10 Years Strong: Stand with Trans Honors Progress and Resilience Amid Anti-Trans Backlash
Michigan-based youth support organization celebrates community victories amid legislative challenges
In the face of unprecedented legislative attacks on transgender rights, Stand with Trans founder Roz Keith sees the organization's 10-year anniversary gala, which takes place May 17, as a powerful moment of celebration and joy.
"I strongly believe that a decade doing this work — reflecting on so much change and so much progress — needs to be celebrated," Keith says. "And yes, as a country, the community is under attack, and trans people are under attack. However, I know how powerful this community is."
Described as not “just an event” but a “national movement,” the organization’s Love Transcends gala will mark Stand with Trans' decade of service to the transgender community. Two prominent national trans advocates will headline the event: bestselling author and nonbinary activist Jeffrey Marsh and Mila Jam. Marsh, who was the first nonbinary public figure to appear on national television, has been a trailblazer for gender inclusivity and self-love. His empowering TikTok videos have received over three billion views. Jam, a celebrated singer, actress and activist, is the Senior Advisor of Global Trans Initiatives at Out Leadership. A powerful voice in the LGBTQ+ community, she continues to use her platform to uplift and advocate for transgender individuals.
The gala, which features entertainment and a silent auction, will also honor champions of the trans community, including Keith and Emme Zanotti, senior director at Equality Michigan, who will receive the Founder's Award. Barbara Shumer, retired public librarian and past board member, will be presented with the Allyship Award.
Since its founding in 2015, Stand with Trans has evolved from a small Metro Detroit support group into a national lifeline for transgender youth and their families. As anti-transgender bills continue to emerge in Michigan and across the country, the organization's mission has never been more crucial — or more impactful.
"We had a parent workshop recently in Washtenaw County, and at the end of the workshop, one of the dads who attended came up to me and said, 'We've been coming to Stand with Trans events and programs for several years now, and finding the parent support group saved our lives,'" Keith shares.
The journey over the past decade has been marked by both significant progress and growing challenges. "It's an interesting path when you look at where we were 10-12 years ago and how hard everyone fought to create access to care, and now we're fighting to save that access," Keith reflects. "It is disheartening to look at how hard everybody worked to get to this point, only to feel like our fingers are slipping off the ledge."
Despite these challenges, Stand with Trans continues to expand its services. Last October, the organization launched a virtual and in-person therapy program that has quickly grown to meet community needs.
Keith's son Hunter, whose coming out as transgender in 2013 ultimately led to the creation of Stand with Trans, has spoken about the isolation he felt as one of the only openly transgender teens he knew. "Not having a support network of people my age or even a little bit older [so] that I could see I have a future was really hard," he told Pride Source earlier this year.
"This is lifesaving care. Our practice started with a grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services," Keith explains. "Now I'm really happy to say that our therapist, who is full-time, has just about a full caseload. Our director of clinical services is also seeing clients. We're paneled in many insurances, and we also have a sliding scale if folks don't have insurance and need some relief."
For Dubbs Weinblatt, who coordinates Stand with Trans' annual Trans Empowerment Month each October, community connection is essential. "Getting to spend as much time with other queer and trans people as possible is crucial for survival," says Weinblatt. Weinblatt first connected with Keith in 2017 through their work at Keshet, a national nonprofit focused on LGBTQ+ inclusion in Jewish institutions.
"I was really blown away by her passion as a mom, as an ally in supporting her son and the trans community as a whole," Weinblatt says.
For parents like Jill Forbis, who first connected with Stand with Trans nearly five years ago when her son came out at age 18, the organization has been a crucial resource.
"It's always been super important and helpful, not just for the trans youth, but for the parents, and also just helping to gain better support and understanding from the community at large," Forbis says.
Forbis, who identifies as queer, says that while accepting her son’s transition wasn't a challenge for her, she needed guidance on practical matters like insurance coverage and finding affirming caregivers. She attended a parent support group to learn how such groups operate, which inspired her to start a similar group at her workplace.
Keith emphasizes that comprehensive care extends far beyond medical interventions. "Gender-affirming care is not just about writing a prescription," she explains. "It's making sure that trans people have access to therapists who understand what they're going through, who are trained in working with the trans community. It's making sure that family doctors and pediatricians and primary care physicians know what it means to have a patient who is transgender just so they can be affirming in their practice, even if they're just there for a sore throat."
For 17-year-old Augusten Lagrou, a member of the Stand with Trans Youth Advisory Board, the organization provides crucial opportunities for advocacy and connection.
"To me, it's been a really good opportunity to meet with other youth who are into advocacy and who want to make a difference," Lagrou says. "And we can kind of rely on each other."
Lagrou joined the inaugural Youth Advisory Board over a year ago. The board, comprised of middle school through college-aged members and led by two Stand with Trans staff members, has already made significant contributions to the organization's educational outreach.
"One of the first projects we did was a Zoom teaching about pronouns," Lagrou explains. "This was mostly aimed at educating parents and people who would be around trans people about how to use pronouns... Another one of the things that we've done recently is a youth needs assessment. We've sent out a form to youth across the country to fill out, and then we can see how we as an organization can help people."
This focus on education remains central to Stand with Trans' mission. The organization's Lifeline Library serves as a comprehensive digital repository of vetted information for transgender individuals and their families.
"We want the Stand with Trans website to be the destination for credible information," Keith told Pride Source earlier this year. "There is so much disinformation out there. It's really important to us to make sure that our content is vetted, that our sources are credible."
For Lagrou, this kind of education is vital in countering harmful narratives. "I think the more that people can understand about their loved ones or friends or family, or really just trans people in general, the more people can see that it's pretty normal and that we're not dangerous or anything like some of the media is making [us] out to be."
As Stand with Trans celebrates its milestone anniversary, Keith emphasizes the critical need for community financial support, especially as some funding sources have become less reliable. "So many companies have changed their funding priorities," Keith explains. "If there are folks in the community who want to support the work, then donate to Stand with Trans, donate to LGBT orgs in the state who are doing this work, support them, because it's harder right now to get the funding that we all used to get."
She stresses that contributions of any size make a difference in sustaining their services. "We need individual donors. If somebody goes online and sends us $10, or they can send us $1,000 or whatever that amount is, they should know that every single dollar helps us do the work that we do."
As Stand with Trans celebrates its 10-year milestone, its mission continues: supporting trans youth and their families with resources and advocacy, even when it means weathering a storm of anti-trans attacks and enduring an era when misinformation has eroded progress.
"I know how powerful this community is, and I know how loud the voices are," Keith says. "The community will survive and will grow and will be stronger — we are definitely stronger together."
For more information about Stand with Trans and to access the Lifeline Library, visitstandwithtrans.org.
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