Los Angeles, CA Transgender Community Health Clinic Campaign
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Community Clinic Campaign Documentary
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Better Health Care Now!
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In the summer of 2006, FTM Alliance of Los Angeles and the Transgender Law Center expanded our health care services offered at LA based community clinics. In doing this work, we are emphasizing community organizing strategies. The work is funded primarily by the California Endowment, California Wellness Foundation, and Liberty Hill Foundation. Why Community Clinics? We are targeting community clinics instead of private clinics because of the central role they play in California counties and their potential for providing services to a broad range of care here in Los Angeles. The Campaign will identify up to 5 clinics from around the county with whom we can work to increase their ability to provide health care to our community. This would mean that the services would be available to people without insurance, people on Medi-Cal, and probably on a sliding scale basis to people whose insurance excludes transition related care. Why Community Organizing? Los Angeles has a long history of community organizing. This Campaign is a great chance to advance that work in the direction of health care access. Community organizing also helps increase skills among a broad group of community members that can be used in advancing other important issues that impact our communities. How Can I get Involved? Join our team of Campaign Leaders who will help plan the campaign, conduct outreach, present community workshops, and develop media strategy. Get on our mailing list by emailing: C3@ftmalliance.org Donations: Invest in increasing health care access by making a donation to FTM Alliance of Los Angeles: PO Box 412526 Los Angeles, CA 90041
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Too few transgender people have access to basic, culturally competent health care. This lack of access leads to on-going, preventable health care problems for community members and their families. For some people it can prevent or delay them from transitioning. For others, it can mean that basic health maintenance issues (high blood pressure, for instance) go untreated. And for too many it can lead to accessing medication and advice through the street economy. These deficits in health care are part of the way oppression has prevented transgender people from organizing for our own needs. LA County lacks any low-cost health clinics that provide basic and gender-specific care for transgender adults. Unlike Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego counties have regularly scheduled, transgender-specific health care clinics. The Tom Waddell Clinic in San Francisco is a county-operated once-a-week clinic providing primary health care to thousands of transgender people each year. In 2003, the Family Health Center of San Diego expanded their regularly scheduled gay male health clinic to include transgender people. Both of these clinics provide free and sliding scale services. They are both specialty clinics housed within fully functioning, pre-existing clinics. In addition, Santa Cruz recently initiated a health access project through their Planned Parenthood Health Clinic. Instead of having a designated night, Planned Parenthood has identified a designated provider on their staff who can be accessed by any transgender community member. Using these clinics as examples of innovative responses to the lack of accessible health care, this project focusses on replicating their success in strategic locations throughout Los Angeles County. This Campaign is changing the health care infrastructure to improve the health and wellbeing of transgender people and their families throughout Los Angeles County. This infrastructure will reduce the ill-effects that occur when some people are not able to transition (depression, anxiety, etc), provide culturally appropriate access to on-going basic health care, and allow service providers the opportunity to work one-on-one with patients to reduce their risk for health-related societal problems (HIV transmission, substance abuse, etc).
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