SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the launch of a new guaranteed income program for the city’s transgender community on Wednesday.

The Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) Program will provide low-income transgender residents with $1,200 each month, up to 18 months to help address financial insecurity within the community.

In a statement, the City of San Francisco said: “GIFT is one of several programs the City is developing, implementing, and evaluating to identify how to best support San Francisco residents and promote economic stability and recovery.”

The city also said that the new pilot program is the first guaranteed income initiative to focus solely on transgender people and will provide 55 eligible participants with temporary income. Additionally, the city said it will provide the same individuals with “wrap-around” direct services, such as gender-affirming medical and mental health care, case management, specialty care services and financial coaching.

MORE: San Francisco launches new pilot program giving some pregnant women $1,000 a month

“We know that our trans communities experience much higher rates of poverty and discrimination, so this program will target support to lift individuals in this community up. We will keep building on programs like this to provide those in the greatest need with the financial resources and services to help them thrive,” said Mayor London Breed in a statement.

Transgender communities, experience poverty and economic instability at disproportionate rates according to the city.

“The US Transgender Survey, which is the only largescale study of trans people in the United States, in 2015 found that 33% of trans people in California were living in poverty,” said Pau Crego with the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives.

That percentage is compared to 12% of people in the general population that were living in poverty.

VIDEO: Translatina advocate brings life-saving work to San Francisco after fleeing home in El Salvador

The city also noted that the percentage among transgender people who are also Black, Indigenous and People of Color is even higher.

Lyon-Martin Community Health Services and The Transgender District are leading program design and implementation of the program, with support from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and other agencies.

“We hope that our guaranteed income program will be the beginning of a reparative process to change the inequities experienced by our communities, help them survive in a world that is constantly debating their right to exist, and empower them to engage in healthcare services in a meaningful and life-changing way,” said JM Jaffe, executive director of Lyon-Martin Community Health Services.

MORE: Trans March returns to San Francisco amid heightened tensions over Roe v. Wade ruling

Applications will be accepted from Nov. 15 through Dec. 15 this year.

According to the program’s website, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or intersex
• Not be receiving more than $600/monthly in income
• Reside in the City and County of San Francisco
• Be willing and able to complete a survey every 3 months, and submit a complete application.

TAKE ACTION: Local resources for LGBTQ+ issues

The GIFT program is San Francisco’s third guaranteed income program. It follows the Abundant Birth Project, launched in 2020, and the Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists, launched in 2021.

In 2023, the city said it will launch two additional guaranteed income programs geared towards youth.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

The post San Francisco declares launch of ‘GIFT,’ a brand new assured revenue program for transgender neighborhood appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco loves an ambitious goal. In 2003, the city set the objective to produce zero waste by 2020. In 2014, it vowed to reach zero traffic-related fatalities by 2024. And in 2015, it pledged to get to zero HIV infections and preventable deaths by 2020.

None of those things happened.

Arbitrary time limits have been abandoned (zero waste), quietly erased from the website (vision zero) or extended (HIV infections and deaths).

And so it’s hard not to see the new plan Mayor London Breed announced this week to house every transgender person experiencing homelessness by 2027 with skepticism. She announced the plan after a dramatic week, where several queer community groups came out against her now reversed decision not to march in the Pride Parade.

It’s not easy to tackle intractable, systemic problems on a tight deadline. But Breed’s timing further begged the question: Can we really end homelessness in the transgender community in five short years? Or was her promise empty politicking in the wake of a queer backlash?

All signs pointed to politicking. And on Twitter, her plan was attacked accordingly. But the more I dug into it, the more legitimate I found the proposal to be. Part of that is because the plan came from the community it’s designed to serve; it was presented by the city’s Trans Advisory Committee. The proposal includes a long-term rental assistance program, and $6.5 million spread over two years for behavioral health, nonprofit support and to acquire a building to house LGBTQ youth.

