MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES $2 MILLION EMERGENCY FUND TO FURTHER SUPPORT TRANSGENDER, GENDER NONCONFORMING, AND NONBINARY NEW YORKERS

 

Funds Will Support 20 Nonprofit Organizations Delivering Care to LGBTQ+ Community

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced a $2 million emergency fund to support organizations serving transgender, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary (TGNCNB) New Yorkers. The funding, which is the first of its kind in the nation, will be administered by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and is intended to support community-based organizations that offer an array of inclusive, responsive, and affirming services to TGNCNB New Yorkers that meet urgent community needs, including services related to health and wellness, legal advocacy, youth and family support, safety and crisis response, community building, and economic empowerment. Up to $92,000 will be made available to approximately 20 experienced organizations that are positioned to continue delivering these services in 2026. The funds may be used for program purposes — including personnel, travel, supplies, and services — and the majority of clients served with these funds should be TGNCNB individuals. The application period is now open through January 5, 2026.  

 

“Our administration will always ensure that members of the LGBTQ+ community are protected and have access to the care they need and deserve,” said Mayor Adams. “With this announcement of $2 million in emergency relief to providers who serve transgender, gender nonconforming and gender nonbinary New Yorkers, we are putting our money where our values are and stepping up to serve those who need our care.”

“We saw a need after federal budget cuts, and we are responding to it,” said First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro. “There are essential services at stake for this community. Therefore, it was an imperative for us to take action and fill that need.”

“Actions by the federal government to reduce access to critical, evidence-based health care for transgender and gender-nonconforming people is unconscionable,” said DOHMH Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse. “Supporting New York's community organizations that provide lifesaving services and are eligible for the emergency funds is a key part of the Health Department's commitment to supporting the health and well-being of all New Yorkers.”

Globally and locally, TGNCNB individuals experience significant barriers to accessing affirming health care and social services, including structural inequities and stigma enacted through personal, institutional, and societal practices. These barriers may be amplified for individuals who are Black, Latino, adolescents, have disabilities, or have other identities that result in social marginalization.  

 

Many community-based organizations that offer affirming services to transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers are under significant strain as they grapple with growing demand, funding uncertainty, shifting policies, and threats to the rights and safety of their staff and clients. Supporting and sustaining the impactful work of TGNCNB-serving organizations is critical to ensuring that TGNCNB individuals can continue to access affirming spaces, safety, and life-sustaining care. 

 

The goals of this program are to promote the health, safety, and well-being of transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers through maintaining and expanding access to health care, housing, legal, safety, and economic services, as well as to opportunities to foster and sustain community and social support; to protect the capacity and sustainability of organizations serving TGNCNB New Yorkers, including those led and staffed by TGNCNB individuals; and to maintain the availability of services tailored to the needs of TGNCNB individuals across all five boroughs. 

 

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene maintains the NYC Health Map, which includes an online directory of LGBTQ+ knowledgeable mental health providers, as well as LGBTQ+ Health and Transgender Health resources. Through the NYC Health Map, New Yorkers can also find LGBTQ-knowledgeable providers who can offer services in primary care, sexual health care, and gender affirming care.

 

The Adams administration is committed to affirming and protecting individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or gender nonbinary. In 2022, together with the NYC Unity Project, the Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice and the New York City Department for Youth and Community Development, Mayor Adams announced investments in The Pride Health Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson — one of seven centers in the city’s public health system providing culturally-sensitive, gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ patients. These investments enhanced community and mental health programming, provided staff training, renovated the clinic’s second floor to create community spaces, and expanded access to confidential HIV prevention services.

 

In June 2023, Mayor Adams signed a groundbreaking executive order for a transgender safe haven policy to protect people who seek or provide gender affirming care. The executive order prevents the use of city resources to detain any individual who is providing or receiving gender-affirming health care services in the five boroughs. Additionally, the executive order denies the City of New York from using its resources to cooperate with any prosecution or investigation by another state related toan individual for providing or receiving gender-affirming care.

 

Also, in June 2023, Mayor Adams announced a new mechanism and process to reexamine homicide cases with LGBTQIA+ victims through a partnership between the New York City Police Department and the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.

 

In May 2025, all five long-term care facilities earned the “LGBTQ+ Long-Term Care Equality Leader” designation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and SAGE’s Long-Term Care Equality Index (LEI). The LEI is the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey of residential long-term care and senior housing communities on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of LGBTQ+ residents, visitors, and employees.

 

In October 2025, the City of New York announced a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) to protect $47 million in federal grant funding to New York City Public Schools after the U.S. DOE directed New York City Public Schools to violate both state and local law by overhauling its position on bathroom and locker room policies for transgender students.

 

Finally, NYC Health + Hospitals was the first municipal health care system to mandate LGBTQ+ training for all staff members in 2011. In 2014, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan became the first municipal hospital to open a health care center dedicated to the needs of LGBTQ+ patients. Today, all 18 eligible facilities have earned the “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) — a recognition these facilities have received every year since 2015. The HEI is the leading national benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and best practices in health care facilities.

 

New Yorkers experiencing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity can file a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights. For immediate mental health support, call or text 988 or visit nyc.gov/988. Trained counselors are available 24/7 by phone in over 200 languages and by text and chat services are available in English and Spanish.