HRPride Youth Committee Presents, "Breaking the Silence."

Calling all LGBTQ Youth ages 14-20 in Hampton Roads, Virginia. 

Check it out. 

Music, Food and Fun in a safe place where you can relax and be yourself.

Dining Out For Life - Thursday, April, 28, 2011 in Hampton Roads, VA

Greetings!   Have you made your reservations yet for Dining Out For Life?! With less than a week until Thursday, April 28th, if you haven't already, it's time to figure out where to go! And invite a few friends to join you! How do you participate in Dining Out For Life? Just dine out on Thursday, April 28th, at any of the participating restaurants (listed below) and each restaurant is donating at least 25% of their evening's sales to ACCESS AIDS Care!  ACCESS AIDS Care provides services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Hampton Roads such as medical case management, housing, meals, transportation and children's services, and to the general community in the form of outreach, education and free testing. 100% of the proceeds from Dining Out For Life will stay right in our community, to serve people affected by HIV/AIDS. Dining Out For Life is the simplest way to Make One Meal Matter.  Just make a reservation at any of the participating restaurants and grab a fork! Dine Out. Fight AIDS. Make your reservation today! ACCESS AIDS Care

Summer Camp For Transgender - Queer Youth!

This is a great opportunity for queer youth. I have very fond memories of summer camp even if I was not living as my authentic self at the time. Fees are on a sliding scale basis. If someone living outside of Vermont is interested, I bet financial arrangements could be made to cover travel costs. Outright and YWCA Vermont Announce a New Summer Camp for Queer Youth! Contact: Melissa Murray Outright Vermont, (802) 865-9677 Rebecca Gurney YWCA Vermont, (802) 862-7520 This August, Outright Vermont and YWCA Vermont will operate a new residential summer camp program for queer and allied youth. Camp Outright will run from August 14-20 at YWCA Camp Hochelaga in South Hero and is intended for youth ages thirteen to twenty-two. The camp will combine a traditional summer camp experience with arts and crafts, nature, sports, boating, and drama programs with special workshops focused on positive youth development and community building. While full tuition is $350 (and includes all lodging, food, materials, and some transportation assistance for youth in Vermont), the camp is offered at a sliding fee scale, and no interested youth will be turned away due to inability to pay. Registration and information are available online at www.campoutright.org. Garth Vest, a youth helping plan Camp Outright, states, "This camp is going to be a great opportunity. Many queer youth don't get a summer camp experience due to the fear of not fitting in or being harassed. This will be a safe space where we can swim, camp out, have camp fires, and really just have an authentic summer camp experience with people who share stories similar to our own. I think it's going to be a great opportunity for Vermont youth and I hope it grows even bigger in the future." Patrick Maguire, another youth helping in the planning, states, "Camp Outright is a huge step for Vermont, Outright, and the youth who will experience it. The program is a safe space where campers are free to be themselves--without the additional pressure of labels. Camp is so exciting because Outright has created an experience where queer and allied youth can be what is most important in the summers: just regular campers." The camp is a collaborative project between Outright and YWCA Vermont, and has received funding from the Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as well as individual private donors. Camp Outright is still seeking donations to offset the cost of camp for youth that cannot pay. To donate directly to camp, please visit: http://www.campoutright.org/overview/ and click DONATE. Adults interested in volunteering with this program should visit the Volunteer section of the camp website,http://www.campoutright.org/volunteering/ or contact Outright Vermont at (802) 865-9677

NJ Firm, Urban Treatment Associates Illegally Fires Transgender Man.

