We Investigated a 'Trans Kids' Camp. Look Who's Funding It.

This is Part 1 of a multi-part investigative series.

Beyond "social transitioning," the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) also places prepubescent children and those in the throes of puberty on a pathway to medical mutilation. More is coming on how SMYAL acts as an activist conduit connecting parents of "trans" children with the gender clinic at Children's National Hospital. Check back on Tuesday, August 6 for a deep dive into the inner workings of this intimate relationship.

WASHINGTON, DC — Tens of thousands of tax dollars, earmarked for ending gun violence in the nation's crime-infested capital, were instead squandered on socially programming children as young as six-years-old to identify as "transgender" — and even take steps towards "transitioning," according to a months-long Townhall investigation. These indoctrination efforts include a so-called "trans kids" summer camp.

Meet the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), doing business as "Supporting and Mentoring Young Advocates and Leaders," a 501(c)(3) non-profit headquartered in the heart of Washington, D.C.

For FY 2024, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Affairs (acronymed "MOLGBTQA") awarded SMYAL a $50,000 grant, the maximum amount allowed, to build out their LGBTQ after-school program on Capitol Hill for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The cash, collected from the district's coffers and allocated to SMYAL, was categorized as aiding student success and curbing gun-involved violence in Bowser's crime cesspool, which once earned the moniker "America's murder capital" in the late 20th century. Last year, Washington, D.C., recorded a historically high homicide rate not seen since the 1990s. According to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data, 2023 was the district's deadliest year in decades, with confirmed casualties that included innocents slain on street corners, caught in the crossfire of senseless shootings.

Townhall discovered this disclosure buried within a 316-page trove of financial documents, expenditure forms, invoices, and receipts acquired via public records request under D.C.'s own Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In order to qualify for the Community Development Grant, as the opportunity notice stipulated, an applicant's area of service must meet at least one of the mayoral benchmarks, which Bowser had outlined as part of her "DC's Comeback" post-election plan.

On the grant application, SMYAL marked the Little SMYALs program's purpose as purportedly fulfilling two of Bowser's third-term funding priorities: "End[ing] Gun Violence" and placing "All Students on Pathways to Success."

While applying for the mayor's grant money, SMYAL argued that those two administrative objectives are achievable through them "creat[ing] a safe space where youth can express themselves without fear of judgment or discrimination," "celebrating identity," "promoting self-acceptance," and "developing a positive sense of self."

Halfway through the fiscal year, Bowser's office asked SMYAL to describe, on paper, a programmatic achievement accomplished in the second quarter.

As an example of the program's "efficacy," SMYAL shared a "success story" of one of the "Unicorns," a little girl whom SMYAL, using a made-up male alias, identified as "Daniel." Evidently, the exalted eight-year-old, now a poster child for the program's cause, was groomed into believing she's a boy.

When the child's parents signed "Daniel" up for Little SMYALs about a year ago, she was "too scared" to be dropped off at the LGBTQ youth center. But by the end of her first drop-in session, she was "begging to stay longer," SMYAL bragged in their Q2 report, and the child's participation in the program only became further entrenched over time. Soon she was a celebrated "staple" of Little SMYALs, appearing at every single event. Not long after, the previously shy and uncertain girl suddenly wanted to "transition" to male.

It all began at the urging of the "trans man" who manages Little SMYALs, "a non-binary educator" named Taryn "Ty" Kitchen ("they/them"). Following a virtual visit, Kitchen had "overheard Daniel tell his mom off-handedly that he was a boy."

The child then "talked with Ty" and expressed "his desire to come out, use he/him pronouns, and start altering his gender expression by cutting his hair," SMYAL told Bowser's office. "He also shared his fear that his classmates, teachers, and community might question these decisions." Nursing the girl's gender-dysphoric state, "Ty coached him through these fears, and he left feeling ready to start these conversations with his family."

Within weeks, with the support of her elementary school, the child's parents had her "come out" to her classmates as "transgender" and talk about her "transition" in front of the class.

