Young Tucsonan Creates Trans Support Group To Help Others Connect

TUCSON, AZ — Transgender and nonbinary people in Arizona will soon have a new way to connect with others facing similar struggles, thanks to the work of a young Tucsonan.

Grayson, 22, has a passion for helping young people who struggle with their mental health, especially those in the queer community, and hopes to one day become a therapist. With the help of a $3,000 kindness grant from the Riley's Way Foundation, Grayson is in the process of creating T.R.A.N.S., which stands for Togetherness + Really Awesome Non-Normative Support, an online support group for transgender and nonbinary people.

Grayson is nonbinary and gender fluid and uses they/them pronouns. They have not come out to their family, so they asked Patch to publish only their first name.

Grayson, along with others on their team, came up with the idea for the support group while volunteering as a crisis responder at Thrive Lifeline, where they respond to people who text in. Grayson might help those people create a safety plan to help them avoid suicide or other self-harm, just offer an ear to listen or help them find other resources, like a safe place to stay.

"I've known a lot of people have had mental health crises, and I have a lot of queer friends," Grayson said. "I wanted to help people with their mental health, especially queer people. I wanted to provide support for people."

Grayson, who grew up in Tucson and just graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in psychology, only fairly recently realized that they were trans. During the height of the pandemic lockdown, Grayson was struggling with their own mental health, trying to figure out who they really were. They ended up watching a lot of YouTube videos featuring transgender people and had a sort of epiphany about their identity.

"I just thought that everybody felt this way," Grayson said. "But I realized that cisgender people didn’t feel the way I did."

A cisgender person is someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth and a trangender person is someone who does not.

That's when Grayson realized they were nonbinary, or not conforming to the genders of man or woman.

"I kind of felt like I never fit in, and definitely always identified as tomboy," Grayson said, adding that they were always more comfortable being more masculine instead of feminine.

Grayson plans to use the kindness grant for various costs associated with starting up the support group, including sending out cards with useful mental health tips to group members ahead of the first meeting.

The Call for Kindness grants go to projects created by young people that Riley's Way believes will inspire kindness and strengthen communities. This year, grants went to 36 projects led by young people, including Grayson's T.R.A.N.S. project.

Winners join a group of Kindness Fellows from across the country who work together to support one another's projects and expand their leadership and life skills.

The Riley's Way Foundation, based in New York City, was founded by Ian and Mackenzie Sandler in honor of their daughter who died suddenly while attending her first sleep away camp.

The mission of Riley’s Way is to "empower young leaders to use kindness and empathy to create meaningful connections and positive change."

Grayson and their team are planning for an initial support group meeting Aug. 6, with quarterly meetings after that on Nov. 5, Feb. 4 and May 6. During the first meeting, group members will be talking about coming out and being out in school and at work.

Those who want to participate can sign up here, and anyone with questions can reach out to info@thrivelifeline.org. The group is open to a transgender and nonbinary people 16 and older, as well as people questioning their gender identity. Although the group is aimed at transgender people in STEMM or Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine, all trans people are welcome.

"I just want to provide a safe space where people can connect," Grayson said. "Especially in rural areas, some people might not know or have even met other trans people."