Trans resources in NYC
This is a continually updated list of trans-competent community resources in New York City and surrounding areas. Thank you to the clients and colleagues who have recommended resources.
Please note that while I do my best to keep these listings accurate and updated, I do not have firsthand experience with every professional or resource listed. If you’d like to add a resource to this list, if you’ve found an inaccuracy, or if you’ve had a bad experience with a professional or organization listed, please let me know.
How do I…
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These medications must be prescribed by a doctor or nurse practitioner. Some primary care providers will prescribe these medications, especially if they specialize in trans care. Others will want you to see an endocrinologist. You will find a list of these providers below. We do not have prescribing providers at our practice.
While some providers work on the informed consent model, which does not require you to get a letter from a therapist, some will ask you to see a therapist before prescribing you hormone therapy. This is almost universally true for minors.
Our staff therapists can provide these assessments and write you a letter. For adults, these assessments typically require only one session. Some of our therapists have limited sliding scale or no-fee session availability for those who can’t afford the session. If we don’t have availability, GALAP (external link) can help you find a therapist to write one for free or low cost.
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You can find surgeons in the list of directories of trans-competent healthcare professionals below. Typically, surgeons will require at least one letter of support from a therapist. Our staff therapists can provide these letters. These assessments typically require only a single session, and some of our therapists have limited sliding scale or no-fee session availability for those who can’t afford the session. If we don’t have availability, GALAP (external link) can help you find a therapist to write one for free or low cost.
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This process can involve multiple government agencies (e.g. vital records, DMV, social security) and private companies (e.g. your bank, your job). Advocates for Trans Equality offers a guide for changing federal and state documents (external link).
While you don’t usually need a lawyer to change your name, some of the local legal nonprofits listed below can help you with the process for free.
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Contact one of the trans-friendly housing and social services nonprofits listed below.
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The insurance navigation listings below can help you file an appeal with your insurance company after a denial and figure out your options for getting out-of-network care if in-network care isn’t available to you. If you’re a New York resident and you continue to be denied after filing an appeal, you can file an external appeal with the Department of Financial Services (external link).
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You have the right to be free of gender identity-based discrimination in both public and private K-12 schools and higher education institutions in the state of New York. Your first step, if you feel safe doing so, is to report the issue to someone you trust at your school, such as the principal, dean, student affairs office, or guidance counselor.
If your school administration does not take appropriate action, or if you do not feel safe making a complaint to them, you can file a Title IX complaint. If you attend an NYC public school, you can contact your Title IX coordinator and find out how to file a complaint here (external link). If you attend a public school outside of NYC, a private K-12 school that accepts federal financial assistance, or a public or private college, you will need to find out how to contact your Title IX coordinator (a legally required staff member at every institution that accepts federal funds). You can learn more about Title IX and how to find your Title IX coordinator here (external link).
You may also file a complaint with the NYS Division of Human Rights (external link). This applies whether or not your school receives federal funds.
Nondiscrimination laws have certain exemptions for religious schools. As of 2024, there is proposed legislation to end these exceptions, but it is not yet law. If you attend a religious school, you may want to contact the NYCLU (external link) to find out more about your rights. Some of the legal organizations listed below may also be helpful.
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If you’re in New York City, contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights (external link) to file a report. Outside of NYC, you can file a complaint with the New York State Division on Human Rights (external link). Some of the legal resources below may also be able to help.
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Find one in the local and national irectories of trans-competent providers listed below.
Gender-affirming hormone therapy and trans-competent primary care
New York City
Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery (adults) and Adolescent Health Center (children, adolescents, and young adults ages 10-26)
NYU Langone Transgender Health Program (adults) and Transgender Youth Health Program (adolescents)
Apicha Community Health Center (adults)
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center (adolescents and adults)
Northwell Health Gerald J. Friedman Transgender Health & Wellness Program at Lenox Hill Hospital (children, adolescents, and adults)
NYC Health + Hospitals (adults; some locations offer adolescent services)
Planned Parenthood of NYC (adults, some locations offer adolescent services)
Jeffrey Kwong, DNP of Gotham Medical (adults)
Ronica Mukerjee, DNP (age range unknown)
Central, Upstate, and Western New York
Planned Parenthood of Central and Western NY (adults, some locations offer adolescent services)
Planned Parenthood of Albany and Capital Region (adults, some locations offer adolescent services)
Pride Center of Western New York (provides linkage to trans healthcare)
LGBTQ+ Primary Care at Upstate University Hospital
Dr. Karen Teelin (pediatric endocrinology)
Gender Wellness Center (adults, adolescents, and children)
Long Island
Planned Parenthood (adults, some locations offer adolescent services)
Northwell Health (children, adolescents, and adults)
New Jersey
CarePoint Health (Hudson County)
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (Newark)
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (Somerset)
VNAJC LGBTQ Health Center (Asbury Park)
AtlantiCare (Atlantic City)
Healthy Transitions LLC (Sterling)
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey (five locations in Northern/Central NJ; all locations offer informed consent services; some locations offer adolescent services)
Connecticut
Anchor Health Initiative (Hamden)
Virtual clinics and national resources
Plume (adults; offers limited free care through HRT Access Fund)
Folx Health (adults; offers limited free care through HRT Care Fund)
QueerDoc (adolescents and adults; offers sliding scale)
An informed consent clinic Google map created by @ErinInTheMorn
Gender Affirming Letter Access Project (national alliance of clinicians who provide free and low-cost letters for gender-affirming medical care)
Trans-competent Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners
Psychiatrists
Psychiatric nurse practitioners
Trans-competent home care and post-surgical care
Visiting Nurse Service of New York
NYC Queer Exchange (not a caregiving service, but a Facebook group that many NYC-area trans people use to mutually exchange care for upcoming surgeries)
Trans-competent hairstylists/barbers, hair removal, and aesthetics
Hair removal and aesthetics
Asterisk (*) indicates a provider known to work with health plans for reimbursement for gender-affirming hair removal services. This does not mean other listed providers do not work with health plans, only that these are the providers for which we have that information.
