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TDRFund.us will provide financial assistance to qualified LGBTQI individuals and allies who are effected by the partial government shutdown

For Immediate Release

January 11, 2019

Transgender Disaster Relief Fund to Assist Furloughed Federal Workers

Affected LGBTQI and allies are encouraged to apply

Houston— January 11, 2019 — Today the Transgender Foundation of America (TFA) announced that the Transgender Disaster Relief Fund (TDRFund.us) would accept applications for assistance from LGBTQI and allied federal workers whose lives were thrown into chaos due to President Trump’s 2018-2019 partial shutdown of the government. Alexis Melvin, President of TFA said, “Many LGBTQI individuals and our allies are effected by the partial government shutdown. The sudden loss of income through no fault of their own can create very difficult situations and TDRFund.us will provide whatever support we can to these individuals.”


About the Transgender Disaster Relief Fund

The Trans Disaster Relief is a project TFA, a 501c3 public charity, and was initially set up as a response to Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Since Hurricane Harvey numerous other disasters, ranging from other hurricanes to earthquakes and wildfires, have been added to the TDRFund.us support list.

Cristan Williams, a co-founder of the Transgender Disaster Relief Fund said, “We’ve made the application extremely simple and straightforward. We want the affected community to know that we stand with them in their time of need.” To apply for assistance or make a donation, individuals should go to the TDRFund.us website.

 About TFA

Organized in 1998, the Transgender Foundation of America (TFA) is a Houston-based grassroots 501c3 public charity and exists to improve the lives of transgender people. TFA facilitates numerous trans support groups and community events such as the Unity Banquet, now in its 26th year. Additionally, it maintains the Transgender Archive and provides annual scholarships to trans-supportive academics, represents transgender and intersex health concerns with health departments across the nation, trains organizations, companies, and schools throughout the nation and pioneered trans and intersex homeless, social, and medical services.

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For more information about the TDR Fund:

tdrfund.us

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Welcome Trudie Jackson 2018 Houston Transgender Unity Banquet Speaker

Trudie Jackson a member of the Navajo Nation and identifies as a 5th gender person.  Her clans are Bitterwater and Folded Arms People, then the Mexican People and Yucca Strung Out In A Line.  Originally from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, but currently reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She is a 2nd year doctoral student at the University of New Mexico in American Studies with researching focusing on American Indian Transgender Women in Urban Areas.
 
Trudie has been a community activist and social justice advocate by standing up for communities of color inclusion in spaces often occupied by non-person of color including American Indians.  She founded the Southwest American Indian Rainbow Gatheirng, which is currently in its 8th year in Phoenix, Arizona that addresses health disparities of American Indians that identify as Two Spirit (SLGBTQ).  Her tireless advocacy lead to receiving the Marty Prairie Red Ribbon Award from the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center in 2008 for her strong voice, action, and leadership in tribal (urban/rural) communities.  In 2017, she was awarded the Equality Arizona Skip Schrader Spirit of Activism Award at the It Gets Better Conference in Tucson, Arizona.  Since relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico, she is a Board member for the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico.  Recently presented at TPATH in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 2017 by sharing her experience of utilizing the Indian Health Service as an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe of the US.
 
Trudie’s educational journey would not have been possible without the financial assistance from the Phoenix Pride Scholarship, Udall Foundation Scholar in 2011, American Indian Services, Office of Navajo Nation Student Financial Assistance (ONNSFA), and Teec Nos Pos Student Chapter Financial Assistance.  She is a four time POINT Foundation Semifinalist and continues to apply to one day become a POINT Scholar.
Trudie’s journey as an American Indian transgender women by walking in Two Worlds has been challenging, but has always followed her motto:  determination, motivation, perseverance, and resilience.
 
Trudie is a candidate in the Navajo Nation Presidential election as the first Navajo transgender women running for the highest office of the Navajo Nation.   She has continued to break down barriers by being an inspiration to all transgender people.
 
Click HERE for tickets!
 
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25th Houston Transgender Unity Banquet

Fiona Dawson as our primary speaker….    Kevin Anderson as our emcee….

We look forward to spending the night with YOU and YOURS at the

25th Houston Transgender Unity Banquet

Saturday November 4, 2017 doors open at 6:30 pm

Houston Marriot North  255 North Sam Houston Pkwy E Houston TX 77060

www.unitybanquet.com

 

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Like No Udder Supports The Trans Disaster Relief Fund & Austin Pets Alive

Like No Udder

Wednesday…
The truck will be at Narragansett Town Beach from 6-8 this evening – come look at the waves!
The shop will be open 1-9 today…
Today and tomorrow (Thurs) we will be donating 10% of ice cream related sales to two groups doing relief work in Texas.
Donations will support Austin Pets Alive! – they are helping hundreds of animals right now – check their page – it’s mind boggling! Donations will also support TFA Houston / The Trans Disaster Relief Fund. 
Thank you for coming in!

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Buck Angel urges support for the Trans Disaster Relief Fund

Buck Angel: “Not everyone is in a position to be treated respectfully so we must care for our own…”

 

Donate Now

  • Many members of the Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer community have lost everything

  • Trans, intersex, and genderqueer individuals can experience extreme difficulties in natural disaster situations.

  • The TransAdvocate’s parent organization, the Transgender Foundation of America has organized a community disaster relief fund.

  • The fund will directly assist Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer survivors recover from this disaster

Speaking about the Trans Disaster Relief Fund, Buck Angel urged the trans and supportive communities to support trans, intersex, and genderqueer community members survive Hurrican Harvey, “We must care for our own right now.”

Recent attacks by lawmakers have resulted in heightened hostility against local trans people. The Trans Disaster Relief Fund, will be used to help our historically underserved community recover from this catastrophic event. If needed, the fund will also assist with burial costs for community members who’ve lost their lives in this historic disaster.

The Texas Gulf Coast trans community is facing a catastrophic and ongoing natural disaster resulting from Hurricane Harvey which made landfall as a category 4 hurricane, becoming a massive and slow-moving tropical storm resulting in historic-levels of flooding. Numerous members of the trans community are displaced and have lost everything.

Donate Now

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Help The Trans Community Overcome Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey!

Donate to the Trans Disaster Relief Fund

Help the Gulf Coast trans community affected by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey:

  • Many members of the Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer community have lost everything.
  • Trans, intersex, and genderqueer individuals can experience extreme difficulties in natural disaster situations.
  • The TransAdvocate’s parent organization, the Transgender Foundation of America has organized a community disaster relief fund.
  • The fund will assist Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer survivors recover from this disaster.

The Texas Gulf Coast trans community is facing a catastrophic and ongoing natural disaster resulting from Hurricane Harvey which made landfall as a category 4 hurricane, becoming a massive and slow-moving tropical storm resulting in historic-levels of flooding. Numerous members of the trans community are displaced and have lost everything.

Donate to the Trans Disaster Relief Fund

The Transgender Foundation of America created this disaster relief fund because trans, intersex, and genderqueer individuals have historically experienced significant difficulties in natural disaster situations. Worse, recent attacks by lawmakers have resulted in heightened hostility against local trans people. This fund will be used to help our historically underserved community recover from this catastrophic event. If needed, the fund will also assist with burial costs for community members who’ve lost their lives in this historic disaster.
 
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TFA Position – Banning Transgender Individuals From The U.S. Military

The Presidential Tweets banning transgender individuals from the U.S. military are disappointing, but not surprising. As with many of the President’s twitter announcements, they are poorly thought out, lacking in fact, and intended entirely for short-term partisan political gain.
Transgender individuals have proudly served in our country’s Military since the earliest days of our nation and will continue to do so. The president’s ban is a ban on open service, not a ban on service.
During the Obama administration, the Defense Department undertook an extensive study of the cost and effect of transgender individuals openly serving in the United States military. The conclusion was that the U.S. Military could easily accommodate open service by transgender individuals and that the cost would be minimal and possibly offset by increased efficiency and reduced mental health problems. This fact based study led to the implementation of policies that encouraged transgender individuals to openly serve in our nation’s armed services.
The President tweeted. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” These “tremendous medical costs” are much less than one Trump golfing weekend and the “disruption” simply does not exist.
Unfortunately, the Trump policy will have an undeserved negative impact on many transgender individuals who are currently proudly and openly serving their country. All those serving in our military deserve our respect and appreciation. It is disgraceful for the commander in chief to attack those serving under him for purely political reasons. It is these actions of the commander in chief that threaten our nation’s security, not the brave service of transgender individuals.