Wisconsin

Description: With the start of the new year comes statements from Wisconsin lawmakers who intend to introduce legislation limiting the rights and freedoms of transgender and non-binary Wisconsinites.  More than ever, your story is needed.  In this workshop you will learn how to craft an effective story about the impact this and similar efforts have on you and/or people you love and care about.  You will have time to draft and get feedback on your personal story in advance of possible legislative hearings, as well as hearings at your local school district, city, and county level.  It will be facilitated by GSAFE and members of the Wisconsin Trans Health Coalition Policy Group, Brian J and Sawyer Johnson.   What’s the purpose of FORGE’s Milwaukee Monthly Meetings? Share information on pre-selected subjects. Provide support for people who attend. [All people who are interested in trans and gender non-binary issues are welcome. We encourage people to participate […]

MKE Parents of Trans Kids is a group of parents and caregivers supporting each other on our individual journeys of love, acceptance, and advocacy for our school-aged gender non-binary, transgender and non-conforming children. We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. Supportive, gently facilitated meetings offer parents and adult family members the opportunity to share their successes, concerns, and stories of challenges and resilience. This space also provides a forum to learn from others, ask questions, seek feedback, or just listen. Childcare can be provided upon request. Please contact us 10 days prior to the meeting so we can arrange for a sitter. For additional information, email us at parents@forge-forward.org.

Book Launch with author Brice Smith Join us for the official book launch of Brice D. Smith’s heart-wrenchingly inspirational biography Lou Sullivan: Daring To Be A Man Among Men. Hear him share his experiences reclaiming one of the most tragically overlooked people in LGBT history. Ask Brice anything and have him sign your copy of the biography of Milwaukee’s own world-renowned transgender pioneer Lou Sullivan. About the book: “ said I couldn’t live as a gay man, but it looks like I’m going to die like one.” Good Midwestern girls did not grow up to be gay men and die from AIDS. Unless they were transgender pioneer Lou Sullivan (1951-1991). Sullivan marched for Civil Rights, embraced the 1960s counterculture, came of age in the gay liberation movement, transformed medical treatment of trans people, institutionalized trans history, forged an international female-to-male (FTM) transgender community and died from AIDS at the epicenter of the crisis. He overcame […]

MKE Parents of Trans Kids is a group of parents and caregivers supporting each other on our individual journeys of love, acceptance, and advocacy for our school-aged gender non-binary, transgender and non-conforming children. We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. Supportive, gently facilitated meetings offer parents and adult family members the opportunity to share their successes, concerns, and stories of challenges and resilience. This space also provides a forum to learn from others, ask questions, seek feedback, or just listen. Childcare can be provided upon request. Please contact us 10 days prior to the meeting so we can arrange for a sitter. For additional information, email us at parents@forge-forward.org.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and FORGE has a new coloring contest winner! Join us for a relaxing, low-key, restorative event where your job will simply be to color inside – and/or outside! – the lines. We’ll have cookies and at least two tables: a Quiet Table where people can color accompanied by only their own thoughts, and a Conversation Table where we’ll ask people to share, among other things, how they are keeping themselves whole in a world that can seem chaotic. We’ll supply plenty of crayons, colored pens, markers, and coloring pages – as well as cookies! – but feel free to bring your favorites.   What’s the purpose of FORGE’s Milwaukee Monthly Meetings? Share information on pre-selected subjects. Provide support for people who attend. [All people who are interested in trans and gender non-binary issues are welcome. We encourage people to participate at their level of comfort. [Note: Milwaukee Monthly Meetings […]

MKE Parents of Trans Kids is a group of parents and caregivers supporting each other on our individual journeys of love, acceptance, and advocacy for our school-aged gender non-binary, transgender and non-conforming children. We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. Supportive, gently facilitated meetings offer parents and adult family members the opportunity to share their successes, concerns, and stories of challenges and resilience. This space also provides a forum to learn from others, ask questions, seek feedback, or just listen. Childcare can be provided upon request. Please contact us 10 days prior to the meeting so we can arrange for a sitter. For additional information, email us at parents@forge-forward.org.

Description: What are the rights of trans / non-binary people when stopped by police? What should I do if my ID doesn't match my gender (when an officer stops me or in other situations)? Can I use the bathroom that aligns with my gender? What are the legal implications? "Walking While Trans" really is a thing... what can I do about that? I'm undocumented *and* trans -- what can I do to best protect myself and my family? What if I do get arrested? What rights do I have?  How can I be as safe as possible if detained? What happens if I’m being bullied at school? How can I get involved in making positive changes in my community? We’ll explore the answers to these and other questions at this event.   Guest speaker: Emilio De Torre, Youth and Programs Director, ACLU-Wisconsin Emilio De Torre has been the Director of Youth and Programs at the […]

MKE Parents of Trans Kids is a group of parents and caregivers supporting each other on our individual journeys of love, acceptance, and advocacy for our school-aged gender non-binary, transgender and non-conforming children. We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. Supportive, gently facilitated meetings offer parents and adult family members the opportunity to share their successes, concerns, and stories of challenges and resilience. This space also provides a forum to learn from others, ask questions, seek feedback, or just listen. Childcare can be provided upon request. Please contact us 10 days prior to the meeting so we can arrange for a sitter. For additional information, email us at parents@forge-forward.org.