Trans Caregiving at Camp Outright

Trans and queer communities, particularly Black and brown communities, have a long history of creating family and caregiving structures outside of traditional systems because of the lack of family, cultural, and societal acceptance and support. When other caregiving systems at best fail and at worse cause further harm, these alternatives provide a means for many trans and queer youth and young adults to try to survive. These community caregiving narratives highlight resilience, strength, and love in the face of adversity. 

This week, GSA Coordinator at Outright Vermont Jayy Covert (They/Them) highlights the Camp Outright community, a traditional residential summer camp with a queer twist! Camp Outright is a place where youth find their people, a place of silliness and play, self-expression and belonging. Learn more about Camp Outright here!

Part 1: Camp counselors and staff

Created by: Jayy Covert (They/them)

I come to Outright having been deeply embedded in the work of queer and trans youth organizing, beginning with joining my own high school’s GSA back in 2015. Youth organizing has become my passion and working with queer youth inspires me everyday for the outlook of the future. My educational studies are in Secondary Education, with minors in Psychology and Social Justice, which allowed me to practice queer theory with students from elementary school up through college. Raised in Florida, I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by amazing queer Southern organizers while also having the chance to learn from so many others around the country during my time as a national trans youth organizer. Visions of collective liberation ground me and I can’t wait to see what world will be formed by the queer youth of today, tomorrow, and beyond!