Since the election, Richards says requests have skyrocketed, with the majority of requests coming from Texas and Florida. In October, TCP had received just over 20 requests. By mid-November that number had already surpassed 400. “Everyone is terrified right now,” he says. “No one really knows what will happen… the rhetoric is already playing out and has already been translated into legislation. We already have our problems, even without what Trump will do.”
On platforms like like Instagram, mutual aid funds they offered a safe way for people to anonymously seek care and donate towards relocation costs, medical bills, therapy, travel expenses and more. A popular account was started in 2020, sharppublishes stories and letters from trans people in difficulty; users can then donate anonymously directly to whoever they wish by visiting that person’s gift list, shared by the Instagram account. Others, like Gender bandsThey offer annual grants for a variety of costs related to transition care, including procedures, travel expenses and paperwork.
It can be tricky, however, for people in need to find these networks. Both Iris and Kaliyah knew him Rainbow Railwaya non-profit organization that operates globally helps LGBTQ+ escape persecutionbut less so with smaller, more concentrated efforts. Making people who need assistance aware is essential. Complicating the issue is also the issue of safety for the organizers themselves. Making yourself known is also putting a target on your back.
Richards has taken it upon herself to shine a spotlight to better protect her team, she says. TCP is intent on “growing as quickly as possible,” including fundraising, training volunteers and trying to raise resources outside of Colorado. “We’re talking to other groups in Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Washington and the other safe states who are trying to compile lists of similar resources as we do,” he says. “We are trying to support other groups trying to do the same so we can meet this demand.”
None of this work can be done blindly and requires careful consideration. “It’s definitely complicated,” he says. “It takes a lot of trust on both sides.”
“And even some of these networks are too underground to touch. They won’t work with a 501(c)(3), which I respect. I understand that because we are more surface level than most of these networks, we are inherently at greater risk.
Just weeks after Trump took office in January, the politicization of the trans community shows no signs of slowing. Kaliyah emphasizes the millions of dollars Republicans spent on anti-trans ads in the most recent election cycle. “For people who refuse to educate themselves, we are also in the age of misinformation where things are spread that are not true,” Kaliyah says. Focusing on trans people, he says, “was just a way to influence elections for people who were already radically right to further demonize a demographic of people.”
