Trans Lifeline Explained

Trans Lifeline is a peer support and crisis hotline 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering phone support to transgender people.[1] [2] It is the first transgender crisis hotline to exist in the United States as well as Canada.[3] [4] [5] It is also the only suicide hotline whose operators are all transgender.[6] [7] [4] [5] As of 2019, the organization was host to approximately 95 volunteers in addition to a small paid staff. The US number is (877) 565-8860. The Canada number is (877) 330-6366.[8] As of January 1, 2024, budgetary restrictions have forced a reduction in operating hours; the hotline is available Monday–Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM, Pacific time (1 PM to 9 PM Eastern time).[9]

The organization previously offered a microgrant program, but suspended it in November 2023 for lack of available funds.[10] [11]

Background

Trans Lifeline was founded in 2014 to address the epidemic of suicidality and lack of national resources for the trans community. It was founded[3] [2] by Nina Chaubal and Greta Gustava Martela, two San Francisco software engineers.[12] [13] [14] [15]

In November 2016, in response to a Tumblr post accusing Trans Lifeline's founders of embezzlement and harassment, the organization published an article on their Medium page denying the allegations of embezzlement and explaining their decision to directly confront individuals who they believe facilitate transphobia.[12] However, Chaubal and Martela were dismissed by the organization's board of directors in 2018 after an internal review found they had diverted $353,703 to unapproved personal purchases and side projects.[16] [17] [18] Chaubal and Martela were able to repay $8,585, and in June 2018, agreed to mediation with Trans Lifeline in which they would repay the remaining amount over the next ten years, in lieu of lawsuit or other recovery.

In 2017, the organization merged with Trans Assistance Project in order to address a socioeconomic component of the trans support. The merger became the organization's microgrants program, which gifted small grants to trans people who were in need of funds to cover the fees associated with legal name and gender marker changes, as well as with updated identification documents.[19] The organization's guiding ethos was "justice-oriented collective community aid,"[7] a concept the organization promoted based on the belief that both economic justice and having affirming trans community are part of and key to trans liberation. Trans Lifeline suspended its microgrants program at the end of November 2023, citing falling donations and increased demand for services caused by an increase in anti-trans legislative efforts. At time of its suspension, the program had donated approximately $1.5 million USD in grants averaging $500 per person, with later grants slightly larger due to inflation.

The organization's hotline does not engage in non-consensual active rescue,[20] meaning operators never call 911, police, or emergency services on callers without an expressed request and consent, based on research associating involuntary hospitalization with increased suicide attempts after discharge.[21] [22] Additionally, they believe that calling the police on transgender people in crisis, particularly trans people of color, causes more harm.

The organization also oversees a program the Inside Advocacy project to support incarcerated trans people. The project provides funds for trans people's commissaries so that they may afford "basic comforts" while imprisoned.[23] The program also works to provide microgrants to trans people in ICE detention.

As of June 2020, the organization had set in motion a Spanish language extension[24] in order to serve Spanish-speakers calling the hotline. This involved recruiting multilingual volunteer staff to answer calls.[24] The new service serving the Spanish speaking community went into effect on July 1, 2020.

Facing a $2.5 million USD budget shortfall at the end of 2023, the hotline suspended operations for a two-week hiatus, beginning December 18. It resumed in the new year with reduced operating days and hours.

Budget

In a June 2019 interview on the podcast Queery, Trans Lifeline Executive Director Elena Rose Vera stated that 85% of the organization's budget comes from members of the general public in the form of small donations.

Leadership

From founding the organization to their dismissal in 2018, Martela and Chaubal served as Trans Lifeline's Executive Director and Director of Operations, respectively. They were replaced by Sam Ames as interim Executive Director and Tiffany St. Bunny as Director of Operations. Then-Deputy Executive Director Elena Rose Vera succeeded Ames in March 2019 before stepping down herself in September 2021.[25] [26] [27]

