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Mallory Sanchez and Bethany Cinque help Selks fill out name-change paperwork.
Selks was tired of trying to convince doctors and employers to stop calling them by a name they want to leave behind.
So they came to the New Haven Pride Center to make their chosen name official.
They waded through a sea of paperwork to update their name and gender — confronting decisions along the way about safety and privacy amid rising anti-trans persecution — with the help of Anchor Health’s Name & ID Clinic.
Anchor Health, a local healthcare provider specializing in LGBTQIA+ care, operates the clinic monthly at the Pride Center, offering free, walk-in assistance to anyone seeking to change their name and/or gender marker on legal documents and government identification.
The group hosted its most recent such clinic last Wednesday at the Pride Center’s 50 Orange St. headquarters.
Caroline Chadwick, Anchor’s head of case management and public policy (who is conveniently also a notary), runs the clinic alongside Mallory Sanchez, a lawyer with the Center for Children’s Advocacy.
The handful of people who showed up to Wednesday’s clinic made for an unusually low turnout, according to Chadwick, who said that over 400 people received assistance from the clinic in 2024. She attributed the relatively slow evening to the fact that many people had already rushed to change their documents shortly after President Donald Trump’s first day of office on Jan. 20; she recalled receiving about 50 requests per week around that time.
On his first day back in office, Trump issued an executive order requiring the federal government to ignore the existence of trans, non-binary, and intersex people by solely recognizing “male” and “female” sexes. Many non-binary and intersex citizens already possessed U.S. passports marking their gender with an ‘X’; their documents were suddenly in legal limbo.
Selks, who asked to be identified by a nickname to protect their privacy, had arrived at the clinic prepared to request a name change on their passport.
“Do you have plans to go out of the country?” asked Sanchez.
When Selks responded that they did not, Sanchez recommended that they wait to update their passport, as the federal government has indicated that it will no longer process gender changes on passports.
“Only do it if you absolutely need to,” echoed Bethany Cinque, Anchor’s director of donor engagement.
Selks readily accepted the advice. They decided to focus on updating their legal name, social security paperwork, and driver’s license.
“I do worry about the ‘X’ marker,” added Chadwick, which she said could make non-binary and intersex travelers a target for harassment, travel roadblocks, or worse, even though the U.S. State Department has indicated that all previously issued passports will remain valid.
The passport policy change is part of a broader shifting landscape for those seeking new documentation that reflect their gender identity. The federal government is also no longer recognizing any gender other than the one assigned at birth in social security applications, Chadwick said. Meanwhile, laws about changing legal names, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates are in constant fluctuation, varying from state to state.
“I’m almost 40. I have a Master’s degree. I really needed y’all’s help,” marveled Selks.
Each government department has its own system of paperwork, requirements, and regulations — and sometimes, an individual probate judge or bureaucrat may go rogue or remain unaware of policy updates. Chadwick said she’s had a few clients face difficulties processing paperwork with the state Department of Social Services.
When filling out the paperwork, “you never quite know if the person on the other side is going to accept it,” said Cinque.
Caroline Chadwick notarizes a form alongside Anchor colleague Michael DeWolfe.
The clients who come to Anchor’s ID clinic don’t only have to figure out what’s still legal for them to change. They also have to weigh the benefits of any given documentation update against increasing safety risks.
For instance, someone with a gender neutral driver’s license might feel comfortable driving with it in 2025 New Haven. But what happens, Cinque asked, if they get pulled over in a more openly anti-trans state like Texas — where state-issued gender neutral IDs are considered invalid?
“The fear is you’ll be attacked, you’ll be in danger,” Cinque said. “You can’t identify as who you really are. Which, isn’t that the whole point of identification?”
It’s come to the point where Cinque and her partner no longer feel safe traveling to certain states. Chadwick added that Anchor staff have also been advised not to travel to Texas due to their careers providing gender-affirming healthcare.
Even in an era of rising anti-trans hostility, many trans people are continuing to pursue identification and name changes — not only because they want up-to-date and accurate documentation, but because the legal updates themselves can provide relief from transphobia.
Selks, for instance, was seeking to change their legal name in order to avoid being misgendered by medical providers and potential employers, among others.
In Selks’ medical records, they are typically identified by their legal name, with their chosen name listed as a nickname. That’s often led medical providers to default to their prior name. Even the text messages reminding Selks of an upcoming appointment would misgender them. “It’s exhausting,” Selks said.
Many trans people have been called by their birth names as a means of deliberately rejecting their identity. For some, the name is associated with past trauma.
The constant encounters with their prior name has made it hard to trust that medical providers are truly respecting and listening to them, Selks said.
They are not the only one experiencing this worry. The 2022 U.S. Trans Survey found that nearly a quarter of the 92,329 respondents had avoided healthcare due to similar fears of disrespect.
Joe Canarie, a doctor at Anchor, noted that one patient of his recently left the emergency room against medical advice after being misgendered.
Sanchez added that they’ve stopped seeing a medical provider after repeatedly being called the wrong name.
Looking forward to less anxiety at the doctor’s office, Selks filled out form after form, checking in with Sanchez and Chadwick from time to time.
Following Chadwick’s advice, they didn’t explicitly indicate that they were trans on the legal name change form — just in case. Chadwick instructed them to fill out the “reason” part of the form with something along the lines of “this name better fits my identity.”
“You’re gonna sign here,” instructed Chadwick, pointing to a line at the bottom of the form.
Sensing Selks’ hesitation, she added, “Or you can wait.”
“I’m still practicing my signature,” Selks admitted with a smile.
This story has been updated to accurately reflect Sanchez’ word choice regarding prior names.