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Biden’s First Hundred Days: What is means for trans & non-binary communities

Much has changed dramatically for trans and non-binary rights since President Biden took office, including who’s representing our interests and how they’re discussed. Please join FORGE for conversation about what has changed in the first 100 days (and what’s stayed the same). We’ll review the administration’s commitments, explore roadblocks and what remains to be done, and hold space for discussion about how we as community members can contribute to making change. FORGE informational events are focused on people in the trans/non-binary community(ies). Everyone is welcome – friends, family, loved ones. Presenters: Shelley Gregory & Loree Cook-Daniels Shelley Gregory (they/them or any pronouns). Shelley is a trans human, activist, and advocate, and the Strategic Project Coordinator for FORGE. Shelley has worked actively in the LGBTQI+ community for over 25 years and began to focus their work on advocacy for transgender and non-binary folx nearly two decades ago. Their background is as a civil rights lawyer. Shelley […]

Safe Dating in the age of Covid-19

Safe dating should always be a priority. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are trying to meet our needs for connection with others, while also balancing needs for safety. We may already be dating or hooking up and want to make these interactions safer, or we may be thinking about starting to date or hook up as vaccinations roll out. Join us for an informative panel discussion about safe dating, COVID-19, and how changing situations may impact our dating choices. Please bring questions if you have them, or just come to listen and discuss! Event host: michael munson Panelists will be announced soon. Zoom link: https://forge-forward.zoom.us/j/92745710374 Meeting ID: 927 4571 0374

MKE TDOR 2021 – Call for submissions

Your Voice. Our Community. Our TDOR. We welcome your voice as an integral part of creating this year’s Milwaukee Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). We encourage you to add your voice – your words, music, dance, performance art – to a collection of others to create a powerful, multi-dimensional, reflective, and meaningful community event. This year’s MKE TDOR will be virtual on November 19, 2021 @ 7:00pm Central Time. The event will be an array of pre-recorded speeches, music, grounding, and community connection. Your voice is essential in making sure MKE’s TDOR is reflective of and inclusive of ALL of our broad community. We especially welcome those who have felt unheard and underrepresented.  Speakers who submit video submissions will be compensated $50. Submit your video contribution: https://forge.tips/TDOR-2021-submissions Deadline for submission: November 11, 2021 @ 11:59pm CT Here are the details about what and how to share your content: We are accepting your video submission up […]

MKE TDOR 2021

MKE TDOR 2021: Your voice. Our community. Our TDOR. The greater Milwaukee community will be honoring those who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender bias or violence on Friday, November 19, 2021 through a virtual gathering. This is a COMMUNITY event — for the community, of the community, by the community, and with the community. Part of joining together as a community this year and every year, is to hear multiple voices and diverse views. Agenda: Grounding and Centering. Speaking – Your voices. Remembering. Connecting. All content will have ASL interpretation and closed captions. We will gather on Zoom at 7:00pm on Friday November 19, 2021. If you are unable to attend live, the event will be recorded. Thank you for joining us on this path.  

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Mindfulness: Being in the moment

Mindfulness: Being in the Moment

Have you wondered how to incorporate mindfulness and meditation practices into your life?  Do you worry that the only “right” way is to contort your body into uncomfortable (or unachievable) positions – and then stay that way for a long time? There are many ways we ALL can engage in increased mindfulness in our daily lives. Lance Weinhardt will share an overview of what mindfulness is and isn’t, some of the benefits, and introduce a few 100% accessible mindfulness techniques each of us can use. This session will also include a video by Fresh Lev White, a black trans activist for love and compassion, which will guide attendees through mindfulness-based gratitude. Lance Weinhardt is a Professor of Community and Behavioral Health Promotion  at UW Milwaukee, with research interests in transgender health, HIV, and food security. He incorporates wellness into his life in many ways, including hiking, meditating, mindfulness, and connecting deeply with his family. Fresh […]

Movement for mental health

Movement for Mental Health

We often hear that movement is good for our body and mind.  True, right?  Many of us may find it difficult to find or make time to move our bodies.  Many of us have bodies that don’t move like our peers.  Many of us are not accessing indoor venues for movement due to COVID.  There are tons of easy and fun ways to include movement in our daily life.  Join in for sharing and conversation. ## Join Zoom Meeting Topic: Movement for Mental Health https://forge-forward.zoom.us/j/83112056174 Meeting ID: 831 1205 6174

Scavenger hunt

Scavenger Hunt

During this winter season, it can be helpful to take some time to step out of our usual routines and explore the familiar or unfamiliar world around us. We’re encouraging folks to take a mindful walk through your neighborhood, around your home, or any space accessible to you, and look for some specific scavenger hunt items. This can be an individual activity, or something you do with friends or family. You might just notice something you’ve never seen before, or practice gratitude for things you see every day! Feel free to find items at your own pace. You could find everything in one day, or spread it out over a week! Take photos of the items you find, or bring the item itself, and we’ll meet together to share our items, photos, experiences, and thoughts on this form of exploration. How to participate: Download the Scavenger Hunt checklist here: https://forge-wi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Winter-Scavenger-Hunt.pdf Find items that correspond to […]

Black Trans Leadership Panel

In collaboration with FORGE, Dezjorn International is facilitating a panel discussion – “Black Trans/NB Panel: How to Lead at Any Level!” This online event will highlight Black Trans & Nonbinary leaders from across the country. The panel will cover a wide range of topics focused on BlackTrans leadership, what makes a great leader, and some challenges of being a leader. Additional content will focus on why diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential in any industry and what non-BlackTrans people and systems can do to promote conversations and change about social justice. Moderator and Host: Dezjorn Gauthier, Dezjorn International Dezjorn Gauthier is the CEO of Dezjorn International LLC, a small business firm compiled of several subsidiaries jointly committed to helping clients reach their goals of branding, public relations, investing and global influence. He is also the founder of The DIF Inc, a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate, empower, and inspire people of marginalized communities […]

Trans inclusive therapy 1

Trans-Inclusive Therapy Practices, Part I

Join FORGE for the first of two panel discussions with experienced therapists whose practices include transgender and nonbinary clients. We’ll hear from a group of therapists about inclusive practices, gender-affirming therapy, and how individual therapists approach working with transgender and nonbinary clients. Bring your questions for our panel about therapy in general, or about their specific practices. Panelists: Jan Singer, LCSW Kim Skerven, Ph.D Travis Trott, LCSW

Liberatory Responses to Suicide and Crisis

Liberatory Responses to Suicide and Crisis

In this session, we will discuss the history of carceral responses to suicide and crisis. Beginning with the conflation of madness and queerness, we will explore the ways queer and trans people have been targeted by carceral psychiatric and psychological “interventions.” We will trace the persistence of this historical trauma’s legacy in current crisis response models. After grounding in historical and contemporary responses to crisis and suicide, we will imagine liberatory frameworks for responding to suicide and crisis that resist paradigms of punishment and pathology. Presenter: Jess Stohlmann-Rainey. I am Jess (she/her) and I love to talk about suicide. I am a mad, queer, feminist, care worker. I am a trainer and consultant, and work as Director of Peer Services at Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners (who provides the statewide crisis and peer lines, RAINN hotline, Colorado Lifeline, and others), and an instructor at the University of Denver’s School of Professional Psychology. I live as a […]