Hundreds of multicolored paper butterflies with names written on them cover the walls of TransSOCIAL’s Miami location, each representing a name change the nonprofit helped make a reality.
TransSOCIAL co-founder Morgan Mayfaire said the joy he feels seeing the butterflies extends well beyond their face value.
“Once you get your name change, it opens the door to so many things,” Mayfaire said. “It gives you the ability to get your degree in your chosen name, to get a job without having to out yourself in the interview… to getting better housing. So in so many ways, symbolically, you do get your wings.”
TransSOCIAL is a nonprofit that offers transgender people and allies a space for social, emotional and legal support. It hosts gatherings to build a stronger sense of community, and offers resources to those seeking help.
Mayfaire and his wife, TransSOCIAL director of operations Ashley Mayfaire, founded the nonprofit almost nine years ago when Mayfaire began transitioning. Mayfaire noticed most outlets for trans support were medical, not social.
Working together wasn’t a new concept for the two — Mayfaire and Ashley had previously operated a remodeling company. TransSOCIAL started as a social organization, but when the two realized the unmet needs of the community, they began offering case management services like legal name change assistance.
Ashley said the organization offers multiple events, such as a monthly trans-focused social support group called TransConnect. They said it gives people an opportunity to engage in activities such as quilt making and bingo, and allows them to meet new people and connect to beneficial resources.
TransConnect also hosts educational opportunities like T.A.C.O. Tuesdays, where they cut through the political noise and discuss how to respond to real bills and laws targeting the community — and, of course, eat tacos.
The community response to these TransConnect events?
“Let's put it this way, we have to throw them out,” Mayfaire said. “It's supposed to end at nine o'clock. We're lucky if we get home at midnight.”
Politics have fueled the expansive support TransSOCIAL provides. The organization was founded on Halloween 2016 — just a week before Donald Trump was elected as president for his first term. Or, as Ashley put it: “We have not known peace.”
Now in his second term, where he has consistently targeted the trans community, Ashley said it’s vital to offer this safe space.
“It's becoming more and more unsafe out in public, people are emboldened to harass and mistreat visibly queer and trans people in public,” Ashley said. “So I think it's really important that we have these spaces, and we hold these spaces, and we go out and find spaces in the community that will welcome us.”
Mayfaire said educating people through outreach and events like T.A.C.O. Tuesdays combats some fear instilled in the trans community that’s caused by misinformation.
“They also need to know that not everyone hates us,” Mayfaire said. “The misinformation that's out there makes it seem like the entire country is out to get trans folks. The reality is that we're being scapegoated to show that Trump is strong and powerful… by attacking a tiny group of Americans and taking their rights. It's ridiculous, but they also need to know that not everybody agrees with that.”
Though TransSOCIAL can’t solve every problem, it can try. Ashley said the nonprofit offers guidance on any request, even if they aren’t directly equipped to help.
“The most important thing is for folks to reach out if they're having any [questions], because we have deep connections throughout South Florida and the state,” Ashley said. “If there's something we don't do, we could probably find somebody to help.”
TransSOCIAL – Miami
Email:
Phone: (305) 747-3156
Website: https://transsocial.org/
