A church in Texas has launched a program to help transgender youth receive healthcare. The Fort Worth-based Galileo Church has created a nonprofit, dubbed the North Texas TRANSportation Network (NTTN), which aims to help families of trans and gender diverse children receive the care they need.
The nonprofit, which is described on Galileo Church’s website, as an “integrated auxiliary ministry,” was founded in August 2023 in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s signing of Senate Bill 14. SB14 blocks kids from receiving puberty blockers or hormone treatments, even though studies have shown these treatments can be life-saving for trans youth. The bill bans procedures and care standards that have been endorsed by the Texan chapter of the American Association of Pediatrics. In 2023, Texas has passed a slew of legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
The goal of NTTN is to raise money to help fund the travel expenses for families to either fly or drive to a state where their child can receive care by a doctor of their choice. The organization will do this by providing a $1000 grant to assist families. The nonprofit does not require any religious affiliation or church engagement for applicants. To receive the grant, families must be in the 19-county northern Texas area (surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex) and have a child who is trans or gender-diverse.
In an interview with CBS News, Executive Director Cynthia Daniels says: “I am a mother, I have three kids, and I have always been able to get the healthcare for my kids that they desperately needed. So to me, it’s just being a good neighbor to a group of people who have been selected to not be able to receive their healthcare, and to me, that’s devastating.”
The nonprofit is funded entirely via individual donors and organization; no public money is being used for the grants. So far, NTTN has received two applications and has been able to fund one. Grants will be distributed as funds become available. The nonprofit has said 100% of the funds go directly to the families.
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