Trans people in San Francisco are 18 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population, according to Our Trans Home SF, but they’re underserved; many organizations are not well-versed in pronouns, gender-affirming care, name changes, or in managing trauma. As a result, many homeless trans people don’t engage with traditional services, falling through the cracks in an already difficult-to-navigate system. Breed’s proposed funding could allow small nonprofit organizations that hire from the community to increase their staffing and training to help clients navigate the city’s complicated housing process.

Joaquin Remora is the director of Our Trans Home SF, the city’s first housing program for trans and gender nonconforming people. In March, he helped open the city’s first navigation center specifically to serve trans and gender nonconforming people. Breed’s proposal would provide residents of both with additional rental subsidies to help them move into permanent housing, where they pay only a portion of their income toward rent.

“The goal of navigation centers and transitional housing programs is to prepare someone, so that by the time they go out and live on their own, they’re going to succeed,” Remora said. But finding homes for people ready to leave these temporary facilities has been tricky. The 150 subsidized housing proposed in the budget would be a big help.

Nonetheless, the framing of Breed’s plan — to “solve” homelessness in the trans community — irked some people. Concerns that it won’t hold up legally appear to be unfounded; trans people experience homelessness at a higher rate, justifying these efforts. But if homelessness in one group is solvable, isn’t it for everyone? And why do they get priority over homeless moms or seniors?

Shahada Hull, who is not transgender, but is homeless and trying to find housing, told me she’s concerned that the city is prioritizing one population for housing over another. “It’s not fair, because we’re all standing in line,” she said, noting that it seems, “like the city’s just focusing on just them.”

Remora said he encounters this perspective a fair amount in his work and always reminds people of the intersectionality of identities. “Trans people can be moms and elders,” he noted, adding that there have always been resources available for other populations. This is the first time, however, that a significant investment is being made to meet the needs of trans people.

The city estimates that at any given time, there are approximately 400 trans and gender nonconforming residents experiencing homelessness — few enough that the problem may be possible to tackle.

For this plan to work, it’s going to have to evolve and expand based on need — and become sustainable past the city’s 2027 goal. That means securing long-term funding to house people in perpetuity. But something as easily overlooked as paying staff well also has to be part of the solution. Many of the city’s social service organizations hire people with similar lived experiences of those they’ll be working with. But caring for one’s personal trauma, while helping a client work through theirs, can be an exhaustive task.

“Making jobs sustainable is the No. 1 most-important thing,” Remora said, referencing the city’s high turnover rate of case workers. He’s seen how staff who are well-compensated and trained have stronger, longer-lasting relationships with clients — which builds trust between providers and those in need, helping people to access the services they need to move indoors.

If approved by the Board of Supervisors, Breed’s budget proposal will provide a much-needed influx of funds to support the trans community. And while ending trans homelessness may seem ambitious, particularly in the wake of San Francisco’s struggles to hit other goals, many cities across the country have had success in eliminating homelessness among certain populations. New Orleans, Houston and Philadelphia, for example, all claim to have ended homelessness among their veteran populations by expanding services, providing rental assistance and responding quickly if someone loses their home.

There are countless examples of San Francisco politicians receiving accolades for grand plans that then quietly fizzle out. The timing of Breed’s announcement and her recent conflict with the queer community certainly made this latest effort seem like political grandstanding. But digging deeper, it’s clear there was thoughtful attention paid to tackling a deeply complicated social crisis. With a commitment to permanent investment, we may just be able to end trans homelessness by 2027.

Nuala Bishari is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist and editorial writer. Email: nuala.bishari@sfchronicle.com

The post Can London Breed clear up San Francisco’s transgender homeless drawback? appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

After four years overseeing the country’s first urban transgender office and advising three mayors on various concerns for the LGBTQ community of San Francisco, Clair Farley leaves to pursue other opportunities outside of the city. During the course of this month, for example, she will start advising a trans-own telemedicine provider.

