Colorado group helps other transgender people escape hostile states, unsafe conditions

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Transgender Texans, frequently the targets of antagonistic state legislation and policies, continually weigh the threats to their civil rights against the costs of relocating to safer, more survivable states.

A recent directive at the Texas Department of Public Safety's Driver's License Office instructs employees to disregard court orders for sex marker changes, which are currently legal under Texas law. It also told employees to report any Texans who present such an order, which stirred fears that state law enforcement may create a list of transgender people.

Only 0.43% of adult Texans and 1.42% of Texans aged 13-17 identify as transgender, according to the UCLA Williams Institute. That's around 122,700 people -- less than the population of College Station.

What it takes to leave

Conversations in Texas transgender communities this week included talk of "escape plans" to flee eroding civil rights. Similar conversations came during the 2023 regular legislative session, when state lawmakers filed more anti-LGBTQ+ legislation than any prior session.

Moving to another state can cost thousands of dollars, disconnects a person from their community and medical care. Remote work may remain an option for some, but most Americans would also need to find a new job after such a move.

Those prohibitive factors are ones that Denver-based nonprofit Trans Continental Pipeline (TCP) hopes to ameliorate.

"We help queer people get out of the states that don't really like us and come to Colorado," TCP executive director Keira Richards said. "We've been told by national analysts that Colorado is the safest state for queer people. So we're trying to help people get here."

TCP became a nonprofit in April, after which it has received nearly 70 applications from people in 23 states, Richards said. Those applications are free and without the expectation of repayment. However, TCP currently has paused applications until late September.

"A lot of those include more than one person, sometimes families. We've been able to relocate, so far, between 10 and 15," she said, noting that some of the relocated people are now volunteers for TCP.

Richards, TCP's other relocation managers, and around 80 other volunteers all make the operation run as smoothly as they can. Currently, she currently handles a caseload of 15 active relocations.

The group is currently setting up a temporary home, where a trans refugee will be able to stay for a month while they get established in Denver. Previously, the relocation process could get delayed while TCP found a volunteer to temporarily host an applicant.

"With the temporary housing this will be a lot faster, because people won't have to just wait around until we find a place for them that isn't requiring income verification, or they find a job and can use the offer letter to get an apartment," she said.

When home isn't safe anymore

Richards describes TCP as a support and networking organization, able to provide contacts for housing, employment and transition-related medical care providers.

"We can get people free flights. We can offer grants to help with the relocation. We can manage a lot of the logistical side of things," Richards said. "There is a certain amount of autonomy that they would need. We can only do so much, so they certainly need to take control of their move."

She's spoken with some of the refugees, relaying that there's "two axes" of the decision to move: cultural safety and legislative safety. For some, persecution from only one of those factors is enough to spur relocation.

"If the living situation that they're in gets bad, if their roommates, family or whoever they're living with are being transphobic and drinking the Kool-Aid of the current establishment, that is definitely an impetus in leaving," she said. "It's really when both legislative and cultural safety take a turn for the worse that people feel the need to leave."

Regardless of why, suddenly uprooting one's life is risky, especially for people in the gender minority.

"It is nerve wracking, to be sure. We've heard a lot just about how scary it is, how much trust they're putting in us," Richards said. "But everyone I've talked to said that they wouldn't have been able to do this move without our assistance, which really shows what an impact our program is having. I'm really glad that it's helping people make these moves that they feel are necessary for their well being."

TCP received a $15,000 grant from the nonprofit LGBT+ Housing Initiative in August, but primarily relies on donations.

"We're a 501 C3, so we're constantly begging for donations, which are going right back to our community to help them in these moves, find housing, or house them temporarily," Richards said. "So any support from all over the country is always super important to us."