Trans Lifeline is a peer support and crisis hotline 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving transgender people by offering phone support and microgrants.[1][2] It is the first transgender crisis hotline to exist in the United States as well as Canada.[3][4][5] It is also the only suicide hotline whose operators are all transgender.[6][7][4][5] As of 2019, the organization was host to approximately 95 volunteers in addition to a small paid staff.[6] The US number is (877) 565-8860. The Canada number is (877) 330-6366.[8]
Trans Lifeline was founded in 2014 to address the epidemic of suicidality and lack of national resources for the trans community. It was founded[3][2] by Nina Chaubal and Greta Gustava Martela, two San Francisco software engineers.[9][10][11][12]
In November 2016, in response to a Tumblr post accusing Trans Lifeline's founders of embezzlement and harassment, the organization published an article on their Medium page denying the allegations of embezzlement and explaining their decision to directly confront individuals who they believe facilitate transphobia.[9] However, Chaubal and Martela were dismissed by the organization's board of directors in 2018 after an internal review found they had diverted $353,703 to unapproved personal purchases and side projects.[13][14][15] Chaubal and Martela were able to repay $8,585, and in June 2018, agreed to mediation with Trans Lifeline in which they would repay the remaining amount over the next ten years, in lieu of lawsuit or other recovery.[14]
In 2017, the organization merged with Trans Assistance Project in order to address a component of the trans narrative that is often missing, that of socioeconomic justice. The merger became the organization's microgrants program, which gifts small grants to trans people who are in need of funds to cover the fees associated with legal name changes.[16] The organization's guiding ethos is "justice-oriented collective community aid,"[7] a concept the organization promotes based on the belief that both economic justice and having affirming trans community are part of and key to trans liberation. As of 2019, the microgrants program had dispersed a total of $375,000.[17] Approximately 1,000 people were served, with each grant being approximately $360.[16] As of June 1, 2020, 75% of microgrants made each cycle go to transgender people of color. At least 20 microgrants each month go to youth ages 18–29.
The organization's hotline does not engage in non-consensual active rescue,[18] meaning operators never call 911, police, or emergency services on callers without an expressed request and consent, based on research associating involuntary hospitalization with increased suicide attempts after discharge.[19][20] Additionally, they believe that calling the police on transgender people in crisis, particularly trans people of color, causes more harm.
The organization also oversees a program the Inside Advocacy project to support incarcerated trans people. The project provides funds for trans people's commissaries so that they may afford "basic comforts" while imprisoned.[21] The program also works to provide microgrants to trans people in ICE detention.
As of June 2020, the organization had set in motion a Spanish language extension[22] in order to serve Spanish-speakers calling the hotline. This involved recruiting multilingual volunteer staff to answer calls.[22] The new service serving the Spanish speaking community went into effect on July 1, 2020.[citation needed]
In a June 2019 interview on the podcast Queery, Trans Lifeline Executive Director Elena Rose Vera stated that 85% of the organization's budget comes from members of the general public in the form of small donations.
From founding the organization to their dismissal in 2018, Martela and Chaubal served as Trans Lifeline's Executive Director and Director of Operations, respectively. They were replaced by Sam Ames as interim Executive Director and Tiffany St. Bunny as Director of Operations.[13][1] Then-Deputy Executive Director Elena Rose Vera succeeded Ames in March 2019 before stepping down herself in September 2021.[23][24][25]