"But Daniel didn't stop there!" SMYAL wrote with unbridled glee, proud that they churned out a child activist, too. "He went on to do the same with three other classes. By finding the safety and community to truly embody his authentic self, Daniel — as a child under 9 years of age — felt empowered to step into a leadership role at his school, and help make it a better, safer place for himself, and other trans kids to follow."

Certified to teach elementary education, 30-year-old Kitchen, who recently underwent "top surgery" (i.e. a double mastectomy), sees herself as a mentor for children to model themselves after, "a potential version" of their "future self."

"For many of the families I work with, I am the first trans adult they have ever met, the first confirmation that their child has a future to grow into," Kitchen wrote in an April article for The Advocate, a leading LGBTQ magazine. "It has been immensely healing for me as a trans adult to be in a community with trans children [...] with a lineage of trans ancestry stretching across generations."

Kitchen was one of several SMYAL staffers whose salaries were partly paid by the government grant.

A majority (more than $35,000) of the grant money went towards wages. In particular, it paid for a fifth ($12,000) of Kitchen's paychecks, a portion (2.5 percent) of SMYAL executive director Erin Whelan's six-figure salary, a tenth ($8,000) of SMYAL youth development and community engagement director Athen White's earnings, and a tenth (over $3,700) of Little SMYALs program facilitator Sydney Calvelli's ("she/they") income. The grant additionally bankrolled some of SMYAL's employee benefits, including unemployment, paid family leave, medical insurance coverage, and retirement.

White, who supervised the Little SMYALs staff, was replaced mid-grant by Rebecca York ("they/them"), a woman and gender studies major who designed DEI "allyship" training programs for Fortune 500 companies. As a self-proclaimed "DEI expert" and "transracial, transnational adoptee," York was previously part of a virtual White House panel that convened on "Transgender Equality." York, sharing the stage with senior Biden officials, appeared alongside then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and U.S. Assistant Health Secretary Richard "Rachel" Levine.

Notably, about a year before her departure, White had graced the White House and even exchanged words of acclaim with the first family. In September 2022, serving as a SMYAL representative, White introduced President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden ahead of Elton John's concert on the South Lawn. To much applause, White lauded the Bidens for inviting "people like us: frontline workers, advocates, educators" to the event honoring "everyday history-makers." In turn, both Bidens personally praised the SMYAL staff member, mentioning White by name.

"Athen, leaders like you are helping the next generation live an authentic voice," the president said. "And I want to thank you very much for introducing me." The first lady, a longtime teacher, mirrored her husband's sentiments. "It's leaders like you," she said, addressing White, "those helping the next generation live authentically and find their voice, who make me so hopeful for our future."

Currently, kids from 60 families districtwide are enrolled in Little SMYALs, offered free of charge for all attendees. The program's participants meet virtually every Wednesday as well as physically two Saturdays a month at SMYAL's youth center, a baby-blue brick building situated slightly off Pennsylvania Avenue. Taking up two lots of land, the combined 3,000-square-foot commercial space is appraised at a $1.8 million property value, according to tax-and-revenue records, and entirely exempt from taxation, thanks to its "charitable" status.

A theme surrounds each in-person session, such as "Pronouns Party" to celebrate Coming Out Day and "Gender-Expansive Clothing." At the facility, SMYAL has full unsupervised access to the children, whose parents part with them at the door. Parents are explicitly told to leave their kids alone at the property and not linger for the parent-free programming.

Little SMYALs, as SMYAL listed off in their quarterly grant reports, offers field trips like "Drag-tastic Dress Up" at The Kennedy Center, where the children "explored gender expression," learned from local drag queens about "their craft," watched them "strut their stuff," and were taught "how to create their drag personas through costume and makeup." Last summer, SMYAL threw an "affirming" pool party, held at a private swimming pool so the kids could "freely bask in all [their] trans/queer glory!"

