[Note: The two people interviewed in this story asked to use their first names only due to a concern for safety.]

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY AND WAYNE COUNTY, PA – When local therapist, Paul, noticed that there was a lack of services for people who identify as transgender or non-binary in the area, he set out to do something about it.

“I have had transgender people and their families in my practice, and it’s always been apparent the lack of services in the 100-mile radius of my office,” he said.

In 2024, he attended a trans health conference at Geisinger Medical School in Scranton, PA and it inspired him to bring awareness and a community group closer to home.

He knew of a local family, Ann and her husband, who have an adult transgender son, and he reached out to them to form what is now known as the Trans+ Support Initiative of Wayne and Sullivan Counties (TSI).

“I knew Ann, I knew her story, and I knew her family’s journey,” Paul said. “And I was thinking about that and what they went through, and I thought, ‘we have to do something about this.’”

Ann said that as her son was growing up, they frequently had to travel far distances to get the services he needed to support his transition.

“I don’t want to say I was not educated, but I didn’t know anything about the transgender experience, all of that was new to me,” Ann said. “I’m incredibly proud of my son for his self-awareness and for the way he has carried himself.”

When Ann and Paul got together to form TSI, they identified several missions, including to share resources and to have both an educational and community building component.

Today, now on their two-year anniversary this July, they hold monthly meetings (the location is kept private to protect safety), book clubs, free movie screenings, and have compiled a list of resources for transgender and non-binary people, such as where to find supportive doctors.

“[When you have] someone you love so dearly and you want to support and uplift them and help them on their journey, you want to know who’s safe, who you can trust and who will be supportive,” Ann said.

Another big piece is community building, Paul says, “because there’s so much misunderstanding and misinformation about what does transgender mean?”

The group hosts informational tables at street fairs and events, and holds trainings with organizations, hospitals and schools.

They say the response to the group has been positive. “These are people in our community,” Ann said. “And when you listen to things on the news you hear a lot of anonymous information, but when you’re looking people in the eye and you see your neighbors and friends, [we find that] people care about each other.”

When asked how they would handle negative comments, Paul said, “I would invite somebody to have a conversation.”

As they continue their mission, Ann reflects on her personal story.

“I have such respect for trans and non-binary individuals because imagine a world where so many people are telling you what you know to be real isn’t? There’s a certain amount of bravery and self-awareness,” she said.

For more information about TSI, visit www.transsupportinitiative
nypa.org.