Fearful Philadelphians began contacting Angela Giampolo immediately following Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory. Though many queer locals knew about her LGBTQ+-focused law firm (which she established in 2008), she began wondering about people in rural areas and red states: Who would they contact to help protect their legal rights?

That’s when she dreamt up Caravan of Hope, a way to offer mobile legal services to LGBTQ+ people in underserved areas. Using mostly her own money, she purchased an RV trailer, renovated it into a mobile office and planned a 30-day trip to 14 cities across the nation — an over 5,000 mile drive — where she offereda day’s worth of queer-related legal services like gender marker and name changes, basic estate planning, uncontested divorces, and general legal guidance.

The trip, which first occurred in June 2023 and is scheduled to recur next October, will visit cities like Lincoln, Nebraska; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Laramie, Wyoming (the death place of Matthew Shepard, whose lethal 1998 gaybashing first inspired her to pursue law). 

Queer people who live in rural areas around these larger cities are sometimes closeted for their own safety, don’t have access to LGBTQ+-centered legal services, or have prejudiced family members who obstruct their legal rights.

“Our approach is discreet yet accessible,” Caravan of Hope’s website reads. “The RV, strategically located 30-45 minutes from the towns we serve, ensures confidentiality and safety for all clients.”

Her romantic partner helps secure food and gear before the trip, a dedicated driver navigates the path across nearly 20 states, and a social media manager helps promote upcoming stops and the caravan’s work as it stops by each city.

Giampolo is only licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, and her RV isn’t licensed to do business anywhere it parks, she tells LGBTQ Nation. So, to prepare for her trip, she had to find lawyers in each state willing to lend their license to the caravan’s work and LGBTQ+-friendly bars, restaurants, and community centers who would let her conduct business during her visits.

She’s happy to report that the lawyers and businesses who aided her in 2023 have offered to help again this year. Because not every person in need can make it to the caravan’s one-day stops, this year, she and a small group of volunteer lawyers will also offer two weeks of virtual legal services online as part of her autumn tour.

“Recognizing the complexity of legal issues, we don’t just stop at the initial consultation,” the caravan’s website continues. “We commit to ongoing support through online follow-ups, phone calls, and emails, aiming to conclude each case satisfactorily.”

Additionally, the caravan brings a documentarian to help record its work and the first-person testimonies of others in need. Sometimes, people will come to the caravan seeking food, clothing, or shelter—non-legal needs that the caravan can’t provide—or just to share stories of hardship that can’t be litigated. The documentarian captures these stories, too. Giampolo says it can make an emotionally powerful difference.

“Typically, lawyers, if there’s no legal help that can be provided, they either don’t reply, they don’t take the time to listen,” Giampolo tells LGBTQ Nation. “So feeling this for years on, to then having a lawyer sit and listen to someone in particular… feeling seen… feeling normalized and legitimized… holding their hand, letting them cry, hugging them [it helps].”

While Caravan of Hope has received hostile comments online and once had the waste lines on its vehicle cut during one of its overnight stays in an RV park, Giampolo says that most people have been supportive. Even curious neighbors in the RV parks where the caravan stays overnight will sometimes approach with questions and defensiveness, she says, but will then end up sitting and talking.

“I know those people will remember the things that we talked about forever,” Giampolo says.

Even more importantly, the caravan creates a sense of community that lasts long after the RV leaves town. The lawyers, community organizers, and business owners who collaborate to host the caravan all stay in touch afterward. Some have even formed relationships to throw recurring queer events or to continue offering community support of different kinds.

“I just really want as much as possible for folks right now, but the footprint of who we can help is so small,” Giampolo admits. That’s why she’s working with the American Bar Association to help provide Pride Month trainings on LGBTQ+ legal issues, so that more lawyers can begin competently providing the kinds of services she and the caravan provide. She also hopes to establish a nationwide law firm geared predominantly towards the LGBTQ+ community.

In the meantime, whenever an LGBTQ+ person or ally contacts her, asking for help, and they’re unable to meet with the caravan and don’t know who to turn to, “my next goal is to refer them to someone that I know loves and trust and then go from there,” she says.