On Sunday, February 15, a rally and potluck were held at Cal Anderson Park, organized by the Mutual Aid Network for Trans & Intersex Individuals in Seattle (MANTIS) in collaboration with other Trans rights groups, including TRACTION. It was mainly a speaking event to provide a voice for an increasing number of transplants who fled to Seattle to escape hostile legislation in other states.
Notable speakers included Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Joy Hollingsworth, KOI cofounder Violet Kawaguchi, and TRACTION program manager Aspen Coyle. In Kawaguchi’s speech, she discussed how over 400,000 Transgender Americans have fled their home states in the past year due to hostile legislation, including bathroom bills, and healthcare discrimination. She stated that Seattle has taken in over 20,000 Trans refugees in the last year and lamented how this number is greater than any program in Seattle is equipped to handle. Despite this, the number is expected to increase by upwards of 50,000 within months, according to Kawaguchi.
She further scolded the City for its lack of public support in handling this crisis, demanding that it do something since Trans relocation networks are pushed to their limits and warning that the current infrastructure to support these refugees faces imminent collapse.
In addressing these issues, Councilmember Hollingsworth expressed a desire to listen to the concerns of Trans speakers and get a clearer picture of the needs of the community. Councilmember Rinck reflected on Cal Anderson Park’s history in the past year, acknowledging that many homeless Trans refugees reside in the park, and mentioning the Mayday counterprotest, which saw the Seattle Police Department attack Trans and Queer people.
As part of her work in Position 8, Rinck has taken steps to address the housing crisis and pushed for the Seattle Shield Initiative, to shift business taxes so Seattle’s top 10% businesses pay more of what they owe to social services, hoping that this can then be used to provide funding for housing programs and alleviate Trans homelessness.
Speakers’ stories
Morgan, an organizer with MANTIS, shared a story of a homeless Transgender woman she met the weekend after Pride. This girl had been living in a tent in the park, hadn’t been able to shave in days, and went months without HRT. Morgan, along with her friend, took an interest in her and tried to help her. They discovered that she had staph infections on her legs and needed medical treatment, but she couldn’t afford healthcare and didn’t have valid medical insurance. Despite offering various resources, such as help her to apply for Medicaid, the girl made it very clear that she didn’t want handouts but instead to find a job so that she could pay for her healthcare. Morgan talked to a case manager about resources for her, but soon she was gone, and Morgan has not seen her again.
This sad story highlights the social struggle homeless people face in the capitalist system. We are taught to believe that asking for help or assistance is socially unacceptable, so most homeless people struggle in silence.
Other speeches include those by Ellie and Rose, two Trans refugees from Utah. In 2025, that state passed legislation preventing Trans people from using gendered facilities that aligned with their gender identity, denying access to HRT on Medicaid, and prohibiting LGBTQ+ Pride flags from being displayed in government buildings. Ellie shared her experience as a federal employee there, describing the legal battle that cost a lot of time and money so she could use the restroom at her place of work. Though she was lucky to have the financial means and necessary legal advisors, many Trans people do not have access to these resources.
Rose detailed on a larger scale the ways Trans people are discriminated against in red states. For example, she pointed out that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is the agency that handles workplace discrimination, does not list Transgender discrimination as a reportable claim.
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