TransAtlas: A Guide to Navigating Gender-Affirming Services

By Micah Domingo, Data Coordinator for Transgender & Non-Binary Programs

Where can I find a barber who won’t judge me? Who is the best top surgeon?  Who knows a trans friendly place for electrolysis? These are all common questions and topics of conversation among trans people, often exchanged by word- of- mouth. 

I know first hand that identifying high quality and welcoming services using the word-of-mouth method can be a challenge – a place might have been supportive towards some community members, but may give inadequate care to others due to a range of factors. Or you may not know many other transgender, non-binary or intersex folks, making resources even harder to find. 

Finding good care is vital for transgender people to survive and thrive, especially as we navigate transphobia at all levels of society. We deserve safety and dignity when moving through our lives, so I created a tool, informed by our community, to help us find the services we need without stigma or fear.

TransAtlas launched in 2020 and now includes over 400 services throughout the five boroughs. You can search by service, by neighborhood, keyword, and you can narrow further if you identify as a person with a disability, formerly incarcerated, young person, elder, immigrant and person of color. 

We have also created topical landing pages for transition-related resources allowing users to find important information about specific gender-affirming procedures and surgeons outside of NYC. We are continuously expanding our resources and service directory, so keep checking in. 

Each month, roughly 2,000 users visit the site to find necessary services and resources for their lives. Part of what makes TransAtlas so powerful is the anonymous feedback we get from users. I’d really encourage you to sign up for a profile and tell us about the experiences you have with the services you’ve used so we can help make the experiences even better for others. We keep each other safe, and leaving a comment and rating will help others find the care they need using the most useful information – community input! 

As we seek more funding, we’re working on an app based version of TransAtlas. In the future we hope to expand it to include services in the Tri-State area, and eventually to the entire U.S.

I’m so proud to have TransAtlas available on the Callen-Lorde website and to work everyday alongside providers fulfilling the mission to serve the LGBTQ+ community with joy, compassion and the highest quality health care. 

Please check out TransAtlas, create a profile to save important resources for yourself, and leave some feedback on your experience with the service providers. We’d love to hear from you!