with hands steadily purexed, but never quite clean

Help get ASTT(e)Q’s shelter access guidebook off the ground! ↘

This past winter, ASTT(e)Q launched an emergency media campaign alerting the public to the fact that trans people were being systemically turned away from shelters. This is by no means a new issue, but in the week-long cold-spell that hit montreal last winter, we felt compelled to react. As we have dialogued with many shelter workers since this media campaign, we saw this as an opportunity to be proactive. Drawing on years of community activism and advocacy, ASTT(e)Q has put together a resource called TransForm Your Services: A Trans Inclusion Guide for Shelters for shelter workers, in order to increase their capacity to include trans women and their experiences in the work that they do.

Trans people face disproportionate experiences of extreme poverty, violence, and are at increased risk of precarious housing and homelessness. At the same time, efforts to address poverty, homelessness, and violence- ranging from government programs to social services and community organizations — often ignore or are insensitive to trans people’s experiences of violence. While some services may have anti-discrimination policies, rarely do these guidelines address issues of transphobia and gender-based discrimination. And even if issues of transphobia are mentioned in policy, what are ways of transforming these policies into concrete practices?

A particular site of exclusion that has a dangerous affect on trans people are sex-segregated spaces and services, such as shelters, alcohol and drug detox facilities, and some crisis-centres. TransForm Your Services: A Trans Inclusion Guide for Shelters, is a guide that is desperately needed in the Montreal’s shelter system. This resource will be geared at service providers in order to support shelters in filling some of those policy gaps, answer some of the questions that most frequently come up regarding to trans access to shelters, and provide frontline workers with some tangible tools and suggestions for moving forward. It will also include insightful testimonials from trans people and advocates detailing their experiences accessing shelters or supporting someone in the process of accessing sex-segregated essential services.

This guidebook will be distributed to shelters and other sex-segregated services throughout Quebec, as part of ASTT(e)Q’s anti-violence project, TransSolidaire Contre la Violence.

ASTT(e)Q is seeking your support in making this guide a reality! We would like to raise at least 2,000 dollars to go towards professional editing, translation and printing costs. At the moment, we have limited funding to go towards this, but we do not want to have to dip too much into our emergency fund - which is set up specifically to support trans people who have been refused from shelters. If you are able, any kind of donation would help! If you would prefer, you can also make a donation via our website at http://www.astteq.org/donate.html, or by cheque (mailed to 1300 rue Sanguinet, Montreal, Quebec H2X 3E7) make out to CACTUS-Montreal with ASTT(e)Q in the memo-line.

(Source: tranzister, via prudeboy)

Transition Journal: Top Surgery expenses ↘

keagan-is-a-real-boy:

Some people have been asking about how much I paid overall for surgery and the trip so here’s a break down of the costs and then more details to explain the expenses.

March 10, 2013 two friends and I started driving towards Orlando, FL to stay with one of their relatives. We brought some…

Taking care of your post-op nipples, Garramone style.

gendercube:

Let’s imagine for a second; you’ve just had top surgery with Dr. Garramone, you’re resting in bed, and you’re wondering what kind of care you’ll need to do over the next few weeks once your bandages are off. Your scars will take of themselves, but your nipples need a little extra work until you are about 3 weeks post-op. Here’s what you’ll be doing and what all you’ll need. I’m just shy of 5 months post-op, so don’t worry about seeing any newly post-op nipples.

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Tempe Anti-Terror Cops Sent Undercovers to Infiltrate a Local Bar to Spy on Anarchists Planning a Community Garden ↘

(Source: manicpixiedreamgorgon, via marxvx)

Black people, who make up 22% of the poor, receive 14% of government benefits. White people, who make up 42% of the poor, receive 69% of government benefits. ↘

racismschool:

Just so we’re all clear on what we just read. Black people make up 22% of the poor but only 14% of the government benefits. Meaning, 8% of poor Black people are not taking government benefits when they need them.

While, white people make up 42% of the poor but receive 69% of the government benefits. Meaning, there are white people who are classified as middle class who are receiving government benefits. 

…but welfare queens and stuff.

[Edit] Correction to above comment

(via sinidentidades)