Trans Mental Health Isn’t a Niche. It’s Public Health.

When trans people are treated as an afterthought in mental health care, the outcomes are predictable: high rates of trauma, suicidality, substance use, and disordered eating. These aren’t individual failures — they’re the result of a public health system that treats our lives like a side issue.

At The Source, we believe that trans mental health is not a specialty service. It is central to the fight for health equity, justice, and community survival.

This Is a Public Health Crisis

Let’s look at the facts:

• Nearly 1 in 2 trans adults seriously considered suicide in the past year.

• Trans people are significantly more likely to experience food insecurity, unstable housing, and barriers to medical care.

• Rates of PTSD, depression, and substance use are dramatically higher in trans communities than the general population — especially among Black, brown, disabled, and low-income trans people.

These are not isolated statistics. They reflect systemic failures — and public health risks that ripple across generations.

And Yet, We’re Invisible in Most Health Systems

Most public health departments don’t collect usable data on trans populations.
Most provider trainings don’t include trans-specific case studies.
Most mental health programs don’t even know what “affirming care” really means.

We’re not under-resourced because there’s no need. We’re under-resourced because systems have refused to see us.

What Would Change If We Centered Trans Mental Health?

If trans people had access to consistent, culturally-informed, affirming care:

• Suicide rates would drop.

• Emergency room visits would decline.

• Recovery rates for trauma, substance use, and eating disorders would rise.

• Trans people would feel more connected, resourced, and alive.

This isn’t hypothetical. We have the research. We just need the will to act.

Trans mental health isn’t niche. It’s urgent. It’s structural. And it’s time the field caught up.