The Trans Youth Resilience Fund (TYRF) is a direct financial assistance program that puts money in the hands of young trans and nonbinary individuals to support their health, safety, and wellness, as defined by them.
Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers provides comprehensive primary care and patient-centered health services to over 8,000 individuals every year. Included under the umbrella of Philadelphia FIGHT is Y-HEP Health Center, the City of Philadelphia’s only youth-specific community health center. Y-HEP Health Center offers adolescents and young adults ages 13 to 24 access to low barrier, inclusive healthcare, including STI testing and treatment, HIV prevention, gender-affirming care, reproductive healthcare, family planning services, sick and well visits, walk-in services, and much more. In the last twelve months, Y-HEP Health Center has worked with nearly 250 young trans and nonbinary individuals, many of whom come to Y-HEP as a supportive space to engage in all facets of their gender-affirming care. The TYRF greatly expanded our ability to provide care to trans and nonbinary youth by allowing us to provide direct financial assistance alongside a young person’s healthcare.
From one of the participants: “I got laid off from my job for a little bit and had trouble paying rent. I had other bills to pay at that time that I was also behind on. This program was so important in keeping my housing. I still live in the same place and resigned my lease. Rent is always a little late, but my landlord is nice about it.”