Manhattan
Affordable Permanent Electrolysis (electrolysis, by appointment only)
Deeangelys Colon at the Friedman Transgender Program (electrolysis)
Hairless NYC* (electrolysis—ask to speak with Bella for gender-affirming services)
New York Electrolysis Office* (electrolysis)
Limoges Beauty (electrolysis, aesthetic services)
Tribeca MedSpa (laser, aesthetic services)
Kline Dermatology (laser, dermatology)
Brooklyn
L’Elite Medspa* (electrolysis, laser)
Uncle Nat’s (laser, sugaring, facials)
Queens
Berkowitz School of Electrolysis (electrolysis, laser—offers low-fee gender-affirming services)
Long Island
L’Elite Medspa* (electrolysis, laser) (Huntington, NY)
Pennsylvania
Papillon Center (electrolysis) (New Hope, PA)
Barbers and hair salons
Asterisk (*) indicates that the barber or salon has at least one stylist known to be experienced with Black hair.
Trans-competent and body-inclusive dieticians
Quinn Haisley (ADHD-competent)
Trans-competent speech and voice
Speech and voice therapy - NYC
NYU Steinhardt Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic
Mount Sinai Transgender Voice Care
Speech and voice therapy - NJ
Ry Pilchman at RWJBarnabas Health
Singing instructors/voice coaches - NYC
Chloe Johnson (email or Reddit)
Elizabeth Saunders (also in Union, NJ)
Singing instructors/voice coaches - NJ
Daya Deuskar (Princeton)
Elizabeth Saunders (Union, NJ; also in NYC)
Singing instructors/voice coaches - Upstate NY
Lucy Fitz Gibbon (Ithaca/Hudson Valley)
Insurance navigation for gender-affirming care
QueerDoc (sliding scale insurance navigation services for gender-affirming medical procedures)
Sylvia Rivera Law Project (free assistance obtaining billing exceptions and appealing denials)
Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) Trans Health Project (information and assistance with obtaining billing exceptions and appealing denials)
Advocates for Trans Equality (free name change help for low-income people in NYC and Long Island)
Group therapy, peer support, and social activities
Gaël M. Krajzman Johns’ group resource list (list of support and therapy groups on various topics in the NYC area and nationally, many of them trans-focused/trans-friendly)
The Center (youth and adults)
New Alternatives NYC (youth)
Hetrick-Martin Institute (youth )
Brooklyn Community Pride Center (youth and adults)
Pride Center of Staten Island (youth and adults)
Generation Q (youth)
Hudson Pride Center (NJ, youth and adults; also provides linkage to trans healthcare and legal services)
Project Real (NJ; youth and adults)
IPG Counseling (NJ; youth and adults)
Meetup.com (adults)
Trans-friendly shelters, housing assistance, and social services
The Door (youth housing assistance)
The Center (adult/youth housing assistance)
Housing Works (adult/youth housing assistance)
Ali Forney Center (youth shelter, drop-in center, housing assistance)
Covenant House (youth shelter)
Destination Tomorrow (adult/youth housing assistance)
PFY (adult/youth housing assistance, workforce development, food pantry)
Rainbow Roommates (LGBTQ roommate matching service)
Crisis hotlines
The Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860 is staffed with trans peer counselors only. They are open 24/7 and guaranteed to have staff available from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. (Eastern Time). The Trans Lifeline has a policy against calling the police or emergency services unless you specifically ask them to.
Volunteer counselors at the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ crisis line, are available 24/7. You can call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678. You can also visit TheTrevorProject.org for chat support. The Trevor Project does not have a policy against calling the police or emergency services.
The LGBT National Help Center can be reached at 1-888-843-4564. The LGBT National Help Center does not have a policy against calling the police or emergency services.
attorneys and legal nonprofits
nonprofits offering free legal assistance
NYLAG (name/gender marker changes, immigration, adoption, partner violence, advance directives, employment/housing discrimination)
Sylvia Rivera Law Project (name/gender marker changes, shelter discrimination, assistance obtaining criminal rap sheet, healthcare discrimination, insurance denial assistance, immigration, incarceration)
Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) (name/gender marker changes, information/assistance with health insurance issues, referrals)
Housing Works (housing, public benefits, family law, wills, advance directives, consumer issues, immigration)
National Lawyers’ Guild (mass defense, legal observers for demonstrations, legal help hotlines for activists)
PFY (linkage to legal services, asylum support letters, name/gender marker changes)
Advocates for Trans* Law Students (name/gender marker changes)
attorneys specializing in employment law
Directories of trans-competent professionals
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) member directory (healthcare, legal, other professionals)
Trans Care Site (healthcare, mental healthcare)
NY Trans Guide (healthcare, mental healthcare, legal, social services)
TransHealthCare.org (surgeons only)
Callen-Lorde’s NY and national trans surgeon list (surgeons only)
Manhattan Alternative (healthcare, mental healthcare, alternative healers, personal trainers; now lists providers outside of NYC metro area)
The Gender-Affirming Letter Access Project (GALAP) (nationwide directory of therapists who offer free letters of support for gender-affirming healthcare)