38-year-old Farley didn’t rule out running for an elected office in the future during an interview with the Bay Area Reporter on Dec. 2 on her official last day with the city. A trans woman and resident of the city of Alameda, East Bay, she found that no transgender person has been elected to any state or federal legislature in California.

“I’m still open to seeing what this will be like in the future,” Farley said. “California still doesn’t have a trans elected representative. We should really be on the front lines. We’re seeing so many trans people elected across the country.”

Farley has headed the Office of Transgender Initiatives in San Francisco since 2017. Founded in June 2016 by the late Mayor Ed Lee, it hired Farley after the office’s inaugural director Theresa Sparks, a trans woman and longtime community leader, retired. Farley had worked on economic issues for the city’s LGBTQ community center.

During her tenure with the Trans Bureau, Farley has seen various city departments collect demographics on the sexual orientation and gender identity of the people they serve, campaigned for millions of dollars in city funds for numerous LGBTQ programs and at the opening the country’s first transition project helped housing trans adults. The program opened in a rented building near Chinatown last January and has since moved to a rented three-story building south of Market and is home to 14 people.

It is part of the city’s Our Trans Home Initiative, which has also provided subsidies to accommodate trans people in their apartments or houses in the city. The program is one of Farley’s proudest accomplishments as Executive Director of the Trans Office.

“The office’s vision and mission is to advance the rights of trans and LGBT people and make San Francisco a role model for the rest of the country,” Farley said. “It’s hard to do that if we can’t stay here, live here, and thrive here.”

The trans bureau has also formed an advisory group of people from the city’s trans community to make sure they are seated at the table in the town hall. Every year the office hosts a trans-advocacy week for community members to lobby various city leaders.

“It was really an honor to do this job for the city,” Farley said, adding that the departure is “really bittersweet.” But the ongoing attacks on transsexuals’ rights, especially trans teenagers, have fueled Farley’s interest in tackling tran issues on a national level.

“I look forward to stretching new muscles and continuing to grow and be inspired,” she said. “I am honored and grateful to be working with the mayor and the city to advance the efforts here on the ground.”

Serving San Francisco has been a lifetime honor!

Thank you to the Mayor of the Parish @LondonBreed and the entire SF Office of Transgender Initiatives team for the opportunity to advance trans and LGBTQ rights and services in the city and beyond.

Thanks very much! https://t.co/Vo9CV1raY7 – Clair Farley (@ClairJoyFarley) December 2, 2021

In a statement, Mayor of London called Breed Farley “a passionate advocate for San Franciscans of all backgrounds, and especially for our transgender residents. Your work has kept San Francisco at the forefront of expanding LGBTQ rights and policies. I would like to sincerely thank Clair for her commitment and guidance. She is greatly missed, but I know she will continue to be a staunch advocate for those in need. “

Gay District 8 supervisor Rafael Mandelman praised Farley as “a fantastic advocate for trans- and non-binary San Franciscans. It was a pleasure to work with her on Our Trans Home SF, the expansion of the city’s SOGI data collection, and other efforts in support of the.” LGBTQ + community. “

Interim manager named
The office is the responsibility of the mayor and the city administrator, who will employ a permanent manager. The office’s executive director will be Pau Crego, 34, a transgender and non-binary Spanish immigrant who was hired by Sparks as the office’s director of politics.

Most recently, he was Associate Director and Director of Policy and Programs. Crego, who joined Farley during the phone interview with the BAR, said he was interested in holding the position on a permanent basis.

“July next year will be our fifth year,” noted Crego. “I would be very honored to continue my full-time job as director and really advance the lessons I have gained in the office for so long.”

He has lived in San Francisco since 2008 after moving from Barcelona, ​​Spain to study Queer Studies at the City College of San Francisco on a student visa. He was later given a green card and then became a US citizen during the Trump administration.

“I was very proud to be a trans-immigrant who got my citizenship during the Trump era. I believe it was 2019,” said Crego.

