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National resources for trans and gender diverse communities

Amid attacks, help is available from wide range of organizations

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1 year ago

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Activists have been protesting against the Trump administration’s anti-trans policies. If you need help, there are resources out there to assist. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Trump administration has launched a series of executive orders and other initiatives restricting the rights of the transgender community since taking power in January, targeting military service, affirming healthcare, and participation in sports. 

Though many executive orders are being challenged in court, it’s an uncertain time for a community that feels threatened. Despite the uncertainty, there are resources out there to help.

From legal assistance to mental health support, here’s a list of nonprofits and organizations dedicated to improving the everyday livelihood of trans and gender diverse people. These are mostly national organizations; there are many additional groups that work in local communities across the country. Some of these national groups will connect those in need of help to a local organization.

President Trump issued an executive order declaring there are only two genders –– male and female –– which applies to legal documents and passports. The order doesn’t recognize the idea that one can transition their gender at birth to another gender.

Ash Lazarus Orr filed to renew his passport with a gender marker reflecting his identity. That was in January, and he still hasn’t received it. He refused to accept a passport without an accurate identification of who he is, so he filed a lawsuit with the ACLU in what is now known as Orr v. Trump.

Orr told the Washington Blade that not receiving his passport back has taken away his freedom of visiting family in Canada and receiving gender-affirming care from a trusted provider in Ireland.

The one thing getting him through this uncertain time is knowing who he’s fighting for –– the trans community, his loved ones, and himself.

“I’m trying to be that person that those younger parts of me needed growing up,” Orr said. Check out a couple of legal support organizations below:

Transgender Law Center

The Transgender Law Center (TLC) provides legal resources and assistance. TLC has a list –– called the Attorney Solidarity Network –– of attorneys that can provide advice or representation for trans people.

The organization also has a legal information help desk that answers questions regarding laws or policies impacting trans people.

Website: transgenderlawcenter.org

Phone: 510-587-9696

Email: [email protected]

Advocates For Trans Equality

With a variety of different programs tailored toward legal assistance and advocacy work, Advocates For Trans Equality’s reach is wide.

The non-profit offers the Name Change Project, which provides pro bono legal name change services to low-income trans, gender-non-conforming and nonbinary people by utilizing its partnerships with law firms and corporate law departments.

Advocates For Trans Equality also has departments and programs dedicated to increasing voter engagement, educating lawmakers on trans issues and offering litigation assistance to a small number of cases.

Website: transequality.org

Phone: 202-642-4542

General email: [email protected] 

To contact a specific department or program, visit its website above.

ADVOCACY

Looking to take action and get involved? Act now.

American Civil Liberties Union

The ACLU is a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes local communities and advocates for national causes.

Getting involved is as easy as filling out letters to representatives or signing petitions. One live petition is to “defend trans freedom.”

You can also join its People Power platform, where you serve as a volunteer in your community to “advance civil liberties and civil rights for all.” ACLU has different chapters across the country, so visit its website for more information.

Website: aclu.org

Phone: 212-549-2500

MILITARY AND VETERANS

Trump signed an executive order in January banning transgender service members from serving, stating their identity “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” 

Though the order has been legally challenged and struck down by a judge, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Rae Timberlake said it’s created an uncertain atmosphere for themself and other troops.

“All of the transgender service members I know have served with honor and integrity for many years…[and we’re] targeted for removal and not subject to any kind of review based on merit,” Timberlake, who joined the Navy at age 17, said. “There’s kind of just this cloud looming over our organizations and our units, because we know any day our transgender shipmates could no longer be on the team.”

But Timberlake’s message to any service member struggling because of the executive order was one of compassion and truth: “There’s no policy that can take away what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done.”

Here are some organizations that support service members and veterans:

SPARTA Pride

SPARTA is a peer-support group composed of active duty, veteran and “future warrior” service members.

The group also engages in advocacy work and has helped change policies on gender neutral uniforms and reducing the time a trans service member would have to wait to return to their duties during their transition.

Contact SPARTA to learn more about joining its support network.

Website: spartapride.org

Email: [email protected] 

Modern Military Association

Modern Military supports service members and veterans through advocacy, legal assistance and mental health support.

It tracks LGBTQ+ and HIV discrimination through reports made on its website, and offers guidance and advice to whoever submitted the report.

It also supports the mental health of LGBTQ+ veterans and their families through its Resilient Heroes Program. By signing up, you’ll receive virtual peer support and case management services with a mental health coordinator.

Website: modernmilitary.org

Phone: 202-328-3244 

Email: [email protected] 

CRISIS & MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

If you have a more urgent matter, or just need someone to listen, here are some organizations you can reach out to:

The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project offers 24/7 counseling services. Calling, texting or chatting is free and confidential, and you’ll get to speak with someone specialized in supporting LGBTQ youth.

The organization also focuses on public education by hosting online LGBTQ suicide prevention trainings. It advocates for policies and laws that contribute to supporting queer youth.

Website: thetrevorproject.org

Crisis hotline: 1-866-488-7386

General inquiry phone number: 212-695-8650

Trans Lifeline

Trans Lifeline is a hotline run and operated by trans people. Whether you’re questioning if you’re trans or are a trans person just wanting to talk, someone will be there to help. It’s free and confidential, and there won’t be any non-consensual active rescue, such as calling the emergency services.

The line is not 24/7, however. Check out its website for hours within your time zone.

Website: translifeline.org

Phone: 877-565-8860

Here are other organizations that offer support to the trans community:

TransFamilies (support): Support for families with a gender diverse child.

TransLatina Coalition (advocacy): Advocates for the specific needs of the transgender, gender expansive and intersex communities in the U.S.

TransAthlete (information): Provides informative resources about trans athletes.

Campaign for Southern Equality’s Trans Youth Emergency Project (healthcare support): A fund to help trans youth access lifesaving healthcare.

TransTech Social (economic empowerment): Dedicated to discovering and empowering the career-ready skills of LGBTQ+ people.

World Professional Association For Transgender Health (health): Resources, symposiums and research dedicated to improving transgender health.

Sylvia Rivera Law Project (legal): Legal programs and services for marginalized communities.

Gender Spectrum (support): Resources and support groups for trans youth and families.

The Okra Project (support): Creates and supports initiatives that provide resources for the Black Trans community.

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National

Advocacy groups issue US travel advisory ahead of World Cup

Renee Good’s death in Minneapolis among incidents cited

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6 hours ago

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April 29, 2026

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(Photo by fifg/Bigstock)

More than 100 organizations have issued a travel advisory for the U.S. ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

The World Cup will take place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico from June 11-July 19.

“In light of the deteriorating human rights situation in the United States and in the absence of meaningful action and concrete guarantees from FIFA, host cities, or the U.S. government, the undersigned organizations are issuing this travel advisory for fans, players, journalists, and other visitors traveling to and within the United States for the June 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. World Cup games will be played in 11 different cities across the United States, which, like many localities, have already been the target of the Trump administration’s violent and abusive immigration crackdown,” reads the advisory that the Council for Global Equality and other groups that include the American Civil Liberties Union issued on April 23.  “The impacts of these policies vary by locality.”

“While the Trump administration’s rising authoritarianism and increasing violence pose serious risks to all, those from immigrant communities, racial and ethnic minority groups, and LGBTQ+ individuals have been and continue to be disproportionately targeted and affected by the administration’s policies and, as such, are most vulnerable to serious harm when traveling to and/or within the United States,” it adds. “This travel advisory calls on fans, players, journalists, and other visitors to exercise caution.”

The advisory specifically mentions Renee Good.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Jan. 7 shot and killed her in Minneapolis. Good, 37, left behind her wife and three children.

The full advisory can be read here.

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State Department

Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records

April 20 memo outlined anti-transgender rule

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1 day ago

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April 28, 2026

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(Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Democracy Forward on Tuesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records on the State Department’s new bathroom policy.

A memo titled “Updates Regarding Biological Sex and Intimate Spaces, Including Restrooms” that the State Department issued on April 20 notes employees can no longer use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

“The administration affirms that there are two sexes — male and female — and that federal facilities should operate on this objective and longstanding basis to ensure consistency, privacy, and safety in shared spaces,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot told the Daily Signal, a conservative news website that first reported on the memo. “In line with President Trump’s executive order this provides clear, uniform guidance to the department by grounding policy in biological sex as determined at birth.”

President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January 2025 issued an executive order that directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: male and female. The sweeping directive also ordered federal government agencies to “effectuate this policy by taking appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by sex and not identity.”

Democracy Forward’s FOIA request that the Washington Blade exclusively obtained on Tuesday is specifically seeking a copy of the memo that details the State Department’s new bathroom policy. Democracy Forward has also requested “all” memo-specific communications between the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs and the Daily Signal from April 1-21.

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Federal Government

House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

Measures would restrict federal funding for LGBTQ-affirming schools

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1 day ago

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April 28, 2026

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Republicans have been gaining ground in reshaping education policy to be less inclusive toward LGBTQ students at the state level, and now they are turning their focus to Capitol Hill.

Some GOP lawmakers are pushing for a nationwide “Don’t Say Gay” bill, doubling down on their commitment to being the party of “traditional family values” by excluding anyone who does not identify with their sex at birth.

The largest anti-LGBTQ education legislation to reach the House chamber is House Bill 2616 — the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or the PROTECT Kids Act. The PROTECT Kids Act, proposed by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Robert Onder (R-Mo.), and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), would require any public elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to require parental consent to change a child’s gender expression in school.

The bill, which was discussed during Tuesday’s House Rules Committee hearing, would specifically require any schools that get federal money from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 — which was created to minimize financial discrepancies in education for low-income students — to get parental approval before identifying any child’s gender identity as anything other than what was provided to the school initially. This includes getting approval before allowing children to use their preferred locker room or bathroom.

It reads that any school receiving this funding “shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”

LGBTQ rights advocates have criticized both national and state efforts to require parental permission to use a child’s preferred gender identity, as it raises issues of at-home safety — especially if the home is not LGBTQ-affirming — and could lead to the outing of transgender or gender-curious students.

A follow-up bill, HB 2617, proposed by Owens, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, prevents the use of federal funding to “advance concepts related to gender ideology,” using the definition from President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14168, making that an enshrined definition in law of sex rather than just by executive order. There is also a bill making its way through the senate with the same text— Senate Bill 2251.

Advocates have also criticized this follow-up legislation, as it would restrict school staff — including teachers and counselors — from acknowledging trans students’ identities or providing any support. They have said that this kind of isolation can worsen mental health outcomes for LGBTQ youth and allows for education to be politicized rather than being based in reality.

David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of government affairs, called this legislation out for using LGBTQ children as political pawns in an ideology fight — one that could greatly harm the safety of these children if passed.

“Trans kids are not a political agenda — they are students who deserve safety and affirmation at school like anyone else,” Stacy said in a statement. “Despite the many pressing issues facing our nation, House Republicans continue their bizarre obsession with trans people. H.R. 2616 does not protect children. It targets them. This bill is cruel, and we’re prepared to fight it.”

This is similar to Florida House Bills 1557 and 1069, referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and “Don’t Say They” bill, respectively, restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity, prohibiting the use of pronouns consistent with one’s gender identity, expanding book banning procedures, and censoring health curriculum.

The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 233 bills related to restricting student and educator rights in the U.S.

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