TRANS AFFIRM: Defending Trans Rights in Idaho

Volunteers with Trans Affirm assist a community member with binder sizing during the organization’s first Resource Fair in 2024. (Photo courtesy of Trans Affirm)

Life can be harsh and isolating for Idaho’s trans and gender-diverse community—but a new nonprofit and its fierce founder are standing up to make sure they get the support and protection they need.

Trans Affirm, Inc., just one year old, is fighting to make life safer and more visible for trans and gender-diverse people in Idaho through resources, advocacy, and education.

Founder and board chair, Arya Shae, grew up near Phoenix, Arizona. He came out as trans socially at 16, and then officially the following year. But at 18, Arya got kicked out of his home and decided to move to Idaho, where his sister lived.

After moving from big city Phoenix to rural Idaho, Arya lost reliable access to hormones. Unable to afford trips to Boise, he was forced to ration his medication and ended up being off hormones for an entire year. “It was one of the hardest years of my life,” he said.

However, during this time, Arya was able to get a grant for top surgery, which he couldn’t have afforded otherwise. “I had my top surgery when I was living with my sister in Idaho,” he said. “So Idaho has a little bit of a special place in my heart.”

Eventually, Arya found places to get hormones on his own, something even trans people from Idaho struggled to do. “I started realizing I had a knack for finding resources and putting together information,” he said.

Founder Arya Shae and volunteers table at 2025 Pride events across Idaho, providing information and access to gender-affirming care. (Photo courtesy of Trans Affirm)

Arya got involved with local Pride organizations, shared information with the community, organized the first Trans resource fair, and continued growing his work through tabling and speaking at events.

“I had a lot of ideas about how the community could expand and how we could start helping with resources,” Arya said. “I was looking to do a binder program where people can donate binders and we can give them away.”

One day, he recalled, “A friend came to me and was like, ‘You need to make this a nonprofit. You need to keep doing this.’” Arya launched Trans Affirm in March 2024, and it became a 501(c)(3) just six months later, in August.

Though only a year old, Trans Affirm has accomplished so much. In addition to being a resource hub for inclusive care, they host resource fairs and community events, distribute transition wear for free, and create trans-affirming educational materials.

“We do a lot because we see a need and we want to fill it,” said Arya.

“I’ve met more trans people in Idaho naturally than all of Phoenix. There’s a huge population of us here, and yet we are still struggling to really get any headway on protections. There are constant legislative attacks on our community.”

Eighteen U.S. states have no explicit protections against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation—Idaho is one of them.

Meanwhile, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been rising sharply. For example, Idaho House Bill 71, effective April 2024, bans gender-affirming care for minors under the age of 18.

“We do a lot because we see a need”

This year, Trans Affirm attended at least six Pride celebrations across Idaho, with Arya  personally attending each one. Many youth affected by HB 71 reached out, and Arya said it was eye-opening to see just how many LGBTQ+ minors have been impacted.

Idaho House Bill 668, effective July 2024, prohibits the use of public funds, including the state’s Medicaid program, to cover gender-affirming care for patients of any age.

“We had a huge intake of people panicking and asking us, ‘What do I do?’” Arya said. In response, Trans Affirm is building a program that helps grant funding to low-income trans+ folks and those who lost access to care due to Medicaid coverage ending.

But as of October 2025, Idaho lawmakers have introduced at least 19 additional bills targeting transgender people.

“It is really rough,” said Arya, “and I think that there’s a lot of people here who would choose to leave.”

But Arya said he has no plans to leave Idaho. He believes it’s important to stay.

Founder Arya Shae and Treasurer Jessi Rivers represent Trans Affirm at SJF’s Rise Boise event, September 6, 2025. (Photo by Sharon Ho Chang)

“There’s 20 million things I would love for Trans Affirm to do,” Arya said.

One goal is to make binders more accessible. Because they’re expensive, Arya hopes to purchase them in bulk and size them at an in-person building, rather than relying solely on what’s available or donated.

Trans Affirm also aims to expand collaboration with more gender-affirming medical professionals to provide hormone therapy. They hope to create grant programs that support patient visits and offer direct compensation to participating providers.

In addition, they would like to offer a care management program with an in-person location where people can outline their transition plans, access resources, schedule appointments, and receive advocacy during visits.

At the end of the day, Arya rejects the idea that Idaho’s queer community should have to leave to thrive. “Why should we not be here?” he said. “We belong anywhere we want to be.”

It’s why Trans Affirm’s work is about more than visibility in Idaho—it’s a fight for the fundamental right of trans and queer people to live openly in their own communities.

Learn more about Trans Affirm at www.transaffirm.org

Written by Sharon Ho Chang, Strategic Communications Manager

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