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CULTURAL IMMERSION

Cultural Immersion: Transgender

Jennifer L. Beaver

Wilmington University
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Abstract

Cultural Immersion can assist with the deeper understanding of an unfamiliar culture. Spending

significant time and interaction can help bridge the gap of knowledge to improve ones own

cultural diversity. The Transgender community is currently prominent in the spotlight, featured

in media and entertainment. People who have never been exposed to the Transgender

community have opinions formed by preconceived notions, bias, the media, and the religious

community. Cisgender individuals are those whose sense of identity corresponds to their birth

gender. Cisgender people have a difficult time understanding that being transgender is a real

identity. Many cisgender people, who have not had direct exposure to transgender individuals,

have strong misconceptions and a lack of understanding of the transgender community.

Transgender people have a difficult time living in society. Many do not feel safe or accepted.

Many seek assistance through Human Services. Many agencies are now serving participants

who are transgender. These agencies are struggling at times to understand the community needs

to support these individuals appropriately. Additional training and research must take place to

support this vulnerable population.


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Horizon House, Inc. is a nonprofit Human Services agency that serves participants

throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware State. Horizon House serves a diverse population of

individuals, from transitional age youth through the elderly. The agency works with individuals

with intellectual developmental disabilities, co-occurring disorders, and mental health disorders.

Horizon House does not discriminate for any reason, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability,

religious beliefs, or income.

Horizon House serves Caucasians, African-Americans, Latinos, Deaf, Hard of Hearing,

gay, lesbian, Indians, Native Americans, and Asians. One of the newest cultures that has been

introduced into the agency is the transgender community. The staff takes annual LBGTQI

training, but most staff have never personally known anyone who is transgender. My

Community Rehabilitation Residential program (CRR) currently has a transgender woman living

there. The residents have adapted far faster than the staff, as the young ladys name is not legally

changed yet, and it causes confusion with the paperwork. Use of the proper pronouns has been

challenging for the staff.

The first known transgender person was Lili Elbe. She was born Einar Wegener

in 1882 and became a landscape painter. It wasnt until Wegener posed for a painting with her

wife and fellow artist, Gerda Gottlieb, that she realized she was Lili Elbe (Folley, June, 2017).

She began to spend less time on her art, and more time on her newfound personae. She dressed

as a woman in public, and claimed to be her own sister. Her wife supported her, and they moved

to Paris where lesbian couples were more socially acceptable. Eventually, she felt that she

would not be complete unless she fully transitioned into a woman. She journeyed to Germany

where she underwent gender reassignment surgery. It was unheard of for its time. She had

numerous surgical operations, first to remove her testicles and penis, then later to have an
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ovarian transplant (which her body rejected) and a uterine transplant, that may have contributed

to the heart failure that she succumbed to shortly thereafter. She was able to legally change her

name, but her newly recognized gender caused her marriage to be annulled and she and her wife

parted.

Bronx Boy Is Now a Girl, read the 1952 Associated Press headline, heralding that

World War II veteran Christine (formerly George) Jorgensen had become the first American to

announce publicly that she had undergone gender reassignment surgery (Glicksman, E. April

2013). She went on to write an autobiography in 1967 that later became a movie. She continued

to advocate for transsexuals for several decades. Christine always upheld her belief that nature

made a mistake. That seems to be the pervading sentiment of transgender individuals

throughout history and continues today.

In recent years, the legal victories and increased media coverage of LGBT people is

mostly positive for the community. This has made more people comfortable with coming out

and given cisgender individuals more of an opportunity to encounter someone who is

transgender. The downside of the heightened visibility is that animosity towards these

individuals is also becoming more evident. Over the years, transgender individuals had to hide

who they really were due to hostility, prejudice, and violence. On August 14, the number of

transgender people murdered in America this year hit a historic high of 15, according to

advocacy organizations like the National Center for Transgender Equality (Steinmetz, K.

August 17, 2015). One of the great achievements for LBGT individuals was on October 28,

2009. President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention

Act into law. That law made it a federal crime to assault an individual based on their sexual

orientation or gender identity. On May 15, 2017, Joshua Vallum was sentenced to 49 years in
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prison for killing his transgender former girlfriend, a case the Justice Department said was the

first involving violence against a transgender person to be prosecuted under the federal Hate

Crimes Act (Stack, L. May 16, 2017).

