Apicha CHC Celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility

In 2010, Rachel Crandall, the head of Transgender Michigan, asked why there wasn't any days of recognition that celebrated Transgender people, rather than just remember the lives lost to anti-trans violence and hate. She wanted to create a day that made her life and the lives of transgender communities visible, celebrating who they are and their contributions to society, while also raising awareness about the really difficult barriers and experience transgender people continue to face. That was the day that Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) was born  and it continues to be an incredibly important day for the world (TransGriot).

 Click here to read more about the history of TDOV

Visibility & Safety 

At Apicha CHC, we are committed to transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) visibility. We strongly believe that visibility can be a powerful means to creating better services,  accessing better services and raising awareness in the general public, but we also know that this brings up the question of safety.

As transgender and GNC issues have become more present in the media, there is still immense discrimination and violence that people face.  This graphic by Trans Student Education Resources highlights some of the really upsetting realities for transgender and GNC people. 

These are the realities we must keep in mind when we have conversations about visibility, so that we can also talk about creating safe spaces and services. Our work as an organization is to make sure that our clients feel seen, heard, understood and cared for.  We must find ways for our communities to be visible and safe. 

Let's remember that this world is safer for some transgender and GNC people than for others and visibility, for some, is also a privilege. When we talk about visibility, we have to acknowledge that people face different risks. We have to be mindful of the intersections of race, class, citizenship status, housing etc. So, we need to work even harder to make the spaces of visibility and safety inclusive of all transgender and GNC people, especially those that are even more susceptible to transphobic, racist and classist violence. 

The Huffington Post put together this important video about transgender and GNC representations in the media. It highlights the way that media focuses on very particular, narrow representations and stories of transgender/GNC  people. We are reminded that the work of visibility is the work of inclusivity and diversity:

Read the entire Huffington Post article here

Apicha Community Health Center

Creating a Space of Visibility and Safety 

Apicha CHC is highly aware of the ways that community health is much more than delivering healthcare; community health has largely focused on accessibility, visibility and safety for people that are largely ignored or otherized by society. Apicha CHC has long history of providing care for LGBTQ+ people, people of color, those that are housing-insecure, immigrants and low-income people in New York City. 

The many transgender, gender non-conforming, gender variant and genderqueer individuals we serve often come to us with negative experiences of the health-care system, so we created a safe, highly sensitive and caring space for their needs to be met. Our Transgender Health Clinic relies on excellent case management. Our case managers have specialized training and are able to handle a variety of services such as referrals for name change and gender affirming surgeries. 

In addition to primary care, our Transgender Health Clinic (THC) offers the initiation and maintenance of hormone therapy, transgender support groups, PrEP & PEP, HIV specialty care, and short-term mental health services. A key component of the THC is understanding each patient is unique and tailoring services to each patient’s needs....VISIBILITY! 

What Apicha Community Health Center Can Do for You:

Apicha Community Health Center’s Transgender Health Clinic does everything it can to overcome these barriers. 

We are committed to providing whole person Primary Medical Care to address the distinct needs of transgender and gender non-conforming, gender variant and genderqueer individuals.

Our Transgender Health services include:

• Personalized Primary Care
• Routine Check-Up and Immunizations
• Initiation and Maintenance of Hormone Therapy
• Short-Term Mental Health Services
• Care Management
• Transgender Groups

If you're interested in getting complete, competent medical care, click here to request an appointment at Apicha Community Health Center today.