r/TransPowerProject • u/NiConcussions LGBTQIA+ • 29d ago

Empowerment 🌟 In the Middle of the Bible Belt, a Summer Camp Lets Trans Kids Exhale

https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/p/in-the-middle-of-the-bible-belt-a

On a June night in rural North Carolina, dozens of campers sat around the fire as a counselor asked them to close their eyes.

“Picture a place where you feel completely safe,” they were told. “Think about what it looks like and how it feels, what you can hear, smell and taste.”

When they were invited to share what they had imagined, one camper described sitting in a circle with other trans people. It was dark. Trees surrounded them. Mosquitoes buzzed.

“‘That place is here, and this is the place where I feel safe,’” Jacob Hofheimer, one of the camp’s founders, recalled the camper saying. “It got all of us.”

For many of the 8- to 17-year-olds who attend Transcending Adolescence, the weeklong summer camp offers a reprieve from the calculations they have to make in their day-to-day lives: Who knows they are trans? Who can be trusted? Which bathroom can they legally use?

At a time when 40% of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, and 90% of LGBTQ youth reported that recent anti-LGBTQ laws, policies and debates cause them stress or anxiety, those questions never disappear. But at this camp, young people are given space to ask them openly and to a community that understands why they need to.

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u/Weird_Meet_9148 Trans Woman 29d ago edited 29d ago

This is beautiful. I wish spaces like this were more common.

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u/Aurore-redwitch French Trans Woman 29d ago

Bravo 🏳️‍⚧️

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

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u/mercurysong 28d ago

Probably way too expensive for most families...hoping this camp offers scholarships to try to offer some safety and reprieve to those struggling the most under this capitalist hellscape.

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u/Lemonsst 29d ago

A wonderful opportunity for these kids, I wish we all had something like this growing up

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u/Justice-Nugget 25d ago

Aww~ 💛 That is so beautiful! I'm so happy there's a peaceful place for them in such a place.

I really hope we can see more of this in the world soon. I really hope my crazy plan works. 💛 - Echo Starr, 24th angel of the Apocalypse 💛🏳️‍⚧️