the costs of lodging and traveling.

Campaign for Southern Equality’s Acting Executive Director Allison Scott said that the project came about once the organization recognized the gap between state laws and folks’ access to care.

As legislation in various states began restricting gender-affirming care for youth, we began asking ourselves how we could develop impactful tools and resources based on our existing programs.

Allison Scott, Campaign for Southern Equality Executive Director

“We recognized a significant gap between the implications of these laws and the support that transgender youth and their families need. Being a regional group, we leveraged our state-level and grassroots connections to build a strong network of collaborators, including providers, to effectively serve our communities.”

Scott said that while the project connects trans youth and their families to competent health care, they also follow up with them to ensure that their well-being, including mental health, are also being tended to, something she refers to as a “holistic approach.”

“People might not realize the full burden that comes with accessing care,” said Scott. “Families often have to travel long distances, take time off work, dip into financial reserves, and sacrifice social engagements. The cumulative effect of these demands can be overwhelmingly daunting. Our goal is to enable families to receive care within their own neighborhoods and familiar communities. While some families have chosen to relocate, we believe everyone deserves the right to stay in their communities and access care where they live. Health care should not vary by ZIP code.”

During the 2023 and 2024 state legislative sessions, many states, including most Southern states, either severely limited access to gender-affi rming care or banned it outright. Some states have even criminalized gender-affirming care by medical providers and started introducing travel restrictions.

With so many of the bans concentrated in the South, the need to particularly support families of trans youth in these states is clear. Orlando Gonzales, HRC’s senior vice president of programs, research and training, said the partnership with STYEP came through “conversations between coalition partners in the South seeking to respond to this growing threat to our community.”

“There has been a growing attack on our trans community, and specifi cally there has been legislation passed at the state level banning gender-affirming care,” said Gonzales. “The chilling effect has been that families have had to go through excruciating measures to get the care they need. In response to this painful dilemma, we learned and read about the remarkable work being done by the Campaign for Southern Equality through our friends at TransSocial in South Florida. This is a coordinated effort of nonprofit organizations working together to ensure families and youth are supported. The collaboration taking place here is a wonderful example of how working together makes a transformative difference.”

According to the project’s website, 90% of transgender youth living in the South are currently living in a state that has outlawed receiving gender-affirming care. Because many of these bans include criminal punishments for providers and health care facilities, so many young trans people have virtually no access to any form of care. STYEP operates in roughly 16 states that have outright banned gender-affi rming care. CSE is currently working with about 21 partner organizations, including HRC, Equality Florida, Transgender Education Network of Texas, Freedom Oklahoma, Inclusion Tennessee, InTRANSitive and the Kentucky Health Justice Network.

THE STYEP PROJECT BY THE NUMBERS

90% of transgender youth living in the South in a state that has outlawed receiving gender-affirming care

20 number of states the STYEP project operates that have outright banned gender-affirming care

21 partner organizations are working with STYEP

Many of the families of young trans people residing in states with gender-affirming care bans are now burdened to not only seek care elsewhere, but to travel long stretches to get to these destinations. To help alleviate this issue, CSE partners with Elevated Access, an organization which provides flights on private planes at no cost, helping trans youth and their families make the trip to other states to receive care. Launched in 2022, Elevated Access recognized the growing need for people to access reproductive care in light of the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the subsequent abortion bans.

As part of HRC’s Pride Gives Back Initiative, and as an effort to support the project, HRC has created an exclusive T-shirt which will be sold at various events throughout Pride season. The majority of those proceeds will go directly to support the efforts of STYEP.

**Orlando Gonzales**, HRC’s senior vice president of programs, research and training

“Through our Pride Gives Back initiative, we hope to share and tell the story about this incredible organization and its work to thousands of people. It’s beyond just a T-shirt, a product. It’s a direct support to our trans family who need us to show up now more than ever.”

The partnership with HRC, Scott said, is something that is helping the coalition to not only provide financial support, but to build political power to fi ght back against these discriminatory state bills.

“STYEP is successful because it is both proactive and collaborative,” said Scott. “HRC plays a crucial role in supporting initiatives like STYEP by leveraging its national platform to combat anti-trans legislation. HRC, as a prominent LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, helps to amplify the issues bringing national attention to these discriminatory laws, and mobilize resources and legal support.”

Scott said she hopes that HRC’s involvement in various Pride events throughout June can also help STYEP by connecting and informing people from all walks of life on the importance of supporting trans youth.

“Right wing extremists are peddling misinformation and miseducation about trans people and their families; this is something HRC can combat while connecting with folks on the ground,” said Scott. “We can’t tug at people’s hearts unless they know and hear from the people who are directly impacted by these laws, and HRC can help us do just that.”

In terms of the future of the project, Scott said she is a “pragmatic optimist” who knows that so much work lies ahead.

“Realistically, these laws aren’t going anywhere, so we need STYEP and other similar initiatives to be immensely supported and fueled by the work so many organizations like HRC are doing to show up for transgender youth and their families,” said Scott.