GREENFIELD — In the days following the presidential election, local LGBTQ organizations began hosting support sessions to help foster community amid rising fears that a second Trump administration will rollback the progress made on rights and legal protections afforded LGBTQ people.

“Folks were expressing sadness, anger, uncertainty, pain; It was a tough moment,” said Jake Krain, a committee member at Franklin County Pride, which sponsored a post-election gathering on Nov. 10.

Krain said the anxiety around the election was reflected in the group’s post-election discussion and although concerns for the future were expressed, he said there was a silver lining of hopefulness and desire for community among those who attended.

An important element of that conversation included both appreciation for living in a progressive, LGBTQ-friendly state like Massachusetts, while also maintaining connection with those in states without support for the LGBTQ community.

“That’s one of the things folks brought up is both our gratitude for living in Massachusetts, but also knowing that there’s still so much work to do, especially with [LGBTQ] community members that are outside of our state,” Krain said.

Another community gathering was held at the Dreamhouse restaurant in Turners Falls on Nov. 9, co-hosted by 91.1 WMUA DJ Bucky Downtown, who goes by that name professionally. They explained that the goal was to host a time for community-building and reflection following a difficult week.

“When I got the news about Trump, I was like, ‘What I actually want to do right now is be around people and bring people together,’” DJ Bucky Downtown said.

When asked about what people were discussing, they said there was a mix of emotions, but attendees focused on creating community, rather than isolation.

“I think a lot of the sentiment was that coming together felt like the antidote to the fear that Trump wants people to feel right now, especially people on the left or people from any kind of marginalized identity or marginalized group,” they said. “When we are isolated, we’re more likely to be afraid and feel disempowered.”

Rising concerns

Since the Nov. 5 election, national LGBTQ advocacy groups like the Trevor Project have been experiencing an influx of requests for support by LGBTQ people.

As reported by PBS News, the early hours of Wednesday morning, following the announcement of the presidential election results, the Trevor Project saw a 700% increase in calls to its 24/7 crisis hotline, which offers support and guidance to queer and trans people from the ages of 13 to 24 who are struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts or are seeking support.

A major part of the re-election campaign for Trump included anti-transgender rhetoric and policy positions. The AP reports that one policy position that the Trump administration seeks is to ban gender-affirming care in all 50 states, and have Congress pass a bill recognizing only two genders. These federal policies could have implications, even for states like Massachusetts.

Transhealth, a gender-affirming care medical clinic in Florence that serves all Massachusetts patients, has received similar calls from transgender and gender-diverse people concerned for the future of their care. Transhealth CEO Joan Erwin said that since the election, there has been an “uptick” in people seeking appointments and asking about stockpiling medication in the event of care being interrupted.

“The larger LGBTQ community is concerned, and largely terrified,” Erwin said, noting that parents have expressed significant concern for their children having access to gender-affirming care under the Trump administration.

Although concern looms for patients and staff. Erwin said that the state has offered its support to Transhealth with Gov. Maura Healey reaching out, along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who told her that contingency plans are in place for Transhealth to continue to provide care to current patients, staff, out-of-state medical refugees coming to Massachusetts for care and those who may seek care with Transhealth in the future.

Erwin said the goal is to continue staffing providers and working with Transhealth’s legal partners to keep care accessible while also continuing to offer community outreach resources for transgender and gender-diverse individuals.

In a similar vein, the PFLAG Franklin-Hampshire chapter, which is part of a national organization offering resources and services to LGBTQ people and their loved ones, has seen an influx of requests following the election.

“Starting Wednesday morning, my phone blew up, and also our chapter email was very active,” said Brenda LaPorte, co-president of the PFLAG Franklin-Hampshire Chapter

LaPorte explained that the volunteer board for the chapter helps connect local queer and trans people across western Massachusetts to resources and services for a variety of needs.

The chapter meets twice a month, and the Nov. 12 meeting was a post-election reflection. PFLAG members and the board were able to identify their concerns for the future across a variety of subjects while also pointing to action plans to move forward.

Many of the same concerns LaPorte said people have brought forward include the future of gender-affirming care, marriage equality, housing security and other issues that affect mainly marginalized communities.

As an organization serving Massachusetts residents, LaPorte reflected on feeling fortunate to have state support for LGBTQ people, but notes there is an “uncertainty” around the future, especially on the federal level.

“It’s also scary to think what’s going to happen federally, and what is that going to look like for folks coming into Massachusetts for protections,” LaPorte said.

Moving forward

At Franklin County Pride, Krain said the work to protect LGBTQ rights mattered before this election, and maintaining that progress can happen through local action.

“So it’s continuing to look at what our local officials have said for how they will continue to protect us, and if there’s anything that isn’t in place, that we’re in tune to that so we’re making sure that we’re pushing our local representatives to continue to pass laws that protect us,” Krain said.

For Franklin County Pride, Transhealth and the Franklin-Hampshire PFLAG chapter, the sentiment has been that people are not alone.

Each of these organizations say they have plans to continue their work, despite the uncertainty of the future. Krain said Franklin County Pride will continue to host gatherings for LGBTQ people. Erwin said that Transhealth’s goal will be to continue to protect and transform lives. LaPorte said although the PFLAG Hampshire-Franklin chapter is volunteer-run, the group still wants to keep sharing resources and providing support. DJ Bucky Downtown said they will still host their radio show, and showcase “a project of queer joy and queer representation.”

“It’s important to recognize that … we’re not doing it alone. No one is doing any of this alone, and that’s what we want our community to remember,” LaPorte said.

Information about Franklin County Pride can be found online at https://www.franklincountypride.org, PFLAG Franklin-Hampshire Chapter at https://www.fhcpflag.org/ or email FHCPflag@gmail.com, and Transhealth at https://transhealth.org/. Queer Yenta Radio Hour can be found on Instagram at Queeryentaradio, and airs on 91.1 WMUA on Saturdays at 6:30 p.m.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.