April 11, 2011 TLDEF Files Suit on Behalf of Transgender Man Fired from Male-Only Job    First-Ever Lawsuit to Challenge Discriminatory View That Transgender Men Cannot Work As Men Last Friday, TLDEF filed a lawsuit on behalf of a transgender man who was fired from a male-only job solely because he is transgender. This is the first lawsuit to challenge the firing of a transgender person from a job where being male or female is a job qualification. We broke the story in today's New York Times. In June 2010, defendant Urban Treatment Associates LLC, based in Camden, New Jersey, hired plaintiff El’Jai Devoureau (large photo) as a urine monitor for men. His job responsibilities included monitoring male outpatients as they provided urine samples for drug testing. On his second day of work, Urban Treatment was told that Mr. Devoureau had transitioned from female to male and fired him on the spot. The lawsuit challenges Urban Treatment’s termination of Mr. Devoureau as a violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which protects transgender people from employment discrimination. In filings before the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, Urban Treatment claimed Mr. Devoureau was not male and therefore not qualified for the job. "This lawsuit challenges the discriminatory view that transgender men cannot work as men,” said TLDEF executive director Michael Silverman. “El’Jai was qualified for the job and he performed it without complaint or incident," he added. "What matters in the workplace is how you do your job, not who you are." Transgender people face tremendous discrimination in the workplace. Forty-seven percent of transgender people report being fired, or denied a job or promotion, just because of who they are. “I needed this job to support myself and my family. In this economy, jobs are really hard to find," said Mr. Devoureau. “They were happy to have me work there until they heard about my transition. I’m a hard worker and it’s unfair that I was fired over something that has nothing to do with how well I did the job," added Mr. Devoureau. Jim Walden, Rachel Lavery, Lauren Sager, and Benjamin Wastler of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Robyn Gigl of Stein, McGuire, Pantages & Gigl, LLP serve as co-counsel with TLDEF for Mr. Devoureau. The case is EL’JAI DEVOUREAU v. CAMDEN TREATMENT ASSOCIATES. LLC, t/a URBAN TREATMENT ASSOCIATES, INC., VAN MACALUSO, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Camden County. Join Our Mailing List  Privacy Policy Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is committed to ending discrimination based upon gender identity and expression, and to achieving equality for transgender people through public education, test-case litigation, direct legal services, community organizing and public policy efforts.

A response to transphobes, homophobes, racists, and all those who hate anyone.

Take some time and enjoy Lily's song, "Fuck you!" especially if you have ever been hurt in any way shape or form by hate and ignorance.

HHS Recommends Efforts To Improve The Lives of Transgender People

We received big news from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today. HHS announced a number of efforts it was either taking or recommending to the president to improve the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. These efforts include prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity within the department and in the administration of HHS programs, increasing collection of health related data on sexual orientation and gender identity, and LGBT cultural competency trainings for health professionals. It takes a broad array of support to keep our communities healthy, and we applaud HHS for taking this important step! Read the Transgender Law Center's press release on this historic announcement below. Health and Human Services Announces Efforts to End   Health-Related Inequities for Transgender Americans FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 1, 2011     Media Contacts: Kristina Wertz, Legal Director, Transgender Law Center Office: 415-865-0176 x 302, kristina@transgenderlawcenter.org      (Washington, D.C.), April 1, 2011 - The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a number of steps it was taking or recommending to the President to improve the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. HHS announced that they will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in within the department and in the administration of HHS programs, increase the number of health surveys that collect sexual orientation and gender identity data, and encourage health profession training programs to include LGBT cultural competency. The Transgender Law Center praises Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for these important steps to level the playing field for transgender Americans. These changes affect a broad swath of federal programming including health care services, social service programs, and government and private research. By working to eliminate discrimination across the nation in the services that make up our country's vital safety net, HHS has taken a critical step toward equality for transgender people. "We applaud Secretary Sebelius for acting with fairness and equity," said Masen Davis, Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center. "We hope that the announcement today will go a long way in ending the life threatening discrimination that transgender people and others who do not fit narrow gender stereotypes face every day. We look forward to continuing to work with the administration to respond to the health-related needs of all Americans - including transgender Americans - and ensure equal access to federal health programs for everyone." Unfortunately, a startling number of transgender and gender non-conforming Californians continue to face discrimination, harassment and unemployment directly linked to their gender identity and/or expression. The Transgender Law Center views this as the first in many steps to change this reality. To that end, we call on other federal agencies, including the Department of Labor, to adopt similar policies protecting the people they serve. Eliminating discrimination based on gender identity and expression is at the core of ensuring that transgender Americans are able to thrive. In California, the Transgender Law Center is working to pass the Gender Nondiscrimination Act, which would clarify existing law by elevating gender identity and expression to their own protected categories in all areas of Californian law.  ### The Transgender Law Center is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. The Transgender Law Center uses direct legal services, education, community organizing, and advocacy to transform California into a state that recognizes and supports the needs of transgender people and their families.www.TransgenderLawCenter.org.