I am doing a research project at school on Transgender children

Published Letter #488 - Posted in , , , .

Question:

Dear Trevor,

I am doing a research project at school on transgender children, the complications, and various sources for help that they can receive. I was just wondering, in Northern California, other than this helpline, where could transgender children (both young kids and teenagers alike) go for help? Like, therapy, but not. (If that makes sense). I await your answer. Thank you.

Gribble

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Answer:

Hi There,

It’s so great to hear about your research project because even if it was not your purpose in choosing this topic, you will be bringing more awareness to the difficulties and challenges transgender children and teenagers face each and every day, which is so often forgotten or unspoken.

One of the best sources of support for these children and teens is their parent(s), although many may not have the support or trust of their parent(s) and thus may be lacking in this key area. If this is the case, it would be our hope that they are able to confide in a family member, family friend or even a school teacher or counselor. Additionally, in doing some searching, we did find a few resources that could be of assistance to a transgender child/youth in the Northern California area – for more location specific information, we would need to know the actual city rather than region. All LGBTQ youth should search with their city in the query, for example, “transgender support network in Sacramento” in order to more quickly find applicable resources.

Specific organizations in the Northern California area include River City Gems, http://www.rivercitygems.org/, Stonewall Alliance Center, http://www.stonewallchico.org/programs/transgender, the Sacramento Transgender Coalition, http://www.sactgc.org/directory.htm and TransYouth Family Allies, http://www.imatyfa.org/. These organizations all feature support programs and could serve as a safe haven for a transgender child or youth. Other resources, that serve more as directories, include Trans Resources in Sacramento, http://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/resources/transgender-resources/trans-resources-in-sacramento, and East Bay Pride, http://www.eastbaypride.com/trans%202.html. Laura’s Playground, http://www.lauras-playground.com/chat.htm, also offers similar services as we do inclusive of a safe, moderated chat room. Lastly, it’s important to note that along with the Trevor Lifeline, 1-866-488-7386, we also have other services for LGBTQ youth as well. These include TrevorSpace, http://www.trevorspace.org/, which is like a Facebook or MySpace for LGBTQ youth ages 13-24 and also TrevorChat, http://www.thetrevorproject.org/chat, which is free, confidential and secure resource where youths are able to chat with Trevor volunteers. Both TrevorSpace and TrevorChat are not, however, for anyone who may be considering suicide or who is thinking about possibly hurting themselves. In regard to more extensive help, that would likely need to be approached with a the assistance of one of these organizations or an adult family member or friend.

Thank you again for researching this topic. Please do direct anyone you may know who needs help to our Lifeline, 1-866-488-7386, as we are always here to listen, support and encourage. Be well!

~ Trevor