The Cincinnati City Council passed a motion last week allocating $500,000 to healthcare for transgender youth, according to reports from the Cincinnati Enquirer. The funding is a small fraction of the Cincinnati Health Department’s $22.1 million budget. Passed with a 9-0 vote, the motion now awaits an additional vote that will confirm the ordinance.
“Increased risk of suicide is a very concerning thing in this population,” said the city’s Health Commissioner Grant Mussman during a Budget and Finance Committee meeting. “For children, especially young children, having that mental health support is very important.” Over the next two years, the fund will be utilized by transgender youth throughout the Cincinnati area.
Council member Mark Jeffreys said of the vote “We can standby and do nothing or we can take this action, and in a small way, make sure we’re telling these kids not only they have a safe place in Cincinnati but making sure that they have the mental health services that they need.”
LGBTQ Nation reports, another former city council member Chris Seelbach, the first openly gay council member elected, promoted the election at the committee meeting. “This vote is not about politics–it’s about protecting lives. It’s about ensuring that every child in Cincinnati, regardless of who they are, knows they are valued and safe.”
The city plans to allocate the $500,000 in two $250,000 shares. One which will be used in 2025 and one which will be saved for use in 2026. Officials have not indicated exactly what their plans are for how the money will be spent, but transgender health care typically includes gender affirming hormone therapies, surgeries, and mental health treatments.
