|
| Services and SupportVicGender is a peer support group and we help each other in any way that we can. Some of the services we offer include:
Social Gatherings and Networking
We arrange a formal group meeting every month, and informal get-togethers are regularly organised and advertised on our Yahoo Group. These social gatherings are a great way of making friends and avoiding the loneliness that can sometimes happen when people make major life changes.
Often, people within the gender community form close lifelong friendships and can become "substitute family" to each other if rejected by biological family. These friendships keep us strong in bad times and give us who to celebrate with in good times.
Practical Assistance
We help each other with the practical aspects of transition - everything from changing one's name and updating legal documents to moving house, finding cheap clothing and computer equipment on Ebay, and booking flights and accommodation when traveling interstate or overseas for surgery. By sharing experiences and information, we can save money and make the whole process easier and more comfortable.
Accommodation
Several of our members have guest bedrooms and can offer short-term accommodation to community members who have suddenly found themselves homeless or who are traveling to Melbourne for medical consultations and surgery. We also help single people in transition to group together and set up share-houses. This can keep accommodation and living costs down while they find work and save up surgery funds.
Medical and Legal Referrals
We are working on obtaining and sharing knowledge of which medical practitioners are willing to help us in undertaking the changes we make. Our goal is to have a referal list similar to that of the Sydney Gender Center with a choice of General Practitioners, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Endocrinologists, Surgeons, Electrologists, and all of the other specialists involved in the medical part of our gender transition.
Mentoring
It's often useful to have a "big sister" or "big brother" who has already completed a gender transition or who is further along in the process. It can take some work to "pass" socially in the desired gender, especially for someone who is transitioning later in life. Awkward moments such as the first time in a public bathroom in the affirmed gender can be much easier when a mentor is with you.
Coordination with Other Organisations
VicGender will work with other community organisations such as Transgender Victoria, medical clinics, interstate gender centers, the ALSO foundation, telephone counseling groups, and relevant government agencies in order to achieve common goals. |
|
