Gender-affirming care (GAC) lies at the heart of LGBTQ health equity, reflecting the compassion, collaboration, and innovation central to SYNC’s theme, Forward in SYNChronicity. Too often reduced to policy debate, GAC is a transformative public health practice that promotes gender euphoria, belonging, and resilience. When social and medical supports align with an individual’s affirmed gender identity and expression, transgender and gender-diverse youth experience measurable improvements in mental health and overall quality of life.

Using Oregon’s All-Payer All-Claims dataset (2016–2023), this analysis examines GAC utilization among transgender and gender-diverse adolescents, identifying disparities by insurance type, age, and sex assigned at birth—even within one of the nation’s most affirming policy environments. Quantitative findings are contextualized with lived experience: the journey of raising a ten-year-old transgender son, illustrating, through narrative and video excerpts, how timely, evidence-based, and affirming care fosters gender euphoria, confidence, safety, and family cohesion.

Results show that privately insured adolescents are significantly more likely to access GAC than those with public insurance. Youth assigned female at birth and older adolescents receive care at higher rates than younger peers or those assigned male at birth. These disparities persist even as Oregon’s longstanding protections face potential rollback, highlighting the urgency of safeguarding access.

Together, the data and lived experience affirm that equitable, affirming care is essential to youth mental health, family resilience, and community well-being. Centering gender joy and euphoria reframes GAC not merely as harm reduction but as a vital investment in LGBTQ health equity and human flourishing.