Farley told the BAR that she “strongly recommends” hiring Crego as her successor. He was “a strong leader,” she added, who worked behind the scenes on much of the bureau’s programs and political work.

“He’s such a compassionate and strategic leader,” she said. “I know he will continue to stabilize the office while we get through COVID and make sure we come out of a community location. I am very happy that you can continue the work we started together and I think that Pau goes really well with Pau. “It.”

In the coming weeks, Crego plans to meet with various LGBTQ community leaders, city officials, and agency heads who work directly in the local transgender community. The trans office currently has two other employees, Pax Ahimsa Gethen, the communications and operations manager, and Shane Zaldivar, the training and education manager. A new community engagement manager will be brought on board early next year.

Right at the top of his agenda for 2022 will be the collaboration with the municipal housing and homeless office not only on the reopening of the LGBTQ-specific Jazzie’s Place shelter, but also on plans to upgrade the space. It has been closed since the beginning of the COVID pandemic and is not expected to reopen until next year.

As the office’s point of contact for the city’s SOGI data collection efforts, Crego is also working to improve the collection of information by city authorities, particularly the health department, which has lagged behind other departments in collecting LGBTQ demographic information. He expects to work with Mandelman’s office to set up a city-wide task force focused on SOGI data to be expanded to include that of city employees and job applicants.

“City government and large institutions are slow and difficult to change,” noted Crego. “I’ve been very encouraged by some of the changes we’ve seen over the past four years and I think that will continue.”

Farley was on medical leave in September due to several long-term chronic health issues that had worsened and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. She told the BAR the situation made her “reconsider work, life, stress” and made the decision to quit her city job in order to find a better balance for all three.

“It’s so hard to do, so I’m trying to lead by example in my departure,” Farley said. “One thing I’m really looking forward to is the new opportunities I’m exploring.”

One is advising with TransClinique, a trans owned and operated company that provides telemedicine services that are trans affirmation and provides on-demand hormone replacement therapies, Farley noted. She is also looking for other jobs in the private sector and national policy work.

“As I was mastering my own healthcare challenges, I found it difficult to find trans-affirmative care. I feel inspired to keep working to move this forward, ”she said. “It’s a national service. I’ll be on the ground floor of this organization, expanding it and helping other people get better access to health care.”

Farley added, “I’m very excited to continue what we did in San Francisco and to make sure it is accessible to other communities outside of the Bay Area.”

Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going through these troubled times. To support local, independent LGBTQ journalism, you should become a BAR member.

The post Farley, head of San Francisco mayoral transgender workplace, departs appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

After running the pioneering office of transgender initiatives in San Francisco for four years, Clair Farley announced her departure on Thursday as the first and only head of the city’s transgender department.

Farley and the office she ran both made history.

The office is the first and only city council of its kind in the U.S. and has led several key equality initiatives and programs for transgender, non-binary, and LGBTQ residents, including those focused on housing and guaranteed income, the city divided in a press release with.

Farley described her time as executive director of the office in a statement as “the honor of a lifetime” and told The Chronicle that her mission will continue as she steps down to focus on new opportunities and her health.

“It is so important that we continue to sit at the table to make sure the needs of our communities are met and to build trust with the local government so that we can continue to be a model city for the rest of the country,” she said Thursday in an interview.

Farley was first hired in November 2017 by former Mayor Ed Lee, who hired prominent transgender rights advocate to succeed retired Theresa Sparks as senior advisor on transgender initiatives.

More from Shwanika Narayan

As director of the Transgender Initiatives Bureau, Farley is credited with increasing funding for critical transgender and LGBTQ community services ranging from housing to health care, arts and culture to violence prevention and economic development leadership.

She formed the city’s transgender advisory committee, which focuses on addressing the priorities of the local trans community. Last year her office launched Our Trans Home SF, the nation’s first residential and rental subsidy program for transgender adults. The residential program now includes a three-story apartment building with 14 residential units with a shared kitchen and common areas.

