In 2021, Ari Groner, LCSW, and the Assistant Director of Juniper Center, launched TheListforUs (thelistforus.com), a one-stop-shop collection of Chicagoland resources for trans, and non-binary individuals and the people that support them. The site is organized into different categories including groups, medical providers, books, good & services, and much more!
TheListforUs began when Ari was a therapist focused on supporting the queer community. She started noting resources to share with trans and gender nonconforming (GNC) clients by recording them in a spreadsheet. Over time, this spreadsheet grew and became known as the “TheList”. As a therapist, Ari shared “TheList” with anyone that reached out looking for resources, whether that be a client, parent or fellow provider.
“I created tabs with different categories and added more and more. Eventually, it was easier to just share the entire spreadsheet, so I made the link viewable to anyone. Over time, I started to notice that when I was on the spreadsheet, so was some other anonymous person. It was not just me sharing the link with others, but others sharing the link within their communities. I was shocked one day when someone I met recognized me as the creator of the “TheList”. “
Ari dreamed of expanding the simple Google Sheet into a full-fledged website. Unfortunately, she had neither the technical skills nor time to take on the project.
Despite these limitations, Ari collaborated with some early supporters to keep “TheList” up to date. She added a dedicated email for people to submit new info or resources to be added, but it still required a lot of time and effort to update and maintain “TheList”. The ideal solution was a website that was more accessible to more people. But skills, time, and money continued to hamstring Ari’s ability to realize her vision.
“I want to celebrate the creativity, advocacy and persistence of Ari and the interns from the Social Justice Program at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. Thanks to them this wonderful and needed resource is widely available.”
Danielle Carlson, LMFT
Clinical Director at LifeWorks Psychotherapy Center
One day, Ari got an email suggesting that she submit idea for the website as proposal to the Adler School’s Social Justice Project (SJP). She applied with fingers crossed and the project was accepted. In 2020, Ari began working with a cohort of four Adler SJP students who cumulatively spent hundreds of hours bringing TheListforUs.com into reality!
“After the first cohort of interns created the site, I submitted subsequent applications annually to Adler’s SJP. I now have a single intern each year who updates and expands the site. The Juniper Center generously provides funding for the site’s minimal costs including hosting, domain, etc…”
TheListforUs.com is a free resource, proudly sustained without individual donations or crowd-sourcing. Visitors to the site can submit new resources and information to thelistforus.contact@gmail.com
“I have tons of ideas for future projects within the site, and each intern brings their own energy and creativity. My future goals are to have the site expand to include resources for BIPOC Trans folks, Disabled Trans folks, and Intersex folks.”