Building off the work established in the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (which was developed and conducted by the National LGBTQ Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality from 2008-2009), the U.S. Trans Survey is the largest ever national survey to document the everyday lives of transgender people across the country.  It aims to highlight and quantify the experiences of trans people so that researchers, policymakers, and advocates can see how issues facing trans people are changing—and what improvements can be made to enrich their lives and end discrimination. [Read Article]

Many HIPS clients, she says, “get put out, thrown out into the woods. You’re homeless.” Questions about losing access to family and community “stuck” with her because she knows how common they are. For example, the survey asks about how trans people connect to their community, and Ms. Kenny has heard too many stories about being cut off. “When you grow up in the church, that’s your safe haven, but when you put a dress on, you couldn’t go to the church anymore. You lose your faith.”  She’s also heard from many women who have either experienced discrimination trying to access a restroom or who simply avoid bathrooms entirely for their safety. “Women hold it because they fear the bathroom,” she explained, noting that they often go in an alley instead.​ [Read Article]

​Following an April 2014 meeting with community health advocates, officials with the D.C. Department of Health expressed an intention to create a standing order modelled on the Massachusetts program. More than a year later, those advocates, as well as some of D.C.’s drug users, say they are still waiting for the city to follow through. [Read Article]