Translakesnights ........................  Trans gendered Support and Social Group

                                      Founded 2006

 

Who we are and what we do!

 

We started in earnest in 2009 when a resource centre offered us the use of the venue one night per month for ‘transgender’ gatherings. The Group achieved 20% of the contacted community attend at either the resource centre or ‘Trans’ properties over that period.

We currently meet one night per month [usually Tuesday] at CADAS, 52 Paradise St, Barrow in Furness, LA14 1JG.These support and social evenings are designed to enable transgender people to meet and get to know one another. To relax with like-minded people, enabling members to dress in the clothes of their choice. This opportunity provided assistance to help break down the stresses related to being a Trans-gendered person, so often found in everyday life.

Our social support evenings aim to provide members attending with an oasis of calm in the otherwise quite turbulent life of a Trans-gendered person. Preferences regarding dress and makeup are so often hidden from wives, families, and society in general for fear of discovery, ridicule and even harassment. Wherever possible we encourage wives and partners to attend meetings, so as to make an enjoyable social evening for them both.

  

We provide Tea, Coffee and soft drinks and other light refreshments and occasionally some buffet food, some of which is donated by members attending, as many have to dash from work, missing their usual evening meal, so as to be able to attend.

We also run a raffle of bought & donated prizes to assist in maintaining our financial viability. Many attending are unable to change at home, so we of course provide changing facilities at the centre.

Help, advice and support is also provided to both the Trans-gendered community and their partners/ wives & families, being available to provide advice and information, by mail, e-mail, telephone and of course, in face to face meetings as required. The mere fact that we exist is often the greatest comfort we are able to offer to many of our community, just knowing that we are there for them, when needed.

There is an increasing demand for our free and confidential support services, offered to all Trans-gendered persons and their families, whether over the telephone, by e-mail or face-to-face meetings. Our training and education services, are in increasing demand taking up quite a lot of additional time and resources of the committee.

We also act as consultants on matters Trans-gendered to many local authorities, County Councils and statutory organisations such as Police, National Health Service and the like.

Community benefits at large

We also seek to provide a voice for the Trans-gendered community to many of the statutory and voluntary organisations. Our founder sits on local committees seeking to ensure that the voice or our ‘trans’ community is heard and not overlooked. As well as trying to inform others about whom we are, what we do and how we fit into the local community. In that effort we are represented on LGBT forums and groups representing the LGBT community, also the Independent Advisory Group for South Cumbria Police.

We seek to improve the acceptance of our community through an improved understanding by the public at large, by having a presence at public events with our display stands & fundraising at events such as Cumbria Pride. We have our own website and associated facilities, in fact if you enter “Trans Lakes nights’ into most search engines you be surprised at the number of links your able to access, so please try.

Trans-genderism is a medical condition, over which we do not have control, as it is born within us. It is a part of whom we are; it is part of us, makes us the unique individual that we are. Trans-genderism is far more common that is often believed, it is estimated that at least one male person in five will, at some time in their life, experience the pressing urges to cross dress, male to female. The figure for the female to male Trans-gendered person is not easily available as they are more difficult to distinguish, due to Fashion trends encouraging the female to wear clothing predominately designed originally for the male. Thereby masking those who are of a Trans-gendered nature.

We wish to provide much more public awareness of our community seeing us assisting in other spheres of the voluntary sector. The work that we do on other committees is of greater benefit to the local south Cumbria community at large. The numbers we are in contact with is increasing rapidly, and we feel still yet only touches the tip of the iceberg. We are aware that there are a great number of Trans-gendered in towns, like Barrow, who are frightened to admit that they have the feelings of a Trans-gendered person for fear of repercussions that may arise, either at work and/or in the family setting, but the day will come when those feelings will need some expression through release, so we are striving hard, ensuring that we will be there for them when needed.

We continue to need raising funds in order that we can be self sustaining. At the present time the small charge we make for the social evening barely cover the costs of the actual evening.

We remain in the need of donations of prizes for our raffles and of course, monetary donations are welcome at any time, however large or small, will greatly assist us to continue our work.

If you would like to assist us to carry on our work,

please forward any donations to

‘Trans Lakes Nights’ C/O CADAS,52 Paradise st, Barrow in Furness, La14 1jg.

 

Visit our website at:  https://sites.google.com/site/translakesnights/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/trans.lakes.nights/

This pamphlet produced with assistance & courtesy of    

      Boston Belles @ http://www.boston-belles.co.uk