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Supporting Trans Mental Health: Uncovering Barriers and Building Solutions

Mental health challenges are common in the trans community. This webinar is intended for therapists, mental health providers, and other social services professionals.  Topics to be explored include the higher rates of mental health issues, why rates might be higher, common barriers trans community members face in accessing effective mental health assistance, and what steps providers can take to reduce those barriers. We will also examine the resilience so many trans people embody, as well as the challenges. Other webinars in this series: This is part of a four-webinar series in year 1 of WiTEACH. Join us for any or all of these training events.  Webinars are intended for mental health and other service providers, as well as open to any community member who is interested in improving the mental health of trans and nonbinary people. 1_ Supporting Trans Mental Health: Uncovering Barriers and Building Solutions Thursday, October 13, 2022 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. […]

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Good Grief! Strategies for Coping

Anti-trans legislation and attitudes have been heartbreaking. Increases in anti-trans and anti-other-marginalized people have often compromised our safety. The unrest throughout the world has been daunting. The COVID years have been hard. The reversal of basic rights has shaken many of us to our core. All of these things and more have led many of us to feel deep, profound, and pervasive grief. This gently moderated panel will bring together individuals from multiple perspectives: spiritual (Jennifer Nordstrom), clinical/mental health/therapy (Travis Trott), and within-community perspectives (Cameron Overton).

Overturning Roe v. Wade doesn’t mean overturning the right to inclusive, trauma-informed healthcare for trans and nonbinary people

This workshop will explore what reproductive health care looks like for Trans and Nonbinary people. Topics will include accessing reproductive trans health including everything from birth control to abortion options. Trans and nonbinary sexual assault and trauma survivors often have additionally complex relationships to reproductive healthcare, which will be woven into this workshop. We will provide real-life stories of Trans and Nonbinary accessing this care Presenters: Afton Bradley is a nurse and social worker who has provided direct care and managed multiple trans health programs in Virginia. They work as a direct practice nurse, consultant, trainer, and educator for LGBTQIA+ health services amongst providers, institutions, and community consumers. Afton Bradley, FNP, MSW, BSN, RN (they/them pronouns)       J (they/them) currently coordinates a Trans Health Program in the South. Their background is in social work with an emphasis on LGBTQ health, sexual health, immigrant justice, HIV, reproductive justice, harm reduction, and anti-violence. J is particularly interested in […]

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Trans Vax Scene Clinic

Zao MKE Church 2319 East Kenwood Boulevard, Milwaukee, WI, United States

Trans community members are invited to participate in a free vaccine clinic! Get an initial COVID or monkeypox vaccine, booster shots, and testing. Receive a $50 gift card when you get vaccinated, boosted, or tested! Other activities offered include free massages, connection, conversation, and buttons. The Trans Vax Scene Clinic will be held at Zao MKE Church on two dates: September 24th and October 29th, 2022

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Trans/Gender-Expansive Tech Safety in the post-Dobbs Political Climate

It’s a tough time for bodily autonomy if you defy reactionary ideas of gender and reproduction. Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe, there’s been a lot of discussion about tech safety, digital privacy, and access to medical care. Most of it has been centered on non-trans women, and most of it has been focused on a few specific potential concerns, such as period tracker apps. At the same time, there has been an increasing social and political backlash against trans/nonbinary/gender-expansive individuals and communities, their supportive family members and friends, and their care providers. This webinar will go beyond the spotlight to discuss tech safety, privacy, and security for trans/gender-expansive survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking who are seeking care in a fraught political climate. Register: https://forge-forward.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_y6HWLjKjSmi-OaJD93nvng Presenter: Jessie L, Technology Safety Specialist at the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)

WiTEACH – Mental Health Resources

The WiTEACH intention of improving mental health availability and effectiveness is not starting from scratch. In this meeting we will talk about where trans people and families are accessing services now, and who else is working on the problem. We will also establish the baseline and set concrete goals and strategies for the WiTEACH mental health project. Registration: https://forge-forward.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvf-qrrT8tGtwV9y2dXvOjpc_m9bjoS0W5 Who is welcome at WiTEACH? Everyone who wants a Wisconsin within which trans and nonbinary individuals and families are welcomed, supported, and helped to thrive. About Wisconsin Transgender Education and Advocacy Coalition for Health: WiTEACH is a new trans people/service providers/community members statewide coalition designed to focus and make more effective efforts to improve the lives of transgender and nonbinary individuals and families. We invite you to join us! Our first year will be devoted to expanding and improving the availability of quality mental health care for transgender and nonbinary people throughout the state. WiTEACH Community Meetings […]

