Trans Lifeline News Archives

A Letter To Our Community From Our New Interim Executive Director, Taegen Meyer

Dear Trans Lifeline Community, It is an honor to serve you as Interim Executive Director through this transition period of growth and change. I deeply cherish this opportunity to shape the change that is happening within Trans Lifeline as an organization and within trans communities more broadly. With my background as an LA based organizer and artist, I am looking to bring creative visioning to how we can structure ourselves internally to continue to provide the support our community needs most. The change that I am shaping us towards as an organization is helping build more equitable trans futures. It is central that the needs and leadership of trans people most marginalized by our society are centered.

By Samantha|2021-11-24T09:40:42-08:00November 24th, 2021|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Oct 2021 letter from Jen Orthwein, Board Chair

Oct 2021 letter from Jen Orthwein, Board Chair Dear Trans Lifeline Community, My name is Jen Orthwein (all pronouns) and I’m honored to serve as the Chair of Trans Lifeline’s Board of Directors. I’m writing today to share more about Trans Lifeline’s vision and plan through the next year as we transition to new leadership. First, I want to extend deep gratitude on behalf of our Board and staff to our outgoing Executive Director, Elena Vera. Her resignation letter spells out remarkable accomplishments, and she leaves Trans Lifeline with the resources we need to flourish. Through service on numerous boards and decades of organizing, I’ve learned that transitions like these are opportunities for us to share power, cross-pollinate, and become better versions of ourselves. In the coming months, Trans Lifeline’s Board, staff, and a collection of external experts will be working closely together to ensure that we effectively address growing pains which have recently left our services at a reduced capacity. We will: Refine our policies and procedures with a commitment to justice with our equity consultants, Freedom Verses Conduct a comprehensive search for our next Executive Director with the help of recruiting firms Bring on a Managing Director and a new Hotline Director Retain a team of organizational management consultants to support this interim period Craft a three year development plan that supports Trans Lifeline’s continued growth and impact with the Atlas Center for Nonprofits ...

By Yana|2021-09-29T13:08:29-07:00September 29th, 2021|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Elena Rose Vera’s Outgoing Letter to Our Community

Dear beloved community, It is with the deepest dedication to the collective well-being and liberation of trans people everywhere that I’m writing to let you know that after over three years of serving Trans Lifeline--first as a member of the Board, then as Deputy Executive Director, and since the spring of 2019 as Executive Director--I’m turning the reins over to a new cadre of leadership who will steward the organization through our next phase of growth and service to our community and staff.

By Yana|2021-09-29T12:21:24-07:00September 23rd, 2021|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Remembering Maia Leonardo, our Board Co-Chair

Remembering Maia Leonardo It is with immense sadness and pain that we grieve the unexpected loss of our Board Co-Chair, Maia Leonardo (she/her). Maia was kind and thoughtful, she deeply cared about community and justice - and this organization in particular. Maia’s clever wit and keen artistic sense brightened our work. From her time as a Hotline Volunteer that eventually led to her latest role at the head of our Board of Directors as Co-Chair, Maia was endlessly dedicated to supporting trans people. Her acts of service and care for her fellow Trans Lifeline board members, staff, and callers across the country were immeasurable. Maia lived in New Haven where she had worked for the New Haven Pride Center as a Marketing and Development Coordinator until July 2021, volunteered and organized with Party for Socialism & Liberation, participated in mutual aid efforts around COVID-19, and contributed to countless other projects to support her community's transformation. She provided acts of service and care for her fellow Trans Lifeline board members, staff, and callers across the country. Maia’s family shared that “As a board member of Trans Lifeline, Maia was extremely proud to take a leadership role in carrying out a mission she was deeply passionate about.” Board Member Aisha Naseem (they/them) recalls that “Maia was a deeply spiritual person who shared her practice of Islam in ways that (re)opened access to spirituality to many of us ...