That year, Farley secured a $ 2 million grant and used it to launch the country’s first guaranteed income program for low-income transgender people, which is expected to attract up to 150 people with monthly payments of up to US $ 1,000. US dollars when it starts in early 2022.

In a press release announcing Farley’s departure, Mayor London Breed praised her work for keeping the city “at the forefront of expanding LGBTQ rights and policies,” while Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents Castro District, Farley described San Franciscans as “a fantastic advocate for transgender and non-binary people.”

Pau Crego, who served as Farley’s assistant director, will lead the office while the city searches for a permanent replacement.

Prior to running the Transgender Initiatives Bureau, Farley worked at the SF LGBT Community Center for more than a decade. Her work there included promoting economic development programs with a focus on employment, housing, small businesses and financial strengthening of the LGBTQ community.

Farley told The Chronicle that her next chapter will include reshaping national policies on transgender issues and providing advice on trans inclusion in the media and private sector. She said her personal experiences with chronic health problems “made worse by the pandemic” inspired her to campaign for safe, inclusive and affordable health care across the country.

“The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of health care and community access,” Farley said.

Breed signaled that Farley’s life’s work would continue to benefit the city.

“Clair Farley was and will continue to be a passionate advocate of the San Franciscans of all backgrounds and our transgender residents in particular,” Breed said in her statement.

Shwanika Narayan is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika Instagram: @shwanika

The post San Francisco’s first transgender division head proclaims departure, will look to rework nationwide coverage appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

The Mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, is proposing that the city introduce the first universal basic income program for transgender people as part of their budget for the next two fiscal years. Up to 150 attendees would receive $ 1,000 per month as part of the guaranteed income pilot for up to a year.

The program would cost $ 2 million over two years and be carried out in collaboration with the office of gay treasurer and tax collector José Cisneros. The selection of a community organization to coordinate with the city’s various transgender groups in recruiting and selecting applicants for the program will be the Mayor’s Office for Housing and Community Development under the direction of Gay Director Eric. D. Shaw.

“We will build on our guaranteed income pilot by adding a new program to pay members of our transgender community,” said Breed, who announced the program on June 1 to coincide with the start of Pride Month.

It is just one of the myriad LGBTQ-oriented programs included in their Budget Balanced Proposal for the budget years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The mayor released her budget on Tuesday June 1st at a ceremony at the newly renovated Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground in the city’s Chinatown.

Another new program that Breed is targeting for $ 900,000 in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, is to launch an LGBTQ senior telemental health program and expand senior digital access services. It is expected to provide services for up to 500 LGBTQ seniors while providing mental health resources for those who have become increasingly isolated, depressed, and anxious due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clair Farley, a transgender woman who is mayor and executive director of the city’s transgender initiatives office, told the Bay Area reporter that the idea for the universal basic income program came from her office’s transgender advisory board. The city hopes to start the program this October.

“We have been working over the past year to develop visions of how we can create more stability in the community, especially in the face of the aftermath of the pandemic, and how we can build a stronger safety net and foundation for the community,” Farley said. “The idea of ​​universal income was born to ensure people had access to food and shelter, as well as all basic health and mental health needs.”

Transgender people, who have been hardest hit by the COVID pandemic, will be prioritized for the program, with black and Latin American transgender women being a special priority, as well as people who may need assistance navigating benefits and financial literacy, said Farley.

“There will be a comprehensive program in partnership with the Treasurer’s Office to provide financial education and coaching,” she said.

Cisneros told the BAR his office was “proud” to be part of the pilot program.

“We work a lot with the mayor and project leaders to distribute the funds,” he said. “I believe these Basic Income Pilots are vital to learning how we can help people with financial difficulties get support and thrive.”

Applicants who are segregated from other available benefits for various reasons will also be preferred, Farley added.

“This pilot is a good opportunity to build more self-sufficiency and economic mobility if someone wants to go back to school or may not have access to other benefits due to immigration status or discrimination in the workforce,” she said.

