Open Arms - TRACTION

Open Arms is a mutual aid project of TRACTION started in 2023 in response to the alarming increase in anti-trans legislation and rhetoric across the country. Two-Spirit, transgender, nonbinary, gender-diverse, and nonbinary people (trans+) and their families are seeking to escape hostile legislation in their home states. Washington has long been a destination for such folk, and we expect migrating individuals and families to increase over the next decade.

Our goal then and now is to support “red state refugees” – especially trans+ individuals and their families – seeking safer, more welcoming places to live.

How it works

Submit the Request for Assistance Form. The current wait for an appointment is approximately 90 days.
When your request reaches the next in line, you are invited by email to schedule a 20-minute Intake Call to connect you with a Navigator. Calls are conducted via Google Meet unless you request something different.
Your Navigator and the Open Arms team will prepare referrals based on the intake conversation. This may take up to two weeks to complete.
Your Navigator will schedule a 20-minute Update Call to review referrals and discuss next steps.

REQUEST ASSISTANCE

Start a conversation with a navigator and make a plan to move.

Stay in Touch

Click Here

REQUEST ASSISTANCE

Start a conversation with a navigator and make a plan to move.

Let Us Help!

We just need a little more information to be able to provide support and resources for your move.

Click Here

Thanks for your interest in Project Open Arms. Due to an overwhelming response, we have paused inquiries for the remainder of 2024 so that we can work to serve those who have already been in touch. Requests for help with relocation planning will resume in early 2025.

If you previously sent an inquiry and received a confirmation receipt, rest assured that you are still in the queue. We’ll be in touch as soon as possible. The current wait for an appointment is approximately 90-120 days.

We have deep connections to trans-affirming resources in Western Washington, where we are based, and a nationwide network of groups doing similar work in other sanctuary states. Our trans-led team of activists has been working in trans+/queer/LGB spaces for more than two decades.

We cannot currently offer financial support.

We can help you navigate the relocation process, including finding community connections, employment opportunities, gender-affirming healthcare, and more.

If you’re looking for more immediate resources, check out InReach’s national directory of verified services for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.

Clicking the link will take you to another website.

“The scale of this issue remained under wraps until a recent Data For Progress survey brought to light the unsettling reality: hundreds of thousands of transgender people have already left their home states, and more than a million are considering a similar course of action in the coming months.”

—Erin Reed, Erin in the Morning