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.
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.”
