Wellington, Wairarapa, and Hutt Valley DHB online hui and survey

Wellington, Wairarapa, and Hutt Valley DHB online hui and survey

Wellington, Wairarapa, and Hutt Valley DHBs’ Sex and Gender Diverse Health Outcomes Working Group (SGDWG) is holding a community update hui, and separate but connected a survey about accessing gender affirming healthcare in these regions.

Annual community update hui

The SGDWG is run by the Capital and Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs. It is made up of healthcare providers, DHB administrative staff, and transgender and intersex advocates (including GMA), and it’s job is working to improve access to gender affirming healthcare in those 3 DHBs. 

The SGDWG is holding it’s annual community update hui on March 30th at 2pm to update the community on any new developments, and to answer any questions. This year the hui will be held online via Zoom.

Anyone is welcome to attend the online event, in which you will also have the opportunity to directly ask questions to the panelists.

Update!! The annual community update hui has been postponed – please follow our blog (in the main menu) to get updated by email when we have a new date.

If you have any questions about the SGDWG, please direct these to the co-chairs Andrew Marshall and Mani Mitchell.

Survey

This survey is about gender affirming healthcare services in the areas covered by the SGDWG.

It should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

The answers you give will be used to help the SGDWG to prepare for the hui, and to advocate for improvements to DHB services.

Who can take the survey

Transgender people and intersex people who have accessed, tried to access, or wanted to access healthcare in the 3 DHB areas. (Wairarapa, Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHB areas)

In this survey ‘transgender’ means anyone whose gender is different from the gender they were assigned at birth (e.g. trans man, non-binary person, fa’afafine).

Parents or guardians of transgender young people can also fill out the form on behalf of their dependants who are seeking access to gender affirming healthcare.

In this survey ‘intersex’ means anyone who has an intersex variation. Intersex variation, or VSC, is an umbrella term to describe people who have innate variations of sex characteristics from birth. Those with innate variations could have a range of variations in their chromosomes, hormones or internal and external physical traits.

Anonymity and contact

This survey is anonymous, so we will not ask for your name or contact details. If your answers contain information which would identify you, this will be kept confidential. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact us on genderminorities@gmail.com

Well being and te moana: a snorkel event for trans youth

Well being and te moana: a snorkel event for trans youth

Nau mai, haraemai ki te Well being and te moana: a snorkel event for trans youth in Te Upoko o Te Ika a Māui – Taputeranga Marine Reserve Wellington, Feb 2022.

Join Gender Minorities Aotearoa and Mountains to Sea Wellington for an opportunity to connect, find calm, feel good, and have a heap of fun! We’ll be exploring the beautiful Taputeranga Marine Reserve on Wellington’s South coast, snorkeling with Mountains to Sea Wellington’s qualified snorkel instructors.

All instructions, support, health and safety management and equipment are supplied by Mountains to Sea Wellington. This includes a 5mm thick full length wetsuit and hood, mask, snorkel, fins and private change rooms. No prior experience necessary, we got you! This event is free to attend. If you want to bring a supportive friend or family member that’s totally welcome.

Our absolutely stellar snorkel guides will be on hand to guide you in your underwater adventures, getting you kitted out, answering any fishy questions you might have and generally looking after you whilst you take the plunge into the blue. This is an awesome opportunity to learn more about the fascinating array of sea creatures that seek shelter within the reserve’s protected boundaries right on our doorstep.

New snorkelers are of course encouraged, we love being able to facilitate peoples first snorkeling experiences. Don’t worry about equipment, we provide wetsuits, snorkels, flippers and masks. If you do have your own gear though, you are more than welcome to bring it along.

Once you register, you’re set to go! We will send you a reminder in January and make sure you’re all set. If we get more than 20 sign ups, we’ll create a waiting list for any future events and we’ll let you know in advance if you couldn’t get a place on the list this time.

Details

Who: a group of up to 20 transgender people, aged 24 and younger. Please note the minimum age for participation is 8 years old, and people aged under 16 must be accompanied by a snorkeling adult. Adults accompanying a young person will also need to register.

When: 11 February 2022, 3.30-6.30pm (if the weather is bad we’ll move to Feb 18)

Where: Taputeranga Marine Reserve, Wellington.

Cost: free.

What to bring: togs for under your wetsuit, a towel, sunhat, warm clothes and hopefully a sense of adventure!

