A&PI Wellness Center Transgender Program Staff Speak at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference

A&PI Wellness Center's TRANS:THRIVE program staff spoke at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference on June 2-4 in Philadelphia, PA. In its 10 year, the conference is one of the largest gatherings focused on transgender health, drawing a diverse crowd of nearly 1,500 trans women and trans men, as well as their allies, families and providers.

"This conference was a great opportunity for us to share our successes and challenges in serving the trans community," says Nikki "Tita Aida" Calma, Trans:Thrive Program Supervisor. "We presented to program planners, service providers and even funders."

Presentations included:

TM4M - Niko Kowell provided insight from TM4M, a unique program specifically serving trans men who have sex with men and their partners. Niko, a trans man, shared the challenges of doing outreach to other transmen in sex clubs catering to gay and bisexual men. His presentation included an overview of TMSM and MSTM (men who sleep with trans men) populations, the experiences of men in each population, and barriers to introducing trans men in gay and bisexual male spaces.

T-LISH - Nikki Calma, Bionka Steven and Marcelle Million shared best practices and lessons learned from T-LISH, a program for transgender youth of color, ages 14-24. With over 75 young trans women of color participating in the program, T-LISH is a successful adaptation of the Mpowerment intervention developed by the CDC. Using social events and community building, T-LISH reduces risk behaviors that lead to HIV transmission and infection.

"Moving Beyond HIV-Exclusive Funding for Transgender Support Programs"- Nikki Calma, Bionka Stevens, Niko Kowell, Crystal Montero and Marcelle Million highlighted how A&PI Wellness Center has leveraged HIV-specific funding to create a comprehensive drop-in space for the trans community in the San Francisco Bay Area. The workshop discussed how Trans:Thrive supports the needs of the community and the need to move beyond HIV-specific funding opportunities to provide a holistic support network for Transgender clients.