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An open letter to Open Door’s board
GIVE US ONE HOUR.
Open Door’s board: hear from the community.
Care for our trans kids.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OPEN DOOR BOARD
Give us one hour.
You are our neighbors. You volunteered to govern a community clinic, and we think most of you found out about this decision the way the rest of us did.
We are not asking you to break a law. We are asking you to sit in a room with real patients of Open Door and hear how this affects them.
Whatever you have been told the law requires, you have the power to ask for more. Ask for the citation. Ask what it would take to bring this care back. Ask us.
Then decide. That is all a governing board is for.
The letter asks the board to:
Hold a community listening session
Make a plan to restore access
Keep this care at Open Door
Put the promise to current patients in writing
What Open Door told patients
"Due to restrictions for health centers that receive federal funding, Open Door is not able to prescribe gender affirming medications for patients under age 19."
Open Door flyer · July 13, 2026
So where do our kids go?
Their flyer gives only two phone numbers.
One won’t see anyone under 16.
Every kid deserves a pathway to care.
What Open Door calls a referral
Same kid. Same insurance. Different year.
Open Door stopped prescribing patients under 19 gender-affirming medication and referred them elsewhere. This is what that costs our kids.
Before – At Your Clinic
Your own doctor, who knows you
Refills where you already go
Help with your first injection
Labs in the same building
Part of one visit
Covered like your other care
After – "A Referral"
A phone number
Telehealth, or a drive
You do it at home, alone
Labs you arrange yourself
A separate system you assemble
Check if they take your plan
Our kids shouldn’t have to figure this out alone.
This was a decision, not a law. Open Door can make a different one.
What Open Door still will not say
IT WASN'T A LAW. IT WAS A CHOICE
Open Door stopped starting patients under 19 on gender-affirming medication and blamed federal restrictions. It has never named one.
California | The courts | The rules |
|---|---|---|
The state says this care is legal, medically necessary, and covered by Medi-Cal. | A federal judge already barred the government from pulling funding because a clinic treats patients under 19. | The federal restrictions being pointed at are proposals. They are not final law. |
What Open Door still won’t say
Which rule
Who decided
What happens to current patients
What would bring it back
What we’re asking Open Door to do
Publish the pathway.
Hear the community.
Bring the care back.
A pathway for every kid. | Give us one hour | Keep the care in the building. |
|---|---|---|
This was a decision, not a law. Open Door can make a different one. | Hold a community listening session with the families this decision affects, with confidential options for anyone who can’t speak publicly. | If the problem is the funding, then fix the funding. Don’t move the kid. |
If they won’t take care of our kids, we will.
The board can give us one hour. Add your name to the open letter asking them to.
TSWG Events
Upcoming Events
Trans Solidarity Working Group
2x,
Virtual Event
This week is a special training meeting with our Regional Organizer, David Lefevre, on strategic campaign planning. We are at a critical point in our pressure campaign and this will help us plan our strategy going forward.
Thank you to everyone who came out to Our Children Deserve Better, our Trans Healthcare Town Hall on September 25th! You showed Open Door, and all of Humboldt County, that our community stands with trans youth.
The fight isn't over: Open Door still needs to reverse its decision to cut off gender-affirming care for patients under 19. Join us this Thursday to plan our next steps to keep up the pressure and make sure every kid in Humboldt County gets the care they need.
RSVP