Advocates And Lawmakers Demand NY Budget Invest In Services For Trans New Yorkers
NEW Pride Agenda, alongside other advocates and lawmakers, rallied at the state capitol on Tuesday as Governor Hochul negotiates the 2025-26 FY budget.
On Tuesday, March 25, lawmakers and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community rallied at the New York State Capitol in Albany to demand a higher investment in services for trans and gender nonconforming New Yorkers.
Led by NEW Pride Agenda, an advocacy organization that addresses the needs of marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community, advocates called on the state government to expand funding for the Lorena Borjas Transgender Wellness & Equity Fund (TWEF) to $8 million annually, along with other service investments. TWEF is only the second state-level fund in the country dedicated to trans health and wellness. Since its inception in 2022, the fund has supported more than 24 organizations in providing housing support, workplace development, and health services to the trans and gender nonconforming community. NEW Pride Agenda, along with advocates from Amida Care and Callen-Lorde, said the fund is vital to continuing gender-affirming care in New York.
“As discriminatory, anti-trans policies rain down on us from the Trump administration, transgender and gender nonconforming New Yorkers are counting on state leaders to stand up and fight back to protect us from violence and hate,” Kei Williams, Interim Executive Director of NEW Pride Agenda, said in a press release.
State lawmakers echoed this sentiment. State Senators Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Gustavo Rivera, Jabari Brisport, Kristen Gonzalez, and Julia Salazar were present at the rally, alongside Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz, Harry Bronson, Chris Burdick, Harvey Epstein, Jessica González-Rojas, Anna R. Kelles, Steven Otis, Linda Rosenthal, and Tony Simone.
“I call on my colleagues and the Executive to prioritize the health and dignity of this vulnerable community by securing the $50 million contingency fund to cover the federal share of Medicaid costs for gender-affirming care and expanding funding for the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Equity Fund,” said Senator Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the Sentate Health Committee.
These demands come as Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature negotiate the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, determining how the state will spend over $250 billion. Hochul, the Senate, and the Assembly are split on a few major policies, such as tax hikes, CUNY and SUNY funding, and Medicaid support. The state budget’s annual April 1 deadline is looming, and with some major cuts expected, it’s unclear what kind of support our trans and gender nonconforming community will receive.
All photos courtesy of NEW Pride Agenda:
