Over a million people across the United States identify as transgender, but few have the resources and community support that they need to safely transition let alone deal with the discrimination that often follows a gender-diverse identity. Often, that unchecked discrimination can contribute to mental health struggles like anxiety and depression. Stand With Trans is a Michigan-based nonprofit organization that dedicates itself to providing support services to transgender youth and their parents. This year, it's working to help the local transgender community with the fifth annual Trans Empowerment Workshop to be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Orchard Lake United Methodist Church. Roz Keith, the organization's founder, said that attendees can expect a brand-new lineup this year.
"We have new speakers, new topics. For example, for the little kids we have Drag Queen Storytime and we have a couple of people of coming with their therapy dogs and they'll be able to hear about what they do and what the dogs do when they go to the hospital and they'll get to pet the dogs. And we have two surgeons coming who perform gender confirmation surgery and know they'll be on a panel with parents Dr. Laura Rodriguez from Henry Ford Health Systems and Dr. Edwin Wilkins from the University of Michigan," she said. "John Austin who is the former of the Michigan Department of Education will speak to parents about rights in schools. And we will host a session on How to implement a non-discrimination ordinance in your town. And we have Mary Jo Schnell, who is the executive director of the Out Center in Benton Harbor, and Laura Ann Goos, who is the mayor pro tem in St. Joseph, Michigan, speaking."
Studies have shown that simply having services like these can drastically improve the mental health of young transgender people who may be experiencing mental health struggles.
"Over half of transgender youth have attempted or seriously contemplated suicide," said the event's press release. "A major cause for this alarming rate is a lack of support from family and community. When a transgender child feels like they have support, the suicide attempt rate drops to less than 5 percent. LGBTQ+ kids who have at least one supportive adult in their lives are 40 percent less likely to attempt suicide than those who have no supportive adults. One person can mean the difference between life and death for an LGBTQ+ child."
The church is located at 30450 Farmington Road in Farmington Hills. Advance registration is required and a light breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided. For more information reach out to Keith at [email protected] or register here: https://bit.ly/2Mbj3Yy.
5th Annual Trans Empowerment Workshop Oct. 19
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