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2024 has been a year of significant achievements for Maryland’s trans community, but also one of growing challenges, particularly since the November election. Trans Maryland continues to lead initiatives, provide vital community services, and serve as a loud and effective voice for each of us. With your help, we will be increasing our efforts in 2025 to help Maryland trans people be safe, secure and affirmed in our state.

One of Trans Maryland’s signature achievements for the past five years has been our Gender and Name Change Program. Nearly 2000 trans Marylanders have been helped by this program to date, including over 500 in 2024 – and over 170 alone since the November election. Today there are over 200 names on the waitlist seeking our help. Your donations make a huge difference in how many people we can help with this vital and at times life-saving process. Over half of us do not have IDs or records that reflect our authentic gender.

Trans Maryland organized four separate Document Assistance Clinics in the state in 2024, so trans people can meet with us face-to-face for help in navigating what can feel like a time-consuming and complicated process involving many steps and forms to change our names and genders. We often subsidize the cost of this process, so no one is denied because of need. With the help of a newly formed coalition of experts, these Clinics also expanded our typical offerings to include additional services like assistance with second parent adoption, financial and healthcare power of attorney, and immigration support.

Another major and ongoing success Trans Maryland has achieved has been the consistent presence of our Peer Support Program, T4T, where trans Marylanders help each other as equals in a facilitated, peer-led group setting. 

We are active and effective advocates for our community with the Maryland State Legislature, and other political and policy bodies. Trans Maryland testifies in legislative hearings, submits policy papers to inform and influence proposed bills, and works one-on-one with individual legislators to help them become better allies for all trans Marylanders.

In 2024, Trans Maryland advocated in the Legislature and successfully to helped to kill many harmful bills, including ones threatening freedom of speech, and the rights of transgender minors both inside and outside of schools. We are actively continuing to help advance trans-supportive bills, including ones to protect gender-affirming healthcare and others. 

Winning the support of decision-makers is most effective when it’s buttressed by facts. In 2024, Trans Maryland released findings from the statewide Maryland Trans Survey we conducted in partnership with the Queer/Trans Collective for Research on Equity and Wellness. Among the realities the report exposed is that the vast majority of trans Marylanders have been victims of violence at some point in our lives, and are often afraid to contact the police. Many of us lacked access to gender-affirming healthcare; over 30% of us experienced unemployment in the last year. Almost half of us have been fired or denied employment because of who we are, and nearly a quarter of us had experienced a financial crisis in the past year. All of this must change, and Trans Maryland is determined to help all of us.

We’re also committed to engaging with trans Marylanders everywhere through our community outreach efforts. In 2024, Trans Maryland participated in sixteen Pride events across the state, most with booths, where we could inform people of the services we offer, and give them opportunities to become allies for us.

We have consistently worked to make our community visible and supported everywhere we can. Our President, Lee Blinder, was re-appointed as Chair of the Maryland Commission of LGBTQIA+ Affairs. Trans Maryland collaborated with the Baltimore City Council on resolutions for gender-affirming and HIV-supportive care. We were active participants in many Pride events and other ceremonies supporting the Maryland trans and larger queer communities. For these reasons and many others, Trans Maryland’s Executive Director Lee Blinder received the Torch Award during the National Trans Visibility March.

Looking ahead to 2025, Trans Maryland is focused on expanding the Gender and Name Charge Program with the support of a full-time program manager. We’re also planning to increase access to our Peer Support Program,, work with governments at all levels to advance trans-affirming policies for Marylanders of all ages, and to grow our network of community partnerships.

None of this would be possible without the financial and volunteer help from each of you. Thank you for all you do to continue to support Trans Maryland. It makes every difference.