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Standard and Trans-specific ACEs: Shifting the Course of Trauma to Create Healthier Trans Adults

What happens in childhood impacts our physical and mental health for the rest of our lives. Trans people experience even more Adverse Childhood Experiences than other people, a fact that contributes to our greater mental health problems. This webinar will introduce the ACE studies to those who are not yet familiar, review trans-specific experiences that may help explain trans people’s higher ACE scores, and delineate some strategies for helping to right the disparities. 0:00 Introduction and overview 2:39 Who is FORGE? 8:20 Quick stats about the trans community 11:27 The ACE study 19:12 Lifelong violence and health disparities 34:58 Video: Jada’s Story 38:56 Health disparities cont. 41:08 Trans-specific ACEs and resilience factors 50:18 Video: Conversion therapy 54:16 Trans-specific ACEs and resilience cont. 1:06:13 Disrupting the ACEs with practical interventions 1:12:36 Video: Let Kids Play, Wisconsin 1:14:43 Resources 1:17:24 Trans hope and joy quotes 1:22:57 Closing Recorded November 11, 2022. Other webinars in this series: This […]

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#MKE TDOR 2022

MKE TDOR 2022: Our voices. 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 18, 2022. Guest speaker Dee Dee Watters will focus on “This is why we’re here!” Description: We stand and fight in the trenches because we deserve to exist!  We say HER name HIS name THEIR name because we will not be erased!  We honor our siblings that were taken from us far too soon and celebrate all of our existence for we will not be erased! Everyone is welcome.  Together, we build and strengthen our large community, supporting each other through loss and remembering our joy.   Agenda: Welcome. Political leaders acknowledge TDOR. Honoring those who died in MKE. Candle light vigil. Music. Dee Dee Waters. Connection. Sharing a meal together. Accessibility: ASL and childcare provided. Bathrooms: All gender, sit, stand. COVID safety: Masks […]

WiTEACH – Health Clinics

Wisconsin hospitals and clinics are creating LGBTQ+-specific clinics and programs specifically for trans people at an incredible pace. In this meeting, we’ll hear from several of the leading programs and inventory the others. Registration: https://forge-forward.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvf-qrrT8tGtwV9y2dXvOjpc_m9bjoS0W5 Who is welcome at WiTEACH? Everyone who wants a Wisconsin within which trans and nonbinary individuals and families are welcomed, supported, and helped to thrive. About Wisconsin Transgender Education and Advocacy Coalition for Health: WiTEACH is a new trans people/service providers/community members statewide coalition designed to focus and make more effective efforts to improve the lives of transgender and nonbinary individuals and families. We invite you to join us! Our first year will be devoted to expanding and improving the availability of quality mental health care for transgender and nonbinary people throughout the state. WiTEACH Community Meetings (Zoom) 2nd Wednesday of the month

WiTEACH – Youth resources

Negotiating with schools. Finding in-person support groups. Locating safe and reliable online resources. Supporting parents. In this WiTEACH meeting, we’ll explore what’s available for supporting Wisconsin’s trans and nonbinary children and youth, and their parents. Timestamps: 0:00 Speaker introductions 0:31 Action opportunity (January: Waukesha school board) 7:30 Wisconsin updates 9:45 Youth resources 15:59 What is GSAFE? 23:29 Other resources for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin 30:45 What's expected from the WI legislature this year for trans kids 35:05 How to weigh in on current issues impacting trans youth 37:04 Joint Committee on the Review of Administrative Rules 2023 contact info 37:59 Closing thoughts Who is welcome at WiTEACH? Everyone who wants a Wisconsin within which trans and nonbinary individuals and families are welcomed, supported, and helped to thrive. About Wisconsin Transgender Education and Advocacy Coalition for Health: WiTEACH is a new trans people/service providers/community members statewide coalition designed to focus and make more effective efforts to […]