Standing Up for Transgender Youth

There are a lot of harmful messages about transgender people going around Missouri right now. Transgender people, and especially transgender young people, are being talked about like they are a problem, a threat, or people others need to be protected from. At the same time, they are portrayed as needing protection from the adults who know, love, and support them.

At Right By You, we support young people in making decisions about their health and their lives. We believe young people deserve accurate information, compassionate support, and healthcare that meets their unique circumstances.

So when we hear hateful and harmful messages about a group of young people, we have to speak up. Trans young people deserve the same thing every young person deserves: to be safe, healthy, respected, and supported as they determine the path their lives will take.

Our Young People Are Listening

Young people's mental health is a major concern in our culture. Bullying, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide are all treated as serious problems. These concerns are especially serious for transgender young people. The CDC has found that transgender and questioning high school students experience more violence, poorer mental health, and more suicidal thoughts and behaviors than their cisgender peers.

But we also need to think about the messages adults are putting into the world around young people. Those messages do not stay in political conversations. Young people encounter them at home, at school, online, and in their communities. Their friends, classmates, siblings, teachers, coaches, and neighbors encounter them, too.

When grown adults repeatedly single out transgender people as a problem, a threat, or people to fear, those messages have consequences. We need to take those consequences seriously. The Trevor Project's 2025 national survey found that 48% of LGBTQ+ young people ages 13–17 had been bullied in person during the previous year. LGBTQ+ young people who experienced bullying of any kind reported more than three times the rate of attempting suicide compared with those who were not bullied.

The CDC also identifies supportive families and peers and connection to school as protective factors that promote better mental health for transgender young people. What young people hear from the adults around them matters.

Adults who choose to put harmful messages about transgender people into the world are responsible for that choice, and for the harm those messages can contribute to.

And the rest of us have a responsibility, too: to speak up.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms any suggestion that transgender people are less deserving of dignity, safety, freedom, healthcare, or a full place in our communities.

We want to be equally clear about what we believe: trans people of every age belong here. Trans people matter. Trans people deserve respect, dignity, safety, and support. They deserve access to the healthcare they need, close to home, and the freedom to live, grow, thrive, and build the lives that are right for them.

Resources

• Nafasi TransCare Collective — Black queer/trans-led community care, advocacy, wellness, and support based in Kansas City.

• St. Louis Queer Support & Healing (SQSH) — Peer support, a helpline, and resources for LGBTQIA+ people in the St. Louis region.

• Metro Trans Umbrella Group — Trans-led support, community, and resources in the St. Louis region.

• PROMO — Statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy, education, and resources.

• PFLAG — Support for LGBTQ+ people, parents, families, and allies, with chapters in Missouri.

• The Center Project — Mid-Missouri LGBTQIA+ community center offering youth programming, affirming healthcare resources, support groups, and practical assistance.

• The GLO Center — LGBTQ+ community resources and support in Southwest Missouri.

• The Trevor Project — National crisis support and resources for LGBTQ+ young people.