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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 […]

State-Sanctioned Hate: The Impact of the “Culture Wars” on Trans Lives

There are actual human casualties of the current U.S. “culture war” involving trans identities and rights. In this training webinar for therapists and social services professionals, we’ll discuss the actual effects what’s happening in legislatures, social media, and “news” shows are having on trans and nonbinary individuals and families. We’ll also discuss what individuals can do to help mitigate the damage. 0:00 Introduction and agenda 2:31 Who is FORGE? 5:27 Moments of trans joy / trans hope 7:55 Intersecting realities 9:07 "Trauma informed" and webinar content 9:48 What is "State-Sanctioned" hate? 15:24 What have you seen in your community? 17:59 Social media and online hate 24:54 Healthcare access 29:17 Threats against providers 32:16 Child abuse claims 34:11 Transition bans / detransition bills 36:15 Schools and book bans 38:46 Bathrooms 41:55 Trans people in sports 43:25 Workplace discrimination 45:44 Money spent on anti-trans political agendas 48:24 Politicians behaving badly 53:59 Drag shows / drag queen story […]

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Dismantling the Gates: Informed Consent Models of Care

A substantial barrier to care for many trans and nonbinary people has been standards of care that put therapists in a position of “gatekeeping” for those pursuing hormones, surgery, or even name changes. More providers are adopting an informed consent model, that empowers trans and nonbinary individuals and opens up the therapist/client relationship. This webinar will help therapists and social services professionals understand informed consent models of care and how it can work for them and their clients. 1:10 Agenda overview 2:20 Who is FORGE? 3:52 Framing informed consent/standards of care 6:46 History of care for trans folks 14:58 Why do we have standards of care or informed consent? 16:25 Shifting toward informed consent models 21:43 How standards of care worked in the past 27:31 What is informed consent? 33:27 Importance of autonomy 36:28 Limited scope for standards of care and informed consent 43:52 Implications in today's world 48:37 Impact on the therapeutic relationship 52:31 […]

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Trans self-defense and empowerment for all bodies

Trans and non-binary people, especially trans women of color, experience some of the most severe and frequent gender-based violence of any group in the US. Defend Yourself offers practical skills that anyone can learn (you don't have to be an athlete, or train for years in martial arts) -- skills for preventing, interrupting, and healing from harassment, abuse, and assault. Join Defend Yourself teacher Stephania Mahdi to find out more about how empowerment and self-defense training can help you be safer and more confident when dealing with everything from daily problems like problematic family members or intrusive coworkers to physical assault. You'll leave this session with techniques you can use right away. 0:00 Introduction to presentation 2:04 About Stephania and Defend Yourself 6:16 Basics of empowerment self-defense 9:55 Self-defense and neurodiversity 12:09 Building confidence and empowerment 20:10 Practical self-defense skills 26:27 Self-defense with physical disabilities 28:31 The “tunnel zone” 31:02 What skills can people learn […]

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Q&A Webinar: Transdisciplinary Team (Understanding Cancer Disparities in the Transgender/Nonbinary Population)

Are you interested in helping reduce health disparities within the trans/nonbinary community? Are you a Wisconsin community member who would like to contribute to a PAID collaborative working group to explore cancer disparities in trans populations? This project is a collaborative partnership between the Community & Cancer Science Network, FORGE, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. 0:00 Intro and agenda 1:47 Team introductions 6:46 What is this project? 9:07 Overview of the project 10:10 Who should apply? 10:53 Responsibilities of team members 13:02 Applicant qualifications 13:13 Time committment and compensation 15:18 How to apply Q&A 16:50 Structure of the project 19:48 What are social determinants of health? (Shared language) 24:34 Closing thoughts

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WiTEACH – Roundup of support organizations

Even though we started our WiTEACH meetings by mapping the state’s trans resources, by the time we’ve been working together for eight months, we should have identified additional groups and resources that we didn’t know about in the beginning. At this meeting, we’ll invite these new and newly-discovered groups to introduce themselves. 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 […]

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Drawing Our Future

The theme of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is Prevention Demands Equity. Equity means that we must listen to and value all voices in the creation of a better world. Trans/nonbinary perspectives are critical in creating safety now and in the future. Drawing Our Future is a space for trans/nonbinary community and loved ones to gather and explore our visions of safety. In this workshop, we will use prompts to help us imagine a safer world and create images, descriptions, or other forms of art related to our visions. Participants will be able to share what they’ve created with each other and discuss ways to continue using arts for healing and social change. When registering, you will have the option to request a free care package to be mailed to you with all the supplies you need for this event. Please register at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DrawingOurFuture If you would like to receive a care package, please complete the registration […]

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WiTEACH – Harm Reduction

Stay tuned for information about the guest speaker who will lead us through a wide-ranging and thought-provoking discussion of using harm reduction principles with trans and nonbinary people who have experienced harm. Both professionals and community members will find much to think about in this engaging workshop. Registration information available soon. 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