Because of the rising prejudice, transgender people are four times more likely

than the general population to report living in extreme poverty, making less than $10,000 per

year, a standing that sometimes pushes them to enter the dangerous trade of sex work

(Steinmetz, K. August 17, 2015). A high number of transgender individuals have stated that they

were bullied in school at a child, and that they continue to be physically harassed in public

restaurants, subways, retail outlets, and public transportation. There have been instances where

transgender individuals were fired, just for using their gender preferred bathroom.

The latest debate has been fought over the right to use preferred gender bathrooms.

There have been numerous court cases where school students are suing for the right to use their

identified genders bathroom in school. On May 30, 2017, a male gender identified student won

his federal appeals court case in Wisconsin. When high school senior Ashton Whitaker first

asked in his sophomore year to use the boys bathroom, it set of a nearly yearlong battle with the

school district. In September, Judge Pamela Pepper of United States District Court granted Mr.

Whitaker permission to use the boys bathroom at school, a ruling the school district appealed

(Associated Press, May 30, 2017). On the 30th, the United States Court of Appeals for the

Seventh District upheld that decision. This was two days before Ashton graduated from high

school.

To further my understanding of the transgender community, I watched a film from 2001

called Hedwig and the Angry Inch written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. This film

was about a transgender punk-rocker from East Berlin who tours the United States with her band,
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The Angry Inch. It dealt with the erection of the Berlin wall, and what it was like to grow up in

East Berlin as a transgender youth. Hedwig was born Hansel. She was teased at school, her

father molested her, and her mother wasnt sure what to do with her. She falls in love with an

Army Sargent, who wants to marry her and take her away from East Berlin. Her mother

supports it, and even gives Hedwig her name and her passport, but she must have surgery to

remove her penis and testicles. The doctor does a poor job, leaving her with an inch sized penis,

hence the bands name.

The movie showcases her journey to find validation, love, and happiness. It reveals her

continued rejection, first by her husband who left her for a younger person, then by the other

love interests in her life as it progressed. Some men felt betrayed when they realized she was

transgender. Others were fascinated, but would refuse to acknowledge her in public. Her first

true love interest after her husband was a Christian boy whose baby sister Hedwig babysat. She

taught him how to play guitar, wrote songs with him, gave him his stage name of Tommy

Gnosis, and loved him deeply. When he took their songs, made them his own and became

famous, she was crushed. He didnt admit to knowing her, or giving her credit for the songs.

She was bitter for a long time.

She formed a band that followed Tommy all over the country, trying to be in his face to

force him to acknowledge Hedwig. She married one of her guitarists, but didnt truly commit to

him, or understand his needs. He was also transgendered, but Hedwig wouldnt allow him to be

who he felt that he was inside. Throughout the film, she was unable to identify with her rejection

of who her husband felt he was, despite her constant rejections faced by others for who she was.

The end of the movie was very poignant. She reconnected with Tommy, only to realize that he

never could truly love her for herself, and that her husband did love her as she was. At a live
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performance, she took off her wig and handed to her husband, effectually allowing him to

become the woman he felt was inside. The final scene was later, with Hedwig performing in full

makeup, no wig or glamorous clothing, and only wearing tight black shorts. Her spouse is

dressed as the woman she was meant to be, gorgeous and finally happy. Hedwig gained some

much-needed perspective, and learned that she really did love her spouse. That realization, I

think, freed both of them to be comfortable as who they wanted to be, and how they wanted to

represent themselves to the world. It was a very interesting movie, that gave me good insight

into that culture.

I felt that I needed to learn more about the transgender community, so I contacted a close

friend of mine who is a transgender male named Don A. I created a series of questions that he

agreed to answer for me. He has been through a lot, but has come out on the other side so much

happier than I have ever seen him. I knew him before the transition, and can honestly say he is

the man whom he has always been meant to be. I interviewed Don on July 9, 2017 by phone, at

9 pm so he could get his daughter to bed first. The following are the series of questions that I

asked Don, along with his answers.

