Community Needs
DC Trans Coalition releases summary findings of its first needs-assessment survey
Transgender, transsexual and gender non-conforming people in D.C. have serious concerns about their safety, are severely underemployed, and face major difficulties accessing adequate healthcare according to the first needs-assessment survey conducted by the DC Trans Coalition (DCTC).
The summary findings of the survey were released on July 7 and conclude the first phase of the project. DCTC held seven community roundtables, between December of 2010 and May of 2011, reaching a total of 108 transgender community members between the ages of 18 and 83, living and working in D.C.
Ultimately, the goal of the project is to gain insight into the transgender community’s access to medical care, employment, housing, education, immigration and document status.
The next phase, expected to be finished next summer, focuses on the ”creation and distribution of paper and online surveys with a goal of reaching between 500 and 1,00 community members.”
Elijah Edelman, a DCTC member who co-directed the survey with D.C. transgender activist Ruby Corado, says DCTC is hoping to build a coalition with entities such as the Office of Human Rights, to make sure that the resulting information gets into the hands of policy makers.
”A lot of time when communities come out with community documents, they get kind of lost in the mix,” Edelman says. ”We want to ensure that what we find is not lost.”
Phase three of the project will focus on distribution of the findings, while the final phase of the project is to launch a community/government task force that will work to have the results reflected in D.C. law.
To view DCTC’s Needs Assessment summary findings, visit dctranscoalition.wordpress.com.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
