Increasing numbers of transgender people are reportedly leaving red states for Democrat-run Seattle, Washington, and a nonprofit in the area is struggling to keep up with the demand.
The group called Traction has assisted over 1,000 transgender people in moving to the area since 2024 but it and other nonprofits, according to a Washington Post article published on Tuesday, are running out of resources.
“Though trans people make up just 1 percent of the population in Washington state, the nonprofits that help them say their budgets are drained and their staffs are stretched so thin that last month the Seattle LGBTQ Commission asked Mayor Katie Wilson (D) to declare a civil state of emergency. Such a declaration would free up general fund dollars to bolster the nonprofits’ finances as they help transplants find housing and jobs,” the outlet said.
The report also cited a poll that suggested about 400,000 transgender adults left red states not long after President Donald Trump beat former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
A poll in 2023 found one-third of Seattle’s residents were considering leaving mainly due to home prices and crime, while homelessness has also been a major issue plaguing the area.
The Post article noted how those moving to the area would put additional burdens on subsidized health care.
“If the city chooses not to declare a state of emergency, commission leaders said, they worry what will happen not only to Seattle’s LGBTQ+ organizations but also to ones that help all city residents. Many of the newcomers need shelter, food aid, and subsidized health care. And the city’s homeless population has already reached a record high this year,” the article stated.