No one should be forced to leave their home state to access healthcare – but right now, transgender young people and their families in 25 states are being forced to travel extreme distances just to access best-practice gender-affirming care. That’s because of cruel legislation passed by lawmakers, that inserts the government into the private and personal medical decisions that should be exclusively between doctors, trans youth, and their families.
Now we’re excited to share that a new project is pushing back on these bans and helping families of trans youth navigate this crisis. The Trans Youth Emergency Project (TYEP), led by the Campaign for Southern Equality in partnership with state and local organizations. TYEP provides 1-on-1 custom patient navigation services and supports families of transgender youth with emergency grants to help them travel out of state for care.
Transgender youth and their families are navigating an impossibly complex care environment to get their child access to essential health care. For some, this has meant traveling hundreds of miles several times a year; others have considered moving to another state entirely. Bottom line: Families have been doing everything they can to protect their children and make sure they have the care and support they need and deserve to thrive. We’re glad there’s a fantastic new program available to support them through this difficult moment.