As for the new telemedicine program for LGBTQ seniors, the city’s Department of Disability and Aging and Services will launch the call for proposals from community groups to manage. The idea came from a senior LGBT task force that convened again last year to help the city meet the needs of LGBTQ seniors during the health crisis, Farley said.

“The mayor really wanted to give our seniors a priority in recovery and consider how we can build stronger crisis support systems in the future and also make sure we fill those gaps,” she said.

According to the mayor’s office, Breed’s budget is set to respond to the city’s most pressing needs at $ 13.1 billion for FY 2021-22 and $ 12.8 billion for FY 2022-23 as they move along To recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, pandemic is advancing while maintaining long-term financial sustainability. Requesting cuts in the city departments was avoided as a projected deficit did not materialize due to the surprising strength of the economy despite the health crisis.

“San Francisco has demonstrated our values ​​and resilience over the past year, and I have no doubt that we will return even stronger from COVID-19,” said Breed. “As we move out of the pandemic, this budget will ensure our recovery is fair and that we provide solutions to key issues affecting our city. We are making significant investments to reduce homelessness, expand mental health support, and support the general public. ”Ensuring safety and addressing the social inequalities exposed by this pandemic, while making responsible choices that preserve our budget reserves we can continue to provide critical urban services and support to our vulnerable residents no matter what lies ahead.

It includes $ 1.8 million to continue the city’s Trans Home SF program, which provides rent subsidies and transitional housing for transgender people, Farley noted, as well as funding a program that supports LGBTQ people who are entering for the first time Buy your own home. The $ 2.2 million reinvested by the city police in violence prevention programs and re-entry efforts for former incarcerated black trans women will be retained in the mayor’s draft budget.

Farley said her office is still awaiting news from various city authorities about what LGBTQ-specific programs they have proposed for funding over the next two years. And she noted that the mayor’s budget proposals for arts grants, emergency housing, rent repayment assistance, family and youth programs, and small business investments will benefit the LGBTQ community as well.

“We’ll be getting details on certain line items in the next week or so,” she said.

By the end of June, the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the Board of Supervisors will hold public hearings on the budget and make recommendations to the full board. In July, managers will vote on the budget and then send it back to Breed for approval, usually by August 1st.

Web Extra: For more queer political news, visit http://www.ebar.com Monday morning for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. The column returns Monday, June 7th.

Stay up to date with the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes

Do you have a tip about LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email m.bajko@ebar.com

Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going through these troubled times. To support local, independent LGBTQ journalism, you should become a BAR member.

The post Breed proposes San Francisco launch month-to-month earnings program for transgender residents appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco pastor Megan Rohrer was the first openly transgender person to be appointed bishop of a major Christian denomination in the United States last weekend.

Rohrer was elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the American Sierra Pacific Synod based in Sacramento on Saturday. Rohrer’s installation is scheduled for September 11th at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Walnut Creek, according to an ELCA press release.

The past few days since the election have been a joyous “whirlwind of the Holy Spirit,” said Rohrer, who is currently pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Parkside neighborhood of San Francisco. Rohrer, who uses the pronouns “she” and “she,” is also the ward chaplain coordinator for the San Francisco Police Department.

“In order for me to be able to take on this role as bishop, many people had to take hurdles from my journey of faith,” said Rohrer about the challenges that they faced as transgender in the religious community.

“So my hope is to be the kind of leader who will help remove all the hurdles that lie ahead of others, and especially uplift pastors of color [and] Communities that care for vulnerable people, ”they said.

We are all proud of our colleague, the elected Bishop Megan Rohrer, who made history as the first openly transgender person to be elevated to the role of bishop by a major Christian denomination in the USA. Congratulations, Rev. @mmrohrer! Keep doing great things! https://t.co/tDSuRyrQPc

– San Francisco Police Department (@SFPD) May 11, 2021

Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, described Rohrer’s election as “historic”.