Fundraisers and partnerships

In media

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Calls to the Trans Lifeline Quadrupled After the Trump Administration's Gender Policy Memo. Teen Vogue. October 24, 2018 .
  2. Web site: About - Trans Lifeline - Peer support services, hotline and resources for Transgender People Trans Lifeline. Trans Lifeline.
  3. News: Jesse. Mechanic. America's First Transgender Suicide Hotline Is Now Live. December 22, 2017. HuffPost.
  4. Web site: A Volunteer With Trans Lifeline Talks About Why People Are Scared—and Dialing. Willamette Week. October 31, 2018 .
  5. Web site: Trans Lifeline provides suicide prevention by and for the trans community. November 21, 2014. GLAAD.
  6. Web site: The Only Crisis Hotline by Trans People, For Trans People. July 22, 2019. PAPER.
  7. Web site: Trans Lifeline | Office of LGBTQ Resources. lgbtq.yale.edu.
  8. Web site: Home . translifeline.org.
  9. Web site: End-of-Year Pause in Hotline Operations & New Hours in 2024. Trans Lifeline. 2023-11-15. 2023-12-15. 2024-03-13.
  10. Web site: Navigating Change: Trans Lifeline Initiaties Restructure for Long-Term Resilience. Trans Lifeline. 2023-11-30. 2023-12-01. 2024-03-13.
  11. News: Grabenstein. Hannah. After a year of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, a lifeline for trans and nonbinary people faces cuts. 2023-12-14. PBS NewsHour. 2024-03-13.
  12. Web site: Debunking Misinformation, a response to a recent Tumblr article. Trans. Lifeline. November 15, 2016. Medium.
  13. Web site: Nina Chaubal helps build community, save lives with Trans Lifeline. NBC News. March 8, 2017 .
  14. Web site: Greta Gustava Martela of Trans Lifeline from RESIST Podcast. www.stitcher.com.
  15. Web site: Greta Gustava Martela. Trans Justice Funding Project.
  16. Web site: Trans Lifeline Executive Team & Board of Directors . February 21, 2019 . The Leadership Transition, 2017 Taxes, and How We're Moving Forward . September 7, 2022 . Trans Lifeline . en-US.
  17. Web site: Suozzo. Andrea. Glassford. Alec. Ngu. Ash. Roberts. Brandon. May 9, 2013 . Nonprofit Explorer — TransLifeline — Full Filing . October 1, 2022 . ProPublica . en.
  18. News: Newberry. Laura. A crisis hotline for transgender people, by transgender people. LA Times. September 7, 2020. October 1, 2022.
  19. Web site: The Only Crisis Hotline by Trans People, For Trans People. July 22, 2019. PAPER.
  20. Web site: Why no non-consensual active rescue? . Trans Lifeline . June 2, 2018 . March 31, 2021.
  21. Goldman-Mellor . Sidra . Olfson . Mark . Lidon-Moyano . Cristina . Association of Suicide and Other Mortality With Emergency Department Presentation . JAMA Network . December 13, 2019 . 2 . 12 . e1917571 . 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.17571 . 31834399 . 6991205 . free .
  22. Jordan . Joshua . McNiel . Dale . Perceived Coercion During Admission Into Psychiatric Hospitalization Increases Risk of Suicide Attempts After Discharge . Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. June 4, 2019 . 50 . 1 . 180–188 . 10.1111/sltb.12560 . 31162700 . 174807643 . June 15, 2020.
  23. Web site: The Holiday Commissary Campaign - Trans Lifeline - Peer support services, hotline and resources for Transgender People Trans Lifeline. Trans Lifeline.
  24. Web site: Álvaro Gamio Cuervo talks Spanish Language Services and the Future of the Hotline . TransLifeline . November 11, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920070533/https://www.translifeline.org/blog/post/alvaro-gamio-cuervo-talks-spanish-language-services-and-the-future-of-the-hotline . September 20, 2020.
  25. Web site: Trans Lifeline Board of Directors. Passing the Torch. Trans Lifeline. March 11, 2019. October 1, 2022.
  26. Web site: Rose Vera. Elena. Elena Rose Vera's Outgoing Letter to Our Community. Trans Lifeline. September 29, 2021. October 1, 2022.
  27. Web site: Today, We're Streaming 72 Hours to Raise Money for Trans Lifeline. Patrick. Klepek. May 2, 2019.
  28. Web site: Highlight in Philanthropy: Ramona Sharples' Amazing Buttons and Pins - Trans Lifeline - Peer support services, hotline and resources for Transgender People Trans Lifeline. Trans Lifeline.
  29. Web site: Kim Petras on Helping Young Trans People Vote as Their 'True Self': 'Everybody Just Wants Equality'. July 9, 2020. PEOPLE.com. EN.
  30. Web site: Dallas Steaks Opposing SB1646. July 7, 2021. tiltify.com.
  31. Web site: Elena Rose Vera, episode #93 of Queery with Cameron Esposito on Earwolf. www.earwolf.com.

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