Yana, Author at Trans Lifeline

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

Everything You Need to Know About HRT Resources, Microgrants, & Needs Self-Assessment

Everything You Need to Know About HRT Resources, Microgrants, and Needs Self-Assessment We believe that trans-affirming health care should be universally accessible, fully covered by insurance companies, with zero out-of-pocket cost to trans people. Until we build that world, we partnered with Folx Health to offer HRT Microgrants for a year’s worth of HRT coverage to 100 trans folks in 2021. Here’s your guide to those grants, how to self-assess if you should apply, and other resources for accessing HRT if you don’t get a grant this time: ABOUT HRT MICROGRANTS: Thanks to our generous partners, we’re able to offer 24 HRT Microgrants each cycle 2021 HRT Microgrant cycles open at 11:00am PT on the following dates: Mar 1 June 1 Sept 1 Dec 1 Everyone who needs trans care deserves it. We don’t have a committee to determine who is more or less deserving, so applications fill up on a first come, first serve basis - with 75% reserved for BIPOC (see our equity policy) Due to our community’s overwhelming need for trans-affirming medical care, the application usually fills up within a few seconds of opening Tip: Consider creating a reminder in your calendar for the upcoming cycles to log on when it opens HOW TO SELF-ASSESS YOUR NEED: HRT Microgrants are intended for people who have no other way of accessing HRT. 75% of grants are reserved for BIPOC trans folks, because we are ...

By Yana|2021-08-30T15:31:45-07:00May 5th, 2021|Health & Wellness, Resources, Services|Comments Off

Trans Broadcasters Launch Peer2Peer.Live, Opt-In Discoverability Tool to Connect Marginalized Users on Twitch

On March 20, Trans Lifeline launched Peer2Peer.Live to fill gaps left by Twitch's lack of identity-based tagging that left minority streamers with limited to no discoverability options on the platform. As the #TransTagNow demands for identity-based tags on Twitch grow, trans organizers Lucia Everblack, Steph Loehr, Sabrina Mack, and Nick Nieves built their own seat at the table - following Twitch's refusal to create ways for broadcasters to connect with each other. Built by a team of transgender, BIPOC, and Twitch community members living with disabilities, this discoverability tool will be gamechanger for broadcasters and gamers with lived experience in multiple communities who struggle to find and support one another - and content that’s relevant to them - on Twitch.

By Yana|2021-03-30T12:52:53-07:00March 23rd, 2021|Resources|Comments Off

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