Cincinnati City Council Votes to Allocate $500k to Trans Healthcare

In these uncertain and terrifying times, good news is always appreciated. On Monday, November 18, the Cincinnati City Council decided in a 9-0 vote to allocated $500,000 to health care for transgender youth.

The city’s overall health budget is $22.1 million, making this a small dip in the funding, and providing it to a population in great need. They are focusing on gender-affirming care for minors, as suicide rates for trans youth have skyrocketed recently.

During the Budget and Finance Committee meeting, Health Commissioner Grant Mussman pointed this out, stating “Increased risk of suicide is a very concerning thing in this population. For children, especially young children, having that mental health support is very important.” Mark Jeffreys, a city council member, agreed. Having an adult trans child of his own, he saw how the political ads impacted the mental health of his family and says, “I have become acutely aware of the pain and fear that the elevated political rhetoric has led to in the past few months among this community … While we cannot control when politicians use transgender children as political pawns, we can say that in our Queen City, we will embrace and accept every child for who they are.” Jeffreys was the one to offer the motion to the city council, and it passed with flying colors.

He also clarified that this had nothing to do with being “woke” and everything to do with protecting all children of Cincinnati and providing necessary care to them. In an article for the Cincinnati Enquirer, he expounds on the idea that no child should be left out for being different. He wishes to make Cincinnati a safe place for everyone, and points out the cruelty of politics demonizing a group of children to the point that those kids believe they’re better off dead. “The Cincinnati that I want to live in is also a city where we acknowledge everyone who lives among us as being a human being with dignity.”