This is part of WTOP’s continuing coverage of people making a difference from our community authored by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant. Read more of that coverage.
“What’s in a name?” William Shakespeare used the line in his play “Romeo and Juliet.” A name can make a big difference in the life of someone who doesn’t have accurate identification.
It can make regular activities difficult, from doing everyday banking to going to the doctor. Most transgender people have inaccurate identification, according to the U.S. Transgender Survey’s Maryland report.
Inaccurate identification can prevent transgender people from participating in public life, said Lee Blinder, Executive Director and co-founder of Trans Maryland.
The nonprofit is trying to change that by offering help with the process and costs associated with having a name and or gender marker change. Blinder said the mission to help transgender people with name changes is a personal one.
“I legally changed my own name seven years ago, and it really is essential to how people refer to you,” Blinder said.
The nonprofit has worked with many people who don’t have the support of their family, Blinder said. Individuals who may be rejected by the people they want most to affirm them.
“It can help with legitimizing someone’s identity to their family,” Blinder said.
Blinder, who was born in D.C. and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, describes the group as a multiracial, multi-gender and community power-building organization. They run a peer-led advice program and give assistance with the cost for any adult transgender person in the state of Maryland seeking to change their name and or gender marker.
Blinder said the process can be overwhelming — both in terms of cost and in following the proper procedures, which has not traditionally been friendly to transgender people of color. The co-founder said dealing with the courts can also be intimidating for people who have had a negative experience with the criminal justice system.
In Maryland, the steps include filing with the Maryland court, receiving a court order, then changing your name with the Social Security Administration and the Motor Vehicle Administration.
The filings must go in that order, Blinder said, so that transgender people can use their new names in insurance and financial systems.
Since the founding of the nonprofit two-and-a-half years ago, Blinder said they have had over 800 people who have sought assistance and they have just completed over 500 certified court orders.
The nonprofit was founded four-and-a-half years ago, and Blinder said since the name change program began two-and-a-half years ago, they have had over 800 people who have sought assistance. They have also just completed over 500 certified court orders.
To find out more, visit the nonprofit’s website transmaryland.org, or email them at info@transmaryland.org.
