What We Do

Transcending Adolescence is a trans-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit building resilience and promoting mental health for trans and gender-diverse (TGD) youth ages 8–17.

Through our multi-day Resilience Retreats, we combine outdoor adventure, creative arts, mindfulness, peer support, and LGBTQ+ education into one life-changing experience. Every retreat is grounded in our SPEAR framework—Support, Physical Recreation, Empowerment, Advocacy, and Reflection—giving youth not just a safe place to land, but real skills they carry home.

Campers hike, paddle, climb, create, and sit in small circles where they can talk honestly about identity, boundaries, grief, joy, and self-advocacy. Licensed mental health professionals and experienced counselors—many of whom are trans themselves—help youth practice grounding, communication, and coping tools that last long after the retreat ends.

Since 2019, we’ve distributed over $100,000 in camperships to ensure that financial barriers never stand in the way of belonging.

What It Looks Like in Real Life

Imagine a lakeside morning where TGD youth begin the day with affirmations, then head to archery, canoeing, or a self-defense workshop. In the afternoon, they gather in a circle led by trans adults and clinicians to talk about identity and power. Over five days, fear softens. Confidence grows. Isolation turns into connection.

One of our guiding beliefs is that camp doesn’t end when the week does. Many youth return as leaders through our Junior Counselor program—today's campers becoming tomorrow’s mentors.

Camper & Parent Voices

“Your care, love, and support have landed gently on my child this week like a warm, comfortable blanket. He no longer feels so alone, so isolated, and so terrified.”
“He came back so much more calm, confident and happy… Finally feeling like he is not alone… he is in a community of people who can relate and say ‘me too.

This same camper returned the following year—not just as a participant, but on the path toward leadership as a Junior Counselor. That is the heart of Transcending Adolescence: a regenerative model of belonging, resilience, and leadership.

Why Your Support Matters

When you give to Transcending Adolescence, you’re not funding an abstract program—you're making it possible for a specific young person to show up, be called by their name, and feel their body relax for the first time in a long time.

Your support funds:

• Camperships for youth who could not otherwise attend

• On-site mental health professionals

• Safe retreat facilities, meals, and program supplies

It also invests in a powerful, living story. Transcending Adolescence is trans-led, founded by Christina (Chrissy) Hofheimer—a trans woman of color from Clay County, Florida—who built the organization to create the kind of space she never had growing up. Chrissy still leads this front today.

Your investment affirms trans leadership, creates economic opportunity for trans adults, and shows trans and gender-diverse youth what is possible when their community leads the way.

Together, we are building a world where trans and gender-diverse youth don’t just survive adolescence—they feel at home in themselves.

Empower TGD Youth