Contact: For more info contact Gender Minorities Aotearoa at genderminorities@gmail.com
Or Mountains To Sea Wellington at liz.gibson@mtsw.org.nz

Registrations are now closed.

If you’re under 16 years old

If you’re aged under 16, please have a parent or legal guardian sign the form below and email it to us on genderminorities@gmail.com

Where Do You Sleep at Night? Transgender Experiences of Housing Instability and Homelessness 2020

Where Do You Sleep at Night? Transgender Experiences of Housing Instability and Homelessness 2020

Executive summary

Gender Minorities Aotearoa undertook research in the Wellington region in late 2019, in order to gain understandings of the circumstances surrounding homelessness for transgender people; their experiences of it, the support services required to address it, and the housing aspirations of those experiencing it. This report details the findings of the research in which 43 participants contributed.

These participants are mostly European/Pākehā young adults and gender diverse. A large proportion of them have had relatively stable home environments as children, yet many of them have experienced situations of homelessness from an early age. All of the participants disclose that they have at least one health condition, with the three most prevalent conditions being: mental health condition, neuro-diversity, and disability. For most, employment opportunities and incomes are limited.

The participants tend to move housing within the same region; moving across regions seems to be less frequent. However, most of the participants change sleeping arrangements frequently, from every few weeks to every few months. This is due to a number of concurrent and compounding factors such as poor quality housing, temporary availability, unaffordability, and eviction. All of the participants have been able to sleep in safe and relatively long-term housing at some point over the past five years, however, about two-thirds of them have also experienced unsafe, temporary, or exposed forms of housing.

When describing safe, stable and long-term housing, the participants mention affordability and good quality housing as key criteria, as well as positive relationships with flatmates; in particular, flatmates who are not transphobic or sex worker phobic. The characteristics of the neighborhood are also important to consider (e.g. close to public transport and services). Finding appropriate housing is impacted by experiences of stigma and interpersonal prejudice, structural and systemic discrimination, potential changes to whānau composition, and limited financial capacity; necessitating moving frequently to try to improve one’s situation. To help in their search for suitable housing, the participants rely on their close networks such as friends and family, and the use of technology including social media and apps. Many also contact professional organisations or support services. A range of other strategies are used, including the provision of semi-commercial sexual services.

A number of recommendations are provided to help address some of the disparities highlighted in this research. They include an emphasis on prevention and better access to the welfare system, as well as the delivery of timely and integrated support services when people experience homelessness. Safety is a critical factor and needs to be reflected in the provision of temporary/emergency housing, as well as long-term housing (e.g. council and public housing aimed at trans and non-binary people). These need to be complemented by other actions to address disparities and assist people to sustain their housing. For example: reducing discrimination across education and employment in order to be able to afford rent; better access to appropriate healthcare services to enable trans people retain employment; and education campaigns to reduce stigma and discrimination.

SGDWG Community Hui – Wellington

SGDWG Community Hui – Wellington

GMA is part of the Sex and Gender Diverse Health Outcomes Working Group (SGDWG) – alongside a number of DHB healthcare providers and clinicians, as well as trans and intersex people working in this area.

The SGDWG works across Capital and Coast District Health Board (Wellington and Kapiti region) to develop appropriate, well-resourced, and equitable gender affirming healthcare.

The SGDWG is holding it’s second annual community event, with a panel discussion/panel presentations explaining what services are now available and how you can access them, as well as plans for the near future.

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.

This will be held on on Tuesday 10th of November at 5.30pm, at the the Newtown Community and Cultural Centre on the corner of Colombo and Rintoul Streets in Newtown.

The Newtown Community and Cultural Centre is mobility accessible, and there will be kai and drinks provided.

Binders Keepers! Fundraising Gig

Binders Keepers! Fundraising Gig

Binders Keepers! Poetry, music, and a good time, Oct 10th 2020, 1pm – 6pm at the wonderful and mobility accessible Newtown Community and Cultural Centre! Entry by donation – $5 to $10 – help us raise the $15,000 we need each year to provide binders to people in desperate need all over NZ. Party with us and make a difference 😀

The bands and poets!!!

Lilith, Baby Bel, Housewitches, Triss Cordelia! Kate “The Magnificent” Spencer, Mya Pickering Cole, and more!

See our Facebook event here.