1. How old were you when you knew you were different?
I was around four years old. I didnt have words for it then, but I wasnt like
other girls. I actually spent more time playing with the boys, when I could get away with
it. I can remember being around five having a conversation with another girl, wondering
why I didnt have a penis. She didnt wonder why she didnt have one, and she felt that
having one would be strange and I felt that not having one was strange.
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2. How did it feel to realize it?
I felt throughout my whole life, plateaus where I thought I could be OK with
being a girl if I could be a Tom Boy. I was OK if things could stay like that, but things
dont stay the same. Then puberty hit. My body started to change, and peoples attitudes
towards dating werent matching what others felt, and it just got complicated. To some
extent, I could fake it. I was attracted to girls and guys, so I could sort of fit in. But, it
never felt right. The issue was that I wasnt who I felt I was on the inside. So, even in
the situation where I was dating someone it felt like I was faking it.

3. When did you first hear, and relate to the term transgender?
I didnt really know it was a thing until I was in my late 30s and became
friends with a transgender woman. I actually went down to a support group in Philly, but
I didnt move forward with it. I just observed and listened. I realized when I attended the
groups that I had had a lot of the same experiences that the other people did, and I shared
some of the same feelings that they did. The first time I really voiced it was when my
girlfriend was pregnant. When people were congratulating me on being a Mom, it didnt
feel right. That was probably my first indication that my girlfriend wasnt going to be
accepting of this. When we had that conversation about me not feeling comfortable with
being called Mom, she said she wasnt comfortable with me being called Dad. I came up
with Baba, which is Dad in Chinese.

4. How long until you felt safe enough to tell anyone?


I didnt say anything to anyone other than you or my girlfriend until our daughter
was two. Out of the blue one day when we were alone, she called me Daddy. It felt
RIGHT. Thats when I realized that I couldnt ignore this any longer. I contacted the
Mazzoni Center for counseling. I still wasnt sure I wanted to transition, I just wanted
therapy to sort out my feelings. I started counseling, and it maybe after the tenth session I
decided that I needed to transition. I had other things that I needed to work through first.
I was still apprehensive about it. I was flat out convinced that even just the hormones
were too expensive to even think about. I didnt have any hope to work around it. Then I
found out that I could work around it. I decided to see a doctor at the Mazzoni Center to
talk about starting hormones. I had an appointment set up and decided to tell my
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girlfriend. Now, my girlfriend knew that I had gone to the support groups and the
Mazzoni Center, so I thought she would be OK with it. Well, apparently, she was NOT
OK with it, and, in fact told me that she would leave me and take our daughter so I would
never see her again. This rocked me, so I stopped all plans and cancelled my
appointment at the Mazzoni Center. At that point, I was working with my therapist to see
how I could be OK with not transitioning. My adoption of my daughter had not gone
through, and I was afraid of losing her. The therapist kept saying that I had more rights
than I thought I did, and they convinced me in January 2015 to allow a Mazzoni lawyer
to come into one of my sessions. We talked, and they explained to me that I really did
have rights even without the adoption. They told me that I could file En Loco Parentis to
be recognized as a parent. I started to move forward with the transition. Mazzoni doesnt
require a certain amount of counseling; it functions under Informed Consent. Informed
consent works by setting up an appointment with a doctor. They ask you why you want
to transition, what you can expect, and what changes will be permanent if I stopped
taking testosterone (T). They do bloodwork, then schedule another appointment for one
month. They review the changes, and you sign off on the changes (whats permanent,
whats not), and then I got my first shot. They then teach you how to give yourself the
shot. At my next month follow up, they tweak as needed. Then its follow up at three
months, six months, nine months, then a year. After that, its yearly, just like everyone
else. For the first two years, I saw the doctors at Mazzoni Center. January of this year, I
changed doctors due to issues with custody of my daughter. My new primary doctor told
me that they could manage my hormones. After I started T, I felt like I was on the
craziest diet! I ate three times as much, was always hungry, but my jeans got looser. I
still eat more frequently than I used to. I put on 30 pounds of muscle! I pay 30.00 a
month for testosterone copays. I was on psychiatric medications for 17 years. Hundreds
of dollars in copays, when all I really needed was the testosterone.

5. When did you tell your family?


I told my