For the first reporting period, SMYAL told several "success stories" that precipitated from their Little SMYALs programming. A 12-year-old was able to connect with an older "role model" at the Christmas party, where the pair had an "in-depth conversation about gender-affirming care that they were each seeking." A block away from SMYAL, the kids "LOVED" the Halloween drag show at As You Are, an all-ages gay bar where "Broken Hymen" the drag queen performed an "ASL-inclusive" show later in the night. "Youth had so much fun dressing up," SMYAL informed Bowser's office. The children were instructed to come in costume and "walk the runway" to "show off" their ensembles, which included flaunting their "fabulous drag persona[s]."

This spring, during a special Saturday session, Little SMYALs took a trip to Trans Pride, an annual activism fair featuring a litany of workshops in collaboration with SMYAL — some kid-specific, others R-rated, namely "Navigating Top Surgery as a Transmasc Person of Color in an Ongoing Pandemic" (masks required), "Ask Me Anything: Phalloplasty" (a Q-and-A on surgically constructing a pseudo-penis), "Sex Work 101," and "Trans Kink 101," led by an "agender/pan/poly sadistic kinkster."

According to SMYAL's Q3 report, one "non-binary" parent of a "trans 4-year-old" who attended Trans Pride wrote an appreciative note, saying, "I can't wait until [child] ages into SMYAL programs for real."

As supporting documentation showing photographic proof that these activities actually occurred, SMYAL sent Bowser's office professional pictures taken of the children atop SMYAL's ever-present parade float at the Capitol Pride Parade, where half-naked men in leather "puppy play" masks marched and scantily clad cabaret dancers worked the stripper pole.

"Many families shared how meaningful it was to see their child celebrated and cheered for in this space, by such a huge crowd," SMYAL told Bowser's office. One parent's testimonial thanked SMYAL's staff for "shepherd[ing]" the Little SMYALs. "The love from the crowds was palpable. What an overwhelmingly positive experience for" them, the parent commended. En route, parents carried homemade posters with phrases like "We love our trans son!" while the children waved an assortment of "non-binary" and "gender-fluid" Pride flags.

A photograph of the children on SMYAL's Pride parade float submitted to Bowser's office as Q3 supporting documents | The Washington Blade photojournalist Michael Key

Though they're partially funded by D.C. taxpayers, SMYAL's sphere of influence crosses state lines, spilling over into neighboring counties in the DMV area.

Little SMYALs annually hosts a summer camp for "transgender," "non-binary," and "gender-diverse" kids (ages six to 14) at a Presbyterian church in Arlington, Virginia. The camp, called "Camp Free2Be," was SMYAL's "big focus" at the beginning of Quarter 4.

At camp, the kids (called "Honey Bees" or "Bumble Bees," depending on age) learn "LGBTQ+ history" and "Pride lessons." The campers range from children who identify as "agender" to those who are "gender-fluid," the camp's staff says. Some are "hoping to transition at school this fall" and others have "known since they were 3." Photos of the campers posed in front of the Pride flag were publicly posted on the camp's webpage.

Source: Camp Free2Be website

This year, the week-long LGBTQ summer camp expanded to two weeks, split into separate but back-to-back sessions. Registration, which was completely free for all 60 campers, "sold out immediately," SMYAL reported, and the enrollment numbers nearly doubled from the previous year.

According to the orientation packet obtained by Townhall, children who attended the second July 22-26 session, titled "Parading Our Pride," participated in classes on "Trans & Queer Mythological Creative Writings" and "The Art of Drag Experience."

Source: Camp Free2Be website

"Have you ever wanted to experience what it is like to be a drag performer? Get ready to create your own drag persona! You will learn about the history of drag, do some drag makeup, and perform in our showcase! We can’t wait to see you slay the runway!" the class description says.

To prepare the campers for the upcoming school year, the kids also traded clothes in a camp clothing swap, exchanging new and gently-used "gender-affirming gear" such as wigs, body tape, and chest binders (girdle-like garments that flatten the breasts and can cause rib fractures, bruising, difficulty breathing leading to lung build-up, heat exhaustion, and skin damage).