By Yana|2021-09-16T09:16:07-07:00September 16th, 2021|Current Events, Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Trans Lifeline Staff Break & Services Update

Trans Lifeline Staff Break & Services Update Updated 11/30/21 Dear Community: We hope summer has brought you some return to community, joy, and reconnecting after these heavy months. At Trans Lifeline, we are investing in those of us in our community that do the work of caring for each other, because sustainable movements depend on sustainable practices. After a heavy year of supporting our community through the ongoing pandemic, Trans Lifeline’s staff are taking a break in order to counteract burnout, heal secondary trauma, transition the Hotline to a new leadership structure, and intentionally rebuild our systems for the future. Our services will be under construction and at reduced capacity. We will provide updates throughout this time. For now, here’s what this means for our services: HOTLINE: Hotline: The Hotline is under construction and operating at reduced capacity: Hours: 5pm ET / 2pm PT - 1am ET / 10pm PT, 7 days a week. Here are some ideas for support in the meantime, and we hope to return better than ever. Línea directa en español: La línea está abierta con capacidad reducida hasta nuevo aviso. Puedes dejarnos un mensajes de voz solicitando recursos y te devolveremos la llamada en orden el orden que fue recibida. Family & Friends Hotline: Our Friends & Family service is operating at reduced capacity. Please leave a message and an operator will return your call in the order it ...

By Yana|2021-11-30T14:29:08-08:00July 27th, 2021|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Introducing our 2021 BIPOC Peer Support Fellows

Introducing our 2021 BIPOC Peer Support Fellows We are very excited to introduce the Hotline’s inaugural BIPOC Peer Support Fellows Program to our community! We created this fellowship to in order to: Increase the number of BIPOC trans & non-binary peer support providers for our community Ensure BIPOC communities are aware of Trans Lifeline’s peer support services Develop the leadership of BIPOC trans people Each fellow was paired BIPOC Trans Lifeline staff member with a passion for training & developing trans and nonbinary peer support providers. Through this mentorship, each fellow has been supporting their community both locally, and on our Hotline. Meet the 2021 cohort: Dahlia Belle (she/her) is a writer, comedian, sometimes model, and accidental activist based in Portland, OR. She has been a frequent contributor to The Portland Mercury, guest on NPR's Think Out Loud, and local news outlets, speaking on a variety of issues affecting Black, transgender, and neurodivergent populations. Dahlia says: “The most inspiring part of my position is getting to support newly out callers as they learn to embrace their truest selves. When I'm not working, I find my greatest happiness falling asleep in my partner's arms. I admire my partner for their emotional insight, passion, and determination.” Jaden Janak (they/he) is a PhD student in Black Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. They are currently working on a dissertation that examines contemporary abolitionist organizations and their theories ...

By Yana|2021-06-03T13:30:19-07:00June 3rd, 2021|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

La extensión en español de la línea directa de Trans Lifeline se lanza el 1 de julio / Trans Lifeline’s hotline is going bilingual!

Artículo original en inglés por Eliot Olson. Traducción y edición en español por Gaela Solo. Gaela Solo es una operadora voluntaria bilingüe de Trans Lifeline, un servicio comunitario operado enteramente por gente transgénero en los Estados Unidos y Canadá para su comunidad. Anunciando nuestra nueva extensión en español...

By Green|2020-11-20T02:44:39-08:00June 29th, 2020|Services, Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Trans Lifeline’s Data During a Pandemic

by Oliver Stabbe Oliver Stabbe (he/him) is a volunteer at Trans Lifeline, a trans-run organization offering emotional and financial support to trans people across the US and Canada. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, Trans Lifeline operators have been fielding an increasing number of calls. As we listen and support our...

By Green|2020-11-17T23:28:07-08:00June 12th, 2020|Health & Wellness, Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Welcome our new Bilingual Hotline Services Coordinator, T Peña

T Peña (they/them) joined Trans Lifeline to launch and steer our trans-led hotline services in Spanish! We’re so pleased to have them as our new Bilingual Hotline Services Coordinator. If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be? I would learn sign language. Both...

By Green|2020-11-17T23:28:44-08:00April 23rd, 2020|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

Welcome our new Microgrants Director, Kanoa Arteaga

We are so excited to welcome Kanoa Arteaga (he/they) as our new Microgrants Program Director. Kanoa will lead the Microgrants team’s vision of economic justice for trans people as we equitably distribute funds directly to trans people. What was your first job? Dishwasher and I was fired almost immediately lol....

By Green|2020-11-17T23:28:55-08:00April 23rd, 2020|Trans Lifeline News|Comments Off

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