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Noah Reddy, a senior at Summit Preparatory Charter High School in Redwood City, was two weeks short of turning 18 before the 2024 presidential election. Had they been eligible to vote, Reddy said they would have voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.
As a nonbinary and lesbian student, Reddy said they were frustrated and scared by President Donald Trump’s potential re-election along with a ballot measure to codify marriage equality being up for vote.
Reddy was one of many LGBTQ individuals who felt anxious in the days before and after the election. The Trevor Project, an LBGTQ suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, reported a 200% spike in election conversations across its 24/7 crisis services.
The community is worried about the anti-LGBTQ and racist sentiments that have been growing online, said Reddy. That may be especially so for transgender and nonbinary individuals, who are concerned about continued access to gender-affirming care.
One of Trump’s first executive orders on Jan. 20 was to declare the recognition of only the male and female sex.
While concerns about the overturning of LGBTQ rights increase, local organizations such as the San Mateo County Pride Center are working toward providing more mental health support and creating a safe space for LGBTQ individuals. The day after the election, counselors at the Pride Center said they saw a growth in people dropping in to gather resources to share with others, said Frankie Sapp, director of the San Mateo County Pride Center.
In the weeks after the polls closed, the Pride Center turned into a drop-in space for people looking to escape while enjoying arts and crafts, playing video games or just hanging out with their peers.
The history of Trump’s actions toward the community “further solidifies both the anxiety and worry, but at the same time, can make our need to prepare and plan and know what we actually need to take action more concrete,” said Sapp.
The presidency impacts every person represented by a letter in LGBTQ in a different way, Sapp explained.
“There are different outcomes, consequences, impacts by different factors in the world. All of the disparities in terms of mental health, financial struggles, housing insecurity, each of those letters may be impacted differently,” said Sapp.
Elements of age, race, disabilities are also to be factored into the myriad struggles and concerns that are rising within the LGBTQ community, he added.
Supporting a community from within
Every Pride Center staff member is also a member of the LGBTQ community. Because the staff are part of the community that they serve, they are able to use what they’ve learned on how to take care of themselves and put that toward helping others, said Sapp.
In order to balance lived experiences with being a support system for others, the Pride Center holds regular staff check-ins, self-care days, appreciation parties and proactively holds conversations on how to improve and train staff.
With an entirely LGBTQ-identifying staff, “there is a greater investment that our work is important,” Sapp said. During times of struggle, “there is also a collective rise in the action of supporting each other even more,” he added.
Marginalized communities are also being supported by San Mateo County leaders. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors reaffirmed its commitment to protect and welcome immigrants, people of color, the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities on Jan. 29.
“You are loved and you are valued and this county will stand behind you,” said District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller to transgender youth.
How are LGBTQ youth affected?
Leading up to the election, the increase in dialogue about transgender lives in the media created a negative impact on youth mental health, said Mimir Castro, director of Outlet Program, a local nonprofit that provides LGBTQ youth counseling services on the Peninsula.
“I heard a lot of anxiety around the way that trans people were being portrayed in the news and a lot of fear that there would be a greater lack of acceptance or that people would be more comfortable vocalizing a lack of acceptance,” Mimir added.
LGBTQ youth often carry the feeling of being powerless and having to rely on a parent or guardian to sign off on hormone treatments and vote for their rights, said Sapp. This additional barrier for youth adds an additional “question mark” as to whether they will be able to access their rights.
Reddy, who is also a teen leader at SafeSpace, a local youth-led, mental health organization, said their transgender friends started hormone treatment before the election, because they wanted to make sure they could start it before their access could potentially be taken away.
“There’s a lot of people having fears for their future, that they won’t be able to be the person that they want to be,” said Reddy.
Young people like them are also now considering the political climate of states where they are thinking of attending college.
“Now that I’m going off to college, I have to think about what state I want to be in so that I know my rights will be protected,” said Reddy. “A lot of this is now going to be state-by-state, like, abortion, trans healthcare and trans people being allowed to play sports.”
Even among high schoolers, Reddy heard a lot of misogynistic comments on campus and jokes about Trump regaining power the day after the election. “It was really difficult to hear people say things like that. You don’t realize there are people at their own school or in your community that harbor these feelings,” Reddy said.
Resources like Outlet and SafeSpace are open for youth to seek mental health support and be able to express themselves freely.
Youth specific spaces offer a place for community building and social interaction when generally, LGBTQ hubs can be found at bars and venues catered for ages 18 and up or in places that serve alcohol, said Castro.
Opening up spaces for LGBTQ youth is especially important because they are navigating through the “universal experience” of developing independence and self discovery while also exploring their sexual identity, he added.
“The goal with LGBTQ youth spaces is that we help them not feel so alone,” said Castro. “One of the biggest signs or symptoms we see with youth experiencing anxiety and depression around their sexuality or gender is isolation, and that can be really dangerous.”
At Outlet, staff are also aware that the young people they see may also be children of parents who are in the immigration process. Trump’s agenda to increase mass deportation and end birthright citizenship is increasing stress and anxiety among youth who are concerned for their parents and family. Outlet staff are trained to support all youth with resources and coping skills for mental health around these topics.
Having youth-centered spaces is “important so young people are able to feel like they are being heard and being empowered to make change,” Reddy added. “[SafeSpace] is where you can be accepted, even when you feel like you’re not being accepted by the larger world. Maybe right now, our country doesn’t accept me, but I know that there’s at least this place where I am.”
For more information on the San Mateo County Pride Center and Outlet program visit sanmateopride.org. To learn more about SafeSpace visit safespace.org.
