SAGA's TransParents support group has received a grant to enable them to put on a camp for trans and gender-nonconforming kids ages 5-12. Camp Born This Way gives campers the chance to meet each other, find strength in numbers, and learn some of the joys of being gender-marvelous.  But the grant, generous as it is, will cover just the cost of running the camp, and will not be enough to provide funding for children whose parents cannot afford room and board.

This is your chance to contribute to a truly worthy cause in our local community.  If you can give, any amount will help send a kid to camp.  Press the button below to donate to the TransParents summer camp for kids.

SAGA would like to thank Ronald Zack for taking time to attend the transgender support meeting in April. He talked about how important it is to plan for unexpected circumstances that may happen in life.

If you missed it, you missed more than you thought you were missing. Not only were there three out of a total of 47 programs* (see footnote below) that were Trans specific sets of short films, there were also transgender characters and/or issues that cropped up in other programs. For example, in the charming "Au Pair, Kansas" there was a transgender "Momma" who intervened in more than one squabble between the Kansas townsfolk and who was welcomed on the newly forming soccer team. In Program #40 entitled "Life as a Gay Man" there was film called "You Can't Curry Love" in which there was a very matter-of-fact discussion/description between an Indian man and a foreign visitor about the hijra. And in Program #26 entitled "Films By or About LGBT Youth" there was an apparent girl whose father called her "son" and helped him/her learn to defend her/himself from bullies in "The Green Family Elbow." Of course Tucson's own Han Nguyen's film "Faith of the Abomination" involved a lesbian couple in which one member presented as male in order to gain acceptance into a church for the purpose of exposing the hypocrisy of some of the church's teachings. And finally the silent movie "A Belch Can Ruin a Wedding" included a gay couple in which one man expressed his femininity in very traditional ways.

On Sept. 27, three years after a similar proposal was rejected, Equality Maricopa, led by former Tucsonan Lori Gershik, joyfully watched as the governing board of the nation's largest community-college system, the Maricopa County Community College District, voted to add "gender identity" to its anti-discrimination policy.

This victory, and the lessons learned from the battle to achieve it, will have a lasting and far-reaching impact as other transgender-advocacy groups and their allies petition for similar policy changes in other jurisdictions. 

Three SAGA members, including SAGA Program Coordinator Erin Russ, attended this historic meeting as a show of solidarity and to speak about Tucson's experience with transgender-inclusive policies in support of the policy change.

Pictures have been posted from our Thanksgiving party at Kevin's house.  Click here to view...

"My experiences in dealing with police and hospital personnel after my rape was not pleasant and lacked a lot of sensitivity to trans issues." - Survey Respondent 

"Finding doctors who will treat, will prescribe, and will even look at you like a human being rather than a thing has been problematic. Have been denied care by doctors and major hospitals so much that I now use only urgent care physician assistants, and I never reveal my gender history." - Survey Respondent 

"I have also had several bouts with depression and anxiety disorders and once ended up in the emergency room for depression. I still bounce in and out of depression due to not being able to get the appropriate surgical procedures." - Survey Respondent 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - Transgender and gender non-conforming people face rampant discrimination in health care settings, are regularly denied needed care, and experience a range of health risks because they are transgender or gender non-conforming, according to a report of over 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming people. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey: Report on Health and Health Care was released nationally today by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality. 

Key findings include:
o Nearly 1 in 5, 19%, reported being refused care outright, because they were transgender or gender non-conforming;
o Survey participants reported very high levels of postponing medical care when sick or injured due to discrimination and disrespect (28%);
o Harassment: 28% of respondents were subjected to harassment in medical settings;
o Significant lack of provider knowledge: 50% of the sample reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care;
o Despite barriers, the majority have accessed some form of transition-related medical care; but only a minority has had any surgery, despite the fact that a strong majority stated wanting to have it someday;
o Respondents reported over four times the national average of HIV infection, 2.64% in our sample compared to 0.6% in the general population, with rates for transgender women at 3.76%, and with those who are unemployed (4.67%) or who have engaged in sex work (15.32%) even higher;
o Over a quarter of the respondents misused drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with the discrimination they faced due to their gender identity or expression;
o A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population. 

Made for Flight is a transgender and ally youth empowerment workshop series and kite building project organized by SAGA member TC Tolbert, to commemorate those transgender individuals who have been murdered in the last year.  We just had our first workshop this week and the participants were simply awesome with their enthusiasm, creativity, and investment in social justice.  You can see some of the kites and read more about the project at the website.

If you are in Tucson and know of any youth who may be interested in the project (it is open to LGBTQ and Straight Ally youth) - please pass this on to them.  If you would like to host a Made for Flight workshop - please let TC know.  He'll be happy to bring it to your school or community organization!