LA's St. John's Center Remembers Transgender People Lost to Violence

On November 20 from 12-2 p.m., St. John's Well Child and Family Center welcomes the community to a reception for Transgender Day of Remembrance. Guests and speakers include members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. City Mayor's Office along with St. John's staff and transgender patients. The reception will also present a video honoring the transgender people murdered in 2015 and highlight the level of oppression the transgender community faces every day.

"Transgender Day of Remembrance, which occurs annually on�November 20, is a day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia (the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people) and to bring attention to the continued violence endured by the Transgender community," said Diana Feliz Oliva, the�Transgender�Health Program Coordinator at St. John's.

St. John's Well Child and Family Center has observed discrimination and degradation against the transgender community. Noticing their own community was suffering -- they counted 73 transgender, hate-crime murders this year -- they created and implemented the Transgender Health Program (THP), the only Los Angeles community clinic with a comprehensive transgender-focused health program. It also serves as a safe space for this targeted community. �

St. John's transgender health program, which was founded in 2012, was prompted by the response of the transgender community members itself. It's the result of a community relationship between their CEO Jim Mangia and Trans Community Activist Karina Samala.

"The importance of having a safe space for the transgender community is very crucial to accessing health care, social services, behavioral health, economic opportunities, and pathways to higher education," said Oliva. "Historically, the transgender community has been the population most marginalized, discriminated, and abused. Creating a trans health program by trans identified staff members for trans community members provided a very safe and culturally competent space of validation and inclusion for our transgender patients."

Caring for the transgender community made today's reception a good fit. Guests and speakers will include members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. City Mayor's Office along with St. John's staff and transgender patients. The reception will also present a video honoring the transgender people murdered in 2015 and highlight the level of oppression the transgender community faces every day. It will also bring awareness to the inadequate services in transgender health care, for a community where 15 percent are living in extreme poverty of less than $10K per year.

Approximately 2,100 transgender individuals live in South Los Angeles alone and face high rates of discrimination, stigma, and isolation in an area that is already disproportionately disadvantaged. With the exponential growth of the transgender health program over the first year, the need came to develop additional services, such as hosting free Name and Gender Marker Change Clinics, educational presentations in the community, Trans*Empower (an economic and professional development program) and a focus on care coordination, case management, and patient advocacy. The focus is on comprehensive programs and services.

Some services St. John's provides include hormone therapy; referrals for gender confirming surgeries; referrals to transgender advocates; legal support; primary and preventive care - medical, dental, and pharmacy; behavioral health care; individual & family counseling; support groups; HIV and STI testing, counseling and treatment; health insurance enrollment assistance; and assistance with legal name/gender change paperwork. But a major obstacle in accessing these services is stigma.

"In order to fight the stigma, I believe WE ALL need to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Transgender communities in unity and support," said Oliva. "By being true allies and intentionally creating safe and validating spaces in all areas of society will help to eliminate the stigma and transphobia. We need to support full access in areas such as, public accommodations, health care, schools, housing, employment, and we need to support federal legislation for equal rights throughout our country not just here in California."

The Transgender Day of Remembrance reception will be held on Friday, Nov. 20 from 12-2 p.m. at St. John's Well Child & Family Center, 808 W. 58TH St., Los Angeles, CA 90037.