The Trans Youth Emergency Project helps families of transgender youth nationwide navigate cruel bans on gender-affirming care, as well as restrictions caused by the federal government. It is the only national program of its kind, offering tailored 1-on-1 logistical and financial support so families can identify out-of-state healthcare options and pay for the cost of getting there. Learn more, get support, and donate.
Since launching in the spring of 2023, the project has supported more than 1,200 families of transgender youth and distributed more than $600,000 in direct emergency grants. This page compiles news stories featuring the Trans Youth Emergency Project. To learn more and request support, click here. And to donate, click here.
From Courts to Community Power: Trans Rights Advocates Respond to Skrmetti’s Fallout
Nonprofit Quarterly • August 4, 2025
“For example, the Campaign for Southern Equality has prioritized urgent support for families through its Trans Youth Emergency Project. The initiative assists families in locating healthcare providers unaffected by state or federal bans and offers $500 travel grants to help them access necessary gender-affirming care. ‘This sort of practical support is going to be increasingly important as trans youth and their families experience increasingly challenging roadblocks and obstacles to care,’ Polaski said. ‘We would really love to see this practical, tangible support centered in conversations about what it looks like to love and support the trans community.'”
Supreme Court Turned It’s Back on Trans Youth. Our Community Never Will.
USA Today • June 18, 2025
“To the parents reading this who feel fear or despair, please know this: The Trans Youth Emergency Project and so many others are here, and there is a huge community behind you ready to help you through this turbulence. We see your love. We understand the weight of your choices. And we will do everything in our power to make sure your child gets the care they need, no matter what politicians or courts say.”
Trans Southerners Can’t Wait for Healthcare. Here’s How to Help Them Get It Out of State.
Them • October 9, 2024
“Simply put, while it’s important to prevent more anti-LGBTQ+ bills from passing, we need to funnel resources to the people who are currently living under anti-LGBTQ+ bills, like gender-affirming care bans. The financial need of many families seeking care for their children surpasses the $500 grants we provide. Beyond this, there are still many trans adults struggling to access care. Although there are no policies in place right now that outright ban gender-affirming care for adults, policies that regulate when and how adults can receive gender-affirming care, and whether the care is covered by insurance, have a major impact on access. Some of these barriers have been in place for a long time, but the recent conservative political focus on chipping away at access to gender-affirming care is making things worse.”
Texas Ban on Youth Gender-Affirming Medical Care Pushes Family to Cross State Lines
PBS News Hour • September 25, 2024
“The Asheville-based advocacy group was among the first responders to this crisis: Less than three months after the passage of 2023’s first health care ban, the organization launched the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project, a resource that provides emergency grants and logistical support for families in states with new bans. They collaborate with local organizations all over the South, using a public health model called “hub and spokes.” “We can operate as a regional hub,” says director Jasmine Beach-Ferrera, “and then we’re connected to the local spokes that are doing frontline, hometown work.”
Southern Anti-Trans Laws Are Uprooting Families — And Leaving Them With Impossible Choices
Rolling Stone • March 1, 2024
“The Asheville-based advocacy group was among the first responders to this crisis: Less than three months after the passage of 2023’s first health care ban, the organization launched the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project, a resource that provides emergency grants and logistical support for families in states with new bans. They collaborate with local organizations all over the South, using a public health model called “hub and spokes.” “We can operate as a regional hub,” says director Jasmine Beach-Ferrera, “and then we’re connected to the local spokes that are doing frontline, hometown work.”
For Families in the South Struggling to Find Gender-Affirming Care, Small Grants Make a Huge Difference
The 19th News • November 29, 2023
“Carolyn Jones, project manager for the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project, has had direct conversations with many trans people and their families who are rattled by misinformation. “If you don’t have a connection to an organization like this or to an attorney, it’s almost impossible to understand what’s going on,” she said. A lot of families incorrectly thought their state law on gender-affirming care would cause them to lose custody of their kids.”
After Mississippi Banned his Hormone Shots, an 8-Hour Journey
The Washington Post • July 28, 2023
“Technically, Ray could see any doctor in Alabama, but the last few months had made Katie suspicious. She didn’t want to take her child to someone who might reject him, and so, with the help of the nonprofit Campaign for Southern Equality, she’d found a company called QMed that offered online appointments to patients in 26 states.”
Your Kid Is Trans. You Live in Texas. There Are No Good Options.
Slate • November 15, 2023
“Families who move across state lines are the exception, said Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, an organization that supports LGBTQ+ people in the Southern U.S. The vast majority of families with trans kids that CSE serves have no plans to relocate. Moving requires money, finding a new home (and often a new job), and a willingness to give up what may be a cherished, generations-old community. That’s a tough ask for many parents, especially if there are other children in the picture. ‘Our mindset is very much like the mindset you’d have in the wake of a hurricane hitting the coast,’ Beach-Ferrara said. ‘This is a crisis. And it’s a crisis we can respond to.’
Republicans Attacked This Issue All Year — And 2024 Could Be A Tipping Point
The Huffington Post • December 30, 2023
“Beach-Ferrara said these strategies were born out of conversations with organizers working on a parallel issue: facilitating access to abortion in states where it has become banned or severely restricted following the overturning of abortion rights last year. ‘Some of our very first phone calls when we saw what was happening politically was with people in the abortion access space,’ Beach-Ferrara said. ‘These two movements are absolutely entwined in terms of being about personal freedom, and people’s autonomy and freedom to make decisions that are best for them without the interference of government.’ As she looks ahead to next year, she said the organization will continue their rapid, crisis response approach ‘to create bridges to care.’ She and other advocates don’t anticipate Republicans to slow down on attacking LGBTQ+ rights in the coming year.”