Source: Camp Free2Be website

Last year's camp theme was "Marvelous Monsters and Gender Joy," inspired by the children's book "Me and My Dysphoria Monster." Its contents include a glossary of LGBTQ terminology like "gender non-conforming," "misgendering," and "cisgender."

The camp's theme song, which the children chant, is a rendition of "Free To Be...You And Me," in which the third verse's lyrics are changed from "Every boy in this land grows to be his own man / In this land, every girl grows to be her own woman" to "Every child should feel pride about who they are inside / In this land, we are free to express our identity."

Camp Free2Be's co-directors are Lee Matthews ("they/them/theirs"), a preschool assistant, and Elizabeth "Liz" Erion ("she/they"), who boasts about being the mother of two "transgender" children, one of them now "non-binary." Erion, the camp's founder, is a facilitator of the Northern Virginia chapter of He She Ze and We and an active member of Arlington Gender Identity Allies, a woke parent group that successfully pressured Arlington Public Schools to allow biological boys to use the girls' bathrooms, change in their locker rooms, and play on the same sports teams as them. Camp Free2Be used to have a booth at the school's Summer Activities Fair, where the LGBTQ summer program was promoted to APS students.

The camp's senior counselors, all legal adults, are an amalgamation of they/thems, he/theys, she/theys, and they/she/hes. Earlier in the year, the camp was recruiting programming leads and a camp photographer, who would receive as much as $1,500 for their work. Likewise, the junior counselors (LGBTQ teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18) could pocket a $150 "stipend of appreciation" for working both sessions.

Like all other Little SMYALs programming, the camp, including the matching "trans Pride" T-shirts, costs the campers nothing.

In the past, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have helped raise funds for Camp Free2Be. The controversial cohort's D.C. chapter collected donations by painting children's faces at a family Pride festival in Sherman Circle. The drag queens, who cross-dress as Roman Catholic nuns in mockery of the faith, belong to a worldwide "Order," whose motto is "Go forth and sin some more!" The sacrilegious "Sisters" typically take on sexually explicit stage names. One of their California members was arrested for masturbating at a public park. Serial thief Sam Brinton (a.k.a. "Sister Ray Dee O'Active"), Biden's nuclear waste chief caught stealing numerous women's clothes across the country, is an active member of the D.C. "abbey."

SMYAL is also federally funded under the pretense of preventing hate-based violence. For fiscal year 2023, SMYAL received more than half a million dollars in grant money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to combat anti-LGBTQ violence in the school system. Through the $530,000 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) grant, SMYAL has infiltrated Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the largest school district in Maryland.

According to the award abstract, over a two-year period, SMYAL will "address the risk of violence and negative mental health outcomes faced by LGBTQ+ youth in D.C. and Montgomery County, MD. SMYAL's program will employ a community-level and behavioral health approach. The project will provide in-school support for LGBTQ+ youth, training for school staff and youth service providers, resilience programming for LGBTQ+ youth ages 6-24, and support for parents and caregivers."

Congressional Democrats announced the grant's allocation in October. "The rise of targeted violence against LGBTQ+ communities demands additional investments to protect young people at risk. We know that education and training have the power to provide much-needed tools to counter hate and bias," remarked Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who represents parts of Montgomery County. "Funding for these education programs and in-school supports will help expand resources so all Marylanders can feel safe in school and their communities."

To see how exactly those federal funds were spent, Townhall filed a federal FOIA request with FEMA, but was bounced around between departments, first from FEMA to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), transferred back to FEMA, and redirected again to DHS HQ. Both insisted that they don't manage those records. After acknowledging the administrative "error," in a follow-up phone call, Homeland Security's Privacy Office finally told Townhall they are processing the FOIA inquiry; however, they're checking with SMYAL first to see what "proprietary information" the grantee is willing to release to the public, as is protocol when handling grant-related matters due to the competitive nature of grant-making.

"There are privacy interests to consider," the FOIA officer said. SMYAL now has the opportunity to look at the FOIA request and decide what's releasable confidentiality-wise. "They'll see it was you, a reporter, requesting this information," the FOIA officer warned of advancing the records request as is and not narrowing the search. DHS can withhold records that "could harm the...business interests of a company."

Moms for Liberty MoCo also tried to follow the money and were met with much resistance at the local level. "We, like any curious and dialed-in parent, wanted to know more," the coalition of Montgomery County mothers wrote on a citizen journalism website. "[P]er usual, MCPS wasn't cooperative or interested in transparency" and the district's Department of Communications "flat-out lied," claiming no such documents exist in response to their initial inquiry requesting, under the Maryland Public Information Act, copies of curricula, correspondence, and training material pertaining to the apparent SMYAL-MCPS partnership.

"It was a gross misuse of federal funding to grant SMYAL this money," the parents penned. "Imagine instead if MCPS had been awarded half a million dollars to improve shelter-in-place protocols and training, purchase security systems and metal detectors, employ more SROs, or anything that actually helps prevent and protect our students from violent terror attacks."

However, the parental rights group did eventually get their hands on heavily redacted emails indicating a longstanding open line of communication between SMYAL and school staff, primarily with Yael Astor ("she/her/ella"), an instructional specialist in MCPS's Office of School Support & Well-Being, whose agenda seems to align well with SMYAL's. Leaked footage of an MCPS training session shows Astor, also a world studies teacher at Parkland Middle School, proclaiming she wants to "disrupt gender binaries" and "cis-heteronormative thinking."

Other than that, there isn't much information publicly available about the DHS-funded programming.

SMYAL's private, community-exclusive newsletter commemorated the program's roll-out: "In the Fall of 2023, SMYAL received a federal grant to establish SMYALing Schools, a program designed to support LGBTQ+ youth in schools via grade-level assemblies, classroom activities, and Pride clubs. SMYALing Schools aims to increase a culture of understanding, inclusion, and support for queer and trans students, particularly in elementary and middle schools."

Since the program launched in November, SMYALing Schools has, so far, "educated 60 elementary schoolers and over 600 middle schoolers in LGBTQ+ pride, history, culture, and inclusion." As the programming expands, SMYAL hopes to ramp up partnerships with participating D.C. and Montgomery County schools "to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ identities & experiences and root out the causes of anti-LGBTQ+ bullying."

"Having caring queer and trans adults in their communities really makes a difference, and it shows on all the SMYALing faces," said SMYAL's school engagement specialist Janeé Nealy ("they/she").

Throughout Pride Month, SMYALing Schools taught "Parent LGBTQ+ 101" workshops. Kitchen, the Little SMYALs manager, has similarly hosted SMYAL workshops that train schoolteachers on "normalizing gender diversity in [the] classroom." Kitchen advises educators to "just assume you have LGBTQ kiddos in your class. Even if you don't know you do, you do." Elementary-aged kids are "not too young to talk about gender and sexuality!" Kitchen claims. "By age four: Most children have a stable sense of their gender identity." Kitchen tells teachers to incorporate LGBTQ material into instruction like lesson plans on "social justice," "pronouns practice," and "safe space kits."

SMYAL says "queer liberation is foundational to our work." Founded in 1984, SMYAL's hustle has evolved over their 40-year existence to "meet the moment." Little SMYALs, still in its infancy stage, was conceived just three years ago in response to "rising anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation," the latter of which seeks to shield children in school settings from feeling the fervor of gender ideologues foisted upon them at a formative age. Then came SMYALing Schools, signifying SMYAL's first official foray into the public education sector. "Youth spend most of their days during the year at school, so while SMYAL is a great resource for LGBTQ+ youth outside of school, it's not enough — we must foster inclusion and belonging in classrooms as well," Whelan, the head of SMYAL, said of why SMYALing Schools was formed.

This despite the fact that ultra-liberal D.C. — SMYAL's stomping grounds — is a steadfast LGBTQ stronghold. In the words of Bowser herself: "We are the gayest city in the world." Statistically, D.C. houses the largest LGBTQ population percentage (14.3) in the U.S., nearly twice as much as Oregon's (7.8) at No. 2.

As for injecting gender ideology into classroom curriculum, D.C.'s education department actually encourages it. The district's sex ed standards say third- through fifth-graders should be taught how to "Identify trusted adults to ask questions about sexual orientation" and accordingly "Define sexual orientation and gender identity." Meanwhile, as D.C.'s state superintendent recommends, middle schoolers should learn how to "Differentiate between gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and sex assigned at birth/biological sex."

Over the course of the organization's taxpayer-funded spending spree, SMYAL's point of contact in the mayor's office performed periodic check-ins in person and, after every on-site inspection, the government worker wrote a letter on behalf of the Bowser administration thanking them for their "essential services."

"Your hard work and contributions are invaluable to the well-being and empowerment of LGBTQIA individuals in our community," gushed George Garcia ("he/him/el"), a MOLGBTQA grants specialist assigned to oversee SMYAL's budgetary spending and monitor compliance with the grant agreement.

The only three things SMYAL was admonished on: not emblazoning government branding on one of the program's promotional flyers, which would show that the "affirming" activities are funded through the Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM); failing to keep an updated version of D.C.'s sexual harassment policy and procedures on file; and missing proof of payment to Kevin Majoros, SMYAL's contracted accountant and grant manager.

For his work balancing the till, Majoros billed SMYAL about $4,000 in consultation fees, all of which the grant covered. Bowser's office, in accordance, required confirmation that SMYAL did indeed pay Majoros Consulting in order to justify SMYAL being reimbursed by the grant's disbursement.

Grant-affiliated purchases were charged to the SMYAL staff's credit cards. The purported gun-violence-prevention and student-success grant footed the bill for an array of extraneous expenses. Among them, SMYAL said the $627 party at Urban Air, an indoor trampoline adventure park in Laurel, Maryland, enabled the children to "feel confident in their bravery and abilities" while valet parking at the luxury Willard Hotel in downtown D.C. was for trick-or-treating at the White House.

Under the auspices of the grant, for their "Middle Grades Queer Book Club," SMYAL bought bundles of LGBTQ-themed books, often supplied by "a queer-owned bookstore" that "cater[s] to queer literature for all ages." The texts include "Introducing Teddy," a picture book about a "transgender" teddy bear; "Different Kinds of Fruit," which centers on a six-grade girl finding out that her "father" birthed her and is, in actuality, her mother; and "Camp QUILTBAG," a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old ("e/em/eir") whose parents try to "send em somewhere e can feel like emself."

On Amazon, SMYAL ordered over $100 worth of LGBTQ paraphernalia and rainbow-colored decor, which were itemized as "supplies" on the budget spreadsheet. For party favors, SMYAL purchased 200 hand-held Pride flags and an 81-piece party pack of the bisexual, "pansexual," lesbian, and "asexual" flag additions.

This fiscal cycle, SMYAL is the recipient of several mayoral grants, three in addition to the aforementioned one, each supposedly financing separate exploits. Since 2019, they've gotten seven MOLGBTQA grants in total.

In 2021 and 2022, government grants constituted half of SMYAL's revenue and financial support, according to an independent auditor's report. For the 2022 tax year, D.C.'s Department of Health and Department of Human Services gave SMYAL approximately $307,000 and $1.66 million, respectively, per SMYAL's IRS Form 990.

SMYAL, Bowser's office, and DHS did not respond to Townhall's requests for comment at the time of publication.

Tune in on Tuesday, August 6 for the second installment of Townhall's investigation where we'll delve into SMYAL's strong ties to the pediatric "transgender" clinic at Children's National Hospital.

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We Investigated a 'Trans Kids' Camp. Look Who's Funding It.

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