Trans Income Project

TIP improves the lives of transgender Louisianians by addressing their financial, medical, and social challenges through comprehensive support initiatives and by organizing our membership to engage in public policy work. Meeting community members where they are through direct services to improve their immediate safety and security empowers our membership to advocate for themselves and their interests from a place of wellness.

TIP steps in where policy work alone can’t immediately reach to meet the needs of trans folks in an increasingly hostile political climate. Instead of waiting for issues to be sorted out in courts or legislatures, we focus on survival programs that keep people from falling through the cracks. Programs include:

- Cash transfers: Cash transfers are one of the most efficient and effective ways to provide aid to a community. By directly transferring funds, we provide support that is targeted and immediate, allowing individuals to prioritize their most pressing needs and navigate their unique paths toward well-being and self-determination.

- Meal service: Our organization prepares and delivers 150 nutritious, homemade meals a week to trans individuals in New Orleans. This supplemental assistance gives our time-scarce membership more freedom to pursue work opportunities, complete other essential tasks, and even rest. The program ensures that they have a healthful meal while also building community, furthering our efforts to increase fellowship amongst our members.

- HRT medication: When the Louisiana Department of Health has instituted a bureaucratic change in Medicaid billing codes that prohibits trans folks on Medicaid from receiving gender-affirming care, TIP stepped up to make sure this care continued. We partnered with CrescentCare to serve as a third-party payor to ensure folks continue to receive their medication without facing enormous out of pocket costs. Participating health care providers like CrescentCare reroute bills for these denied services directly to TIP for reimbursement. The program is designed so that folks simply need to collect their meds without worry or enrolling.

- Alternative healing vouchers: Medical providers often fail to serve our community with respect, which drives many folks to abandon traditional care. Therefore, we also facilitate a voucher program that connects community members to alternative healing services such as acupuncture, massage therapy, and harm reduction support. Providing access to care through a voucher program enables the individuals in our community to exercise their own autonomy in choosing the healing care that is best for them. 

- Support groups: We host twice-monthly support groups for trans people, offering a space for healing, connection, and solidarity.