This week The Gender Centre, our Wellington transgender community drop in, is moving out of 128 Abel Smith street, and in to 130 Riddiford street in Newtown.
Our new venue will be up and running this week for our regular drop in Wednesday and Thursday, 10am till 5pm.
Sea and Stone IPL clinic will still be on Wednesdays as usual, and Wellington Transgender Legal Clinic will still be on every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, and Raw Sugar will still be on the first Saturday each month from 4pm – 8pm, though our first Raw Sugar (July) might be a bit random as we get set up.
How to get there
To enter the new gender centre, go inside Aunty Dana’s Op Shop (up 2 steps with a hand rail), then through the store to the back door. Follow the signs up the internal staircase (about 20 steps with a hand rail). At the top of the stairs, The Gender Centre is on the left.
We have prioritised building a mobility ramp for the front door, which is currently being designed by builders, and purchased a second-hand Stannah Stairlift for the interior staircase, so while it’s NOT currently mobility accessible, it will be ASAP.
There is an all-genders bathroom with mobility support rail at the bottom of the stairs, and there is tube lighting throughout which we suspect is fluorescent, but this can be turned off as there’s plenty of natural light and a lamp if needed.
We have some very exciting news – our op shop is moving from 128 Abel Smith street to 130 Riddiford Street in Newtown!!
This weekend we will have a working bee at the new shop, which will be mostly painting and cleaning. Please join us from 11am, we will buy everyone chips at about 1pm, and wrap up around 4pm.
We would LOVE your help! Please wear old clothes which can get paint on them, bring a drink bottle as there is no kitchen, and step ladders or paint brushes would be super welcome if you have any laying around! See you there!!
The new venue has 2 steps, with hand rails, gender neutral bathrooms – one with hand rails and 2 without, the lighting is non-fluroescent LED, and we’re not using any sprays though there will be paint fumes we will keep the door open to minimise these.
FB event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/317674685570507/
March 10th 2018, takataapui, transgender, and intersex people and supporters walked, danced, and rode along in the Wellington International Pride Parade with a clear message: trans health care now!
The float was hosted by Gender Minorities Aotearoa, The Gender Centre, Aunty Dana’s Op Shop, and InsideOUT, with support from NZPC.
Float participants carried a large banner, waved transgender flags, and held placards painted in trans flag colours with slogans such as ”stop non-consensual surgeries on intersex babies”, ”protect trans youths”, ”non-binary not confused”, and ”trans intersex taonga”. One placard posed the question ”40 year wait list?”, another read ”access to health care saves lives”, ”transgender lesbians need HRT too”, ”support sisters, not only cis-ters”.
Behind those walking, Bicycle Junction cycled along playing an upbeat pop play-list compiled by one of the volunteers at Aunty Dana’s Op Shop. Following the music, Aunty Dana’s van ”Pash” carried participants with mobility access needs. A mannequin reclined in a chair on the roof, draped in a huge transgender flag which spread over the sides and back of the van. She wore a trans flag coloured headband and carried a sign that read ”health care for all”.
”Indigenous genders are real” read the final sign in the transgender health care float – strapped to the back of the van.
“The float was FABULOUS and beautiful and fierce and fun! Super amazing. It was such a great combined effort from everyone. From the playlist, to the bike guy, to the van driving, to the snacks! And the face paints! And placard painting! and the folks who coordinated the banner carry! and the waving of that flag in those heels!”
says Gender Minorities Aotearoa’s National Coordinator Ahi Wi-Hongi.
Audio interviews with Pride participants at PrideNZ.com here.
”A huge thank you to Amanduh and the WIPP organisers for all your hard work, to our pals at InsideOUT who we love working with, to NZPC who are strong advocates for trans health, to Jaye, Kerry, Sam, Jess, Ada, Lola, Dan, Dylan, Ella, and everyone who got involved and helped to make this happen. To the beautiful people of all genders who joined the float, and to the folks out there who came to watch and support.
”Nga mihinui ki a koutou katoa, we look forward to appropriate health care in the near future.
Gender Minorities Aotearoa is opening The Gender Centre in Wellington, Transgender Day of Visibility March 31st.
InsideOUT is holding Shift Hui n Wellington, April 20 – 23.
Follow Gender Minorities Aotearoa, The Gender Centre, and InsideOUT on Facebook
Photo Gallery:
[Click a photo to enlarge]
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Photo credit: Fraser Crichton
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Photo credit: Aimee Eastwood
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Photo credit: Ahi Wi-Hongi
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Photo credit: Greg Potts
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Photo credit: various
We had a fabulous time at the opening of Aunty Dana’s Op Shop, where over 150 people came along to share the occasion and check things out. We met some wonderful folks, and had lots of great talks. All the new (and … less-new) volunteers were amazing, and we all did heaps of work but it felt like a party!
A bunch of people signed up to volunteer, lots of people took away our pamphlets and resources, some picked up a name change or passport gender marker change form, and of course heaps of people left with some exciting new treasures or a glam new outfit!
Aunty Dana’s raised $479.40, which is absolutely incredible.
Huge thank you to all of our Gender Minorities Aotearoa and Aunty Dana’s Op Shop crews who are working together to create something amazing. Thank you for your dedication to creating an Aotearoa where trans, takataapui, and intersex people can flourish.
Thank you to all our whanau and friends and all the people in the communities who are supporting our mahi – your input, whakaaro, shares on social media, kai, op shop donations, and of course aroha and encouragement mean the world.
Thank you all to everyone who came to the opening of New Zealand’s own transgender community op shop.
Special thanks to Dana de Milo, our patron saint. Your beautiful example of ongoing service to trans communities can remind us all: the everyday stuff makes up our lives.
Here’s to the people.
If you would like information about volunteering, you can find out more by clicking here.
Saturday October 28th 2017
11am – 2pm
128 Abel Smith Street, Wellington
Join us for the opening of Aunty Dana’s Op Shop – the transgender community fund raising store.
Aunty Dana’s Op Shop raises funds for the national takataapui, transgender, and intersex organisation Gender Minorities Aotearoa.
Located in the rustic community centre at 128 Abel Smith street Wellington.
Aunty Dana’s is mobility accessible and stroller friendly, with ramps, wide aisles, and oversized changing rooms.
We have been working on the plans for about 4 years, and working on the physical space since early this year. We’ve had fortnightly working bees since the beginning of winter, and have loved meeting and catching up with many lovely volunteers and supporters.
We are delighted to announce the opening day, and hope you can make it along to meet some great people, share some potluck kai, and of course find some good scores in the op shop! There will be vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and other snacks, and everyone is welcome so bring the whanau.
Aunty Dana will cut the ribbon around noon. Dana has also gifted us a bequest of all her clothing, accessories, and household treasures, and her van, when she reaches the end of her life. What an amazing lady, always thinking of the trans community and how to support others. Thank you so much Dana, you’re an inspiring and incredible woman and we love you.
If you’d like to help out with the final jobs that need to be done before opening, or you want to volunteer to work in the shop, you can read more about it, and contact the op shop manager Kerry by clicking here.
There is also a Facebook event here.
