Since the start of LGBT Pride Month 2015, the world has focused on Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover. Hardly a year earlier, Laverne Cox, another renowned celebrity, actress and activist, graced the cover of Time Magazine. Time Magazine announced the “Transgender Tipping Point.” This month, as we celebrate the authenticity and courage of these famous women and LGBT pride in general, let’s honor and support transgender women across the country who have stood up to claim their dignity. At CRLA we witness this tenacity every day through our LGBT program, which serves low-income transgender women and LGBT individuals in rural California.
Statistically speaking transgender people of color who are low-income are some of the most at-risk members of our communities. However, CRLA is making a difference with robust legal support and strong partnerships with our LGBT clients. For years, CRLA has led a nationally recognized program providing legal services to LGBT people in rural California. The bulk of our legal assistance has been directed to transgender women who have immigrated from Mexico and are working in California’s agriculture industry. Through our work CRLA has represented transgender women who have lost their jobs in the fields. CRLA has represented young transgender and gender non-conforming students who have endured harassment at schools. CRLA has represented transgender women and gay men who have been brutalized in hate crimes. CRLA has helped countless transgender individuals update their identity documents, minimizing the risk of discrimination at work, school and other public places. We are on the front lines of challenging the stigma and pervasive discrimination that have thwarted the wellbeing of so many transgender women.
LGBT advocacy in rural California is not easy. It takes courageous clients, who carry an incredible will to live with dignity and the savvy to seek legal help. This work also takes resources. That is why we are asking you to support CRLA’s LGBT program with a contribution today. As you join the nearly unanimous chorus celebrating Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox and Janet Mock, we invite you to open greater opportunities for less famous but equally admirable and worthy transgender women in rural California.
Click here to make a gift today!
Sincerely,
Lisa Cisneros