CUP: Store

Talking Trash: Throwing Out the Big Apple

Public Access Design

SERVE!

For trans and gender non-conforming youth of color, police profiling and harassment is a dark reality of every day life. Some youth get stopped by police several times a week—some even get stopped more than once a day. Part of the struggle to stay safe in these interactions is knowing and exercising your rights. That’s why CUP teamed up with Streetwise and Safe (SAS) and designer James Dunphy to create SERVE! Street Safety for Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Youth.

This pocket-sized know-your-rights guide helps youth advocate for themselves when they’re detained, searched, and in custody, as well as after they’re released. SERVE! is also the first publication of its kind to publicize rules that protect the rights of trans and gender non-conforming people in the NYPD Patrol Guide, the rulebook that governs how police interact with the public. The easy-to-follow design breaks down personal rights and provides examples of language youth can use to advocate for them. SAS Youth Leaders were an essential part of the design process, and provided feedback that made sure the guide became a unique symbol of their community.