Montclair-Based Group Offers Legal Aid To Transgender Community – Patch.com

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A Montclair-based nonprofit dedicated to safeguarding the rights of the transgender and non-binary community is celebrating its launch with an effort dubbed the “Name and Gender Marker Change Project.”

The new group, Trans Affirming Alliance, will provide clients throughout New Jersey with legal guidance and representation, partnering with existing local LGBTQ+ centers.

The nonprofit also plans to eventually offer mental health counseling, career counseling and workshops and various support groups, as well as specialized health and wellness services for the transgender community such as vocal coaching.

The nonprofit will kick off its operations with its primary initial service, the “Name and Gender Marker Change Project.” As part of the effort, volunteer attorneys, paralegals and law students will provide legal guidance and representation for name and gender marker changes for transgender individuals.

“Together with our founding partner organizations, Newark LGBTQ+ Community Center, Edge NJ, African American Office of Gay Concerns and the Rain Foundation, we will be providing their members, and our community, an avenue to legally change their name and gender marker on all identifying records,” Trans Affirming Alliance stated in a news release.

The Name and Gender Marker Change Project will launch in Essex and Morris counties, with plans to expand statewide, the nonprofit said.

A webinar for the project will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 1 p.m. Learn more or register here.

Three members of the board of directors offered statements of support for the new group last week.

Celeste Fiore, Esq., Chairperson – “New Jersey has long needed a transgender focused non-profit led by transgender people to center our voices and our needs. The Trans Affirming Alliance arose from the tragedy of Ashley Moore’s death when connections were made across racial and socioeconomic lines within Essex County, between legal providers and community organizations. The overarching goal is to improve the lives of our transgender siblings by bringing resources to community members through community partners, training of subject matter experts on the specific needs of transgender people, and broad-based education on the needs of the transgender community. These are lofty goals but made all the more attainable due to increased use of internet-based communication platforms. Our community has found workarounds to survive in a larger society that does not always respect our humanity—through the Trans Affirming Alliance we demand our human rights.”

Robyn Gigl, Esq., Treasurer – “It is an honor to be one of the founding members of Trans Affirming Alliance. It is certainly our goal to make the road a little easier for all trans and non-binary people. For me personally, to have the opportunity to work with Celeste and Aaron on these critical issues facing our community is something I’m truly looking forward to.”

Aaron Potenza, Secretary – “For too long, transgender and non-binary New Jerseyans, and in particular transgender people of color, have faced significant barriers to full equality. With the Trans Affirming Alliance we seek to address those barriers through policy advocacy, and by providing expanded access to legal services. I am thrilled to be a founding member of the Alliance, along with my trusted and brilliant colleagues Celeste Fiore and Robyn Gigl, and look forward to the work ahead to with, and on behalf, of the trans community.”

The nonprofit’s initial partners also offered strong words of support.

Beatrice Simpkins, Executive Director of the Newark LGBTQ Community Center – “With the launch of Trans Affirming Alliance, the Newark LGBTQ Center affirms its commitment to protecting the lives of transgender and non-binary people, especially Black and Latinx individuals. Transfolk are dying from transphobia and systems that do not protect them. They experience life-threatening biases that cut across systems of law, employment, education, and housing. This is why this work is so important. With the death of Ashley Moore, we have become keenly aware that it is our mutual responsibility to ensure the safety, freedoms, and quality of life for trans and non-binary people in our community. We welcome this groundbreaking partnership. It will be one of the most significant resources that will improve the safety and prosperity of our trans and non-binary neighbors, family members, partners, and friends.”

Joann McEniry, Chief Operating Officer of EDGE New Jersey – “We are proud to be serving the community since 1994. It is a priority for us to be able to provide these services to our trans and non-binary members and working with the Trans Affirming Alliance on their Name and Gender Marker Change Project is an important step in that direction.”

Gary Paul Wright, Executive Director of African American Office of Gay Concerns – “The AAOGC is proud to be a founding partner of the Trans Affirming Alliance, as everything we do comes from understanding our community’s needs and empowering the lives of our trans and non-binary siblings. We look forward to being a part of the solution.”

For several years, Montclair was the home to one of the state’s largest LGBT advocacy groups, Garden State Equality, which moved to Asbury Park in 2016.

This story is part of Patch’s Headlining Hope series, which profiles local nonprofits and charitable organizations in need of volunteers and resources. If you know about a local organization that should be profiled, contact eric.kiefer@patch.com.

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