How the nonprofit Stand with Trans tries to empower, support transgender youth: "Lead with love"
Laws that limit LGBTQ+ rights are being considered in 41 U.S. states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
While more than 300,000 American teenagers identify as trans, most of them — over 280,000 — live in states that have "proposed or passed laws restricting their rights," according to the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute.
The nonprofit organization Stand with Trans aims to help trans and nonbinary people, and their loved ones, find community and resources. Each October, the group celebrates a month of programming for Trans Empowerment Month, including support groups, education training, panels and workshops.
What is Stand with Trans?
Roz Keith founded Stand with Trans in 2015. Her son came out as transgender in 2013, when he was 13 years old. As a parent, Keith struggled to find resources.
"I knew we needed to help and support our child and we just didn't know how. We didn't have anyone to talk to. There were no medical resources," Keith said, adding the process felt isolating and challenging.
"I was hitting a brick wall, and the question would be 'Oh, a minor? Oh, a 13-year-old? No, sorry we only treat adults. We only have support groups for adults.'"
The nonprofit supports all transgender people, but primarily supports youth between the ages of 12 and 22 years old, according to their website. In addition to helping young trans individuals, the organization also provides support groups for parents.
Resources for transgender people
Keith said in an interview with "CBS Mornings" that gender-affirming care is needed by a trans person to live authentically.
"Endocrinologists deal in the business of hormones, so regardless of age, if somebody wants to medically transition that's typically one of the things that's high on the priority," she said.
Keith added it also translates to finding mental health services, being allowed to choose a different name and pick pronouns that an individual identifies with.
According to a poll by The Trevor Project, an advocacy group that provides mental health support for young people, 90% of LGBTQ+ youth say their wellbeing is negatively impacted by recent politics.
More than two dozen mental and physical health associations have endorsed the need for treatments for gender dysphoria.
"I was born in the mid-80s, and there were no resources that I knew of, and so it was really challenging," said Dubbs Weinblatt, the Trans Empowerment Month program coordinator for Stand with Trans.
Weinblatt, who is a non-binary trans person, said it wasn't until they were in their late 20s when they learned about non-binary identity.
"People would say to me, 'You're my daughter. You're my sister.' Use words like 'girl' for me, and that never felt right. It always felt at odds with who I knew myself to be on the inside."
Beyond resources, Weinblatt said positive representation is important for trans people.
"Really just more representation in the media of seeing positive representation … and really support groups that Stand with Trans has, and different programming, where I could have met other people, like 'OK, I'm not alone in this.'"
Weinblatt offered a simple message to those hoping to support a trans person in their life.
"Lead with love and kindness, and showing that you're open, that you're non-judgmental creates that space for someone to trust you, to share themselves," Weinblatt said.