“When we say everyone is welcome, we mean everyone is welcome and we believe that God creates humanity in diversity. The Spirit gives gifts to each of us for building up the body of Christ. The Sierra Pacific Synod recognized the gifts of Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer and elected her bishop, “Eaton said in a statement on Tuesday.

Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, assistant executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, said Rohrer’s election was “groundbreaking” and inspiring for transgender co-religionists who are often rejected by their communities.

“Rev. Rohrer’s election shows that progress is possible. It affirms that the more Americans get to know their transgender neighbors on a day-to-day basis, the more they learn that we share many of the same dreams and values, “he said in a statement.

Rohrer was the first transgender person to be ordained in the ELCA in 2006 as part of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project – now known as Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries – when the denomination did not allow LGBTQ pastors to serve openly. Her ordination was accepted in 2010 after the ELCA guidelines changed.

The denomination today has almost 3.3 million members. The Rohrer Synod encompasses nearly 200 congregations in central and northern California and northern Nevada.

Rohrer was born in Sioux Falls, SD and went to Berkeley in 2002 to attend Pacific Lutheran theological seminary and the Pacific School of Religion. Rohrer credits Augustana University, an ELCA college, for welcoming them before ELCA policies changed, “so I can even go to seminary,” Rohrer said.

Rohrer was a San Francisco community attorney who worked with the city’s homeless LGBT youth and raised awareness of violence against colored transgender women. Rohrer said they were one of many pastors arrested in protest against Proposition 8, a California election initiative to ban same-sex marriage, which was approved in 2008 but later overturned in court.

“You have always been an inspiration and comrade in the movement to end homelessness, and I am thrilled to have your new leadership as bishop,” said Sam Dodge, former assistant director of the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Twitter.

Rohrer said they felt “amazingly supported” by the diverse faith community in San Francisco, including the Jewish and Muslim communities.

As a bishop, Rohrer hopes to make the churches more diverse and “more accessible to neighbors than ever before” as the pandemic subsides.

“I hope that anyone who is confused about whether or not a trans person can be a bishop will use that confusion to notice all the other wonderful things God is up to and then pray with us,” said Rohrer. “Because we would like to have you.”

Rohrer takes up his new position as bishop on July 1st.

Jessica Flores is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores

The post A San Francisco pastor has grow to be the primary overtly transgender bishop within the U.S. appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

“Everyone around me in my life told me that I would have a better life when I came to San Francisco,” said Aria Said, co-founder and director of Compton’s transgender cultural district. “As many transsexuals come here as there are refugees from other cities in the United States.”

Said first came to San Francisco when she was 19 years old.

“As a teenage black trans woman in San Francisco, I learned very quickly that while San Francisco was legally and socially validating myself, I went to job interviews and was laughed at. I was spat at on the street,” he said to shares.

He is said to have teamed up with activists Honey Mahogany and Janetta Johnson to form the world’s first legally recognized transgender district. Compton’s Transgender Cultural District, which spans six blocks in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, is named after the historic Compton Cafeteria Riot, the first documented riot by transgender and queer people in the United States against police harassment and abuse.

“We realized that if we didn’t do anything, the fillet would be gentrified quickly. Our history would be completely erased,” recalls Mahogany.

The founders of the Comgender Transgender Cultural District also strive to address housing and employment issues within the community and create a positive space for trans people.

“I think that’s most of the hopes. Compton’s Transgender Cultural District dreams are a safe place for queer, trans, gendered, non-binary people to come to San Francisco and find a more welcoming place,” so Johnson says.

“It’s a big part of what the transgender culture district does making sure we give them the opportunities for success and the tools they need to be successful,” added Mahogany. “Hopefully now we’re really serving to inspire people to do more.”

“I think a future for trans people in San Francisco is one of social, cultural, and economic empowerment, true empowerment, and true inclusion,” said Said.

For more information on Compton’s Transgender Cultural District, click here.

The post San Francisco celebrates 1st transgender district on this planet appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.