Hosted by the Rainbow Raft Pride Center, the Trans Healthcare Panel opened to inform students about the resources and community available to them.
One of five events held under the umbrella of the LGBTQIA2S+ Summit Tuesday, Nov. 4, 15 attendees listened to panelists Chelle Tran of the Personal Growth and Counseling Center on campus, alongside licensed practitioner Deborah Stewart – who also has experience in gender affirming care.
“There are many great centers available nearby,” said Stewart. Among the centers she mentioned were the University of California San Francisco, our own Campus Health Center in Building 80 and Montage.
While these health centers are able to provide physical care, gender affirmation care goes beyond just physical.
“Surrounding ourselves with community is key,” said Tran. As someone with loved ones in the trans community, she said her work is personal. Her work as well as Stewart’s are the main drivers on gender affirming care on campus.
The theme of the larger summit was queer solidarity, a choice echoed in the other events of the day. From analyzing the intersection of queer identity and race during the “Black Innovation” event, to the opportunity to learn dancing from within the queer community in “Dancing with the Queers” and a final dance party to cap off the summit.
Coming into the 2 to 3 p.m. event, each attendee was handed a notecard for possible questions, as well as a guide to hormone replacement therapy – which provided a general understanding of what the transitioning process can look like.
While that resource isn’t “fully comprehensive,” as Tran said, “there is more out there. The Monterey County Trans and Queer Survival Guide is helpful. The internet also has resources, but requires a little more careful consideration,” Tran continued.
Endorsed by Tran, The Monterey County Trans and Queer Survival Guide is a privately created shareable document that connects readers with the personal experiences of people who traveled the same path before them.
“Panels like these are wonderful. We want to start doing them twice a year if possible,” said Stewart.