The annual Trans Support Day hosted by Syracuse University’s Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Trans Team is always an important event for members of the local trans community.
But this year it is perhaps more important than ever as the trans community faces unprecedented societal and legislative discrimination throughout the United States.
Trans Support Day 2025 will be held from 12 to 4 p.m. April 5 at Peck Hall, 601 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, just north of the Syracuse University campus. The event is free and open to the public.
“Trans and nonbinary folks of Central New York, please join us for Trans Support Day,” says Department of Marriage and Family Therapy Associate Professor Deb Coolhart, Ph.D., LMFT, who founded the Trans Team in 2004. “We know this time is extremely difficult politically and that you are receiving plenty of messages that imply that you don’t matter.
“We want you to know that you are valid, valued, beautiful, and loved,” Coolhart says. “The event is a celebration of you, and a place to connect with each other and be supported by your protective allies.”
Attendees at this year’s Trans Support Day will have the opportunity to connect with 25 trans-affirming providers, including 12 local businesses and organizations that support–and advocate for–the trans community. Available resources include legal support, affirming medical care, hormone providers, affirming wellness providers, free clothing and makeup, makeup and hair tutorials, and support for teens.
The event will also include a live band, and the Trans Team has received an overwhelming amount of donations for a free clothing drive, which is regular feature of Trans Support Day. Last year’s event attracted more than 250 people despite a snowstorm, and organizer Tristan Martin says he’s expecting a larger crowd this year as the event continues to grow from its formative years with less than 50 attendees.
“Trans Support Day is a day filled with community and positivity,” says Martin, Ph.D., LMFT, CST, an assistant teaching professor.in the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy. “The MFT Trans Team works together planning logistics for the event all year long to ensure that we provide a day that trans people can feel connected and celebrated.
“This year, more than ever, we are recognizing the importance of Trans Support Day and the powerful impact we can have to show trans people they belong, and they are supported,” Martin adds. “This is a day for providers and businesses to also connect as a form of allyship in the Central New York community. In moments of opposition, as history has shown us, community connection and allyship are crucial pillars towards liberation.”
The Trans team is part of the Syracuse University Couple and Family Therapy Center in Peck Hall, and students on the team receive specialized training to provide gender-affirmative therapy for transgender people and their families and assist in the readiness process for medical gender transition. Read more about the Trans Team in this story from Syracuse University’s central marketing content team.
About MFT
The Department of Marriage and Family Therapy in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics prepares students to work with marginalized populations, at-risk youth, and the LGBQ and transgender communities. In the Couple and Family Therapy Center, marriage and family therapy students gain supervised, hands-on clinical experience while providing free therapy services to families, couples, and individuals across Central New York. Visit the MFT webpage to learn more about academic programs, experiential learning, and career opportunities.