Trans Pride Initiative

Resources for Trans Persons Experiencing State-Sponsored and State-Encouraged Hate in Texas

Resources for family assistance

We will post resources here for persons needing assistance leaving the state or taking other actions to protect their children.

  • Resume assistance—volunteer assistance in resume prep, interview prep and coaching, and job search strategy. Possibly moving assistance. Contact Jake Nicholls at jakejnicholls@gmail.com.
  • Financial assistance—The Campaign for Southern Equality has made available emergency grants of $250 to help families of trans kids and youth in Texas for helping cover legal services, emergency planning, mental health support, and other needs during this crisis. The page also accepts donations to help fund this service. NOTE: This grant appears to be closed at this time, but you may want to contact the provider to see if they plan to open it again in the future.
  • Flee Texas–LGBTQ Relocation Out of Texas— The Texas Pride Realty Group is offering assistance with property sales for persons needing such assistance when relocating outside of Texas, as well as connections with affirming real estate offices in other states.
  • A Place for Marsha—This group is offering various assistance for persons fleeing states where their safety is in danger, including Texas.
  • Patient navigation and emergency grants—Campaign for Southern Equality is providing assistance in two main areas, helping families understand options for healthcare in southern states, and emergency grants for mental health and wellness needs.

Resources for healthcare and travel assistance

TPI has recently been made aware of an organization that is helping trans persons, particularly trans kids, needing to access healthcare that is in another state. The organization is called Elevated Access, and their web site is here: elevatedaccess.org. TPI has contacted them to see if we can do anything to facilitate the process.

Safe state / abusive state considerations

For those needing to consider relocating, several states have adopted shield or refuge laws that help protect trans persons coming to the state.

As of May 2023, the states that appear to have the best protections or be declared safe for trans persons include ( indicates shield law in place): California, Colorado, Connecticutt, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington, Washington DC, Vermont

States with BANS against best practices concerning healthcare for trans youth include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Gerorgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia

Sources for state information: NPR, GLAAD, Truthout (1, 2), Movement Advancement Project, Journalist Erin Reed

Additional resources of interest

  • Metonymy Press and trans author Callum Angus are providing free copies of Callum's book A Natural History of Transition each time someone buys a copy from the Metonymy Press web store through 2022. You can sign up to receive a free copy to a mailing address in Canada or the US through the end of 2022 here. And if you need to have it sent to TPI for you to pick up instead of a home address, Metonymy Press will send to us and we will hold it for you. Just let us know when it is being sent and your name so can hold it for you!
  • Hug blankets—Penzey's Spices is donating Hug Blankets and Hug Coins to TPI to give away during these times of crisis for our trans youth. To see more info and request a blanket or coin, please see this form. Stop by our office if you want to see one!

Call to action: Protect Texas Trans Kids

picture of protest with signed reading Furious proud mom of a great trans kid, red text on left saying
        stand with trans kids--fight Texas' abuse of our children!

[Although the information in this section is less urgent now that courts have halted the investigations into trans families, we believe the information here is still valuable, and that people should still reach out and object to these types of attacks against trans persons. The info will remain available here for those who wish to review or take action.]

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott has declared that supporting trans children is “child abuse,” and is criminalizing family and caregivers for providing loving support for trans children. It is unbelievable that we have to fight this kind of abuse and bullying from public servants!

TPI has created a letter writing campaign to help people write their state and federal legislators as well as contact state officials promoting this horrendous policy. We hope you will help us challenge this harmful and bullying effort by state officials!

Trans Pride Initiative is working to provide assistance and support for transgender and gender diverse persons in areas of healthcare, housing, employment, education, and public accommodations.

Our initial efforts focused on healthcare and housing issues and assistance. To see some of the materials we have available for information and use, please see the resources pages.

Over the past several years, our work has increasingly focused on applying our mission objectives to prisoner support, particularly Texas trans and queer prisoners.

If you would like to get involved, feel free to email us at admin@tpride.org or see our Committees page to view which committees have active projects!

Last, we will always welcome community input to what we are doing and how we can do better! If you have suggestions, please let us know, but part of our response will probably be to encourage you to become involved because that is the way change is made!

Project Highlights

Some of our important projects currently on-going or recently completed.

Project 103

image of the project 103 home page

Project 103 is a cooperative effort between civil rights attorney Moria Meltzer-Cohen and the Austin Community Law Center to challenge the constitutionality of restrictions on name changes for trans persons with a conviction history.

Human Rights Study

cover image of the report

Our Project 103 included a request that the UT Austin School of Law Human Rights Clinic look at the international basis for the right to self-determination of identity, and they created a report of their findings as part of the effort. The project include a survey of persons TPI has corresponded with and the publication of the Naming and Shaming report.