“I’m Here for You, and I’m Here With You”: Building Communities of Care Across Midwestern Public Universities

Abstract

This collaborative chapter documents the formation and evolution of the “Trans and Queer (TQ) Tag Team,” a network of professionals supporting LGBTQ+ students and staff across Midwestern universities. Emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic, this collective became a vital community of care—offering mentorship, professional collaboration, and emotional sustenance amidst anti-DEI legislation and increasing hostility toward queer and trans individuals. Through reflective narratives, the authors examine how virtual networks transcend institutional boundaries, counter isolation, and cultivate resilience for both practitioners and students. Their model of “being here with” rather than “here for” one another challenges traditional notions of allyship and underscores the necessity of relational, inter-institutional approaches to care in higher education. This chapter contributes to the growing discourse on sustaining practitioner well-being while resisting systemic oppression in the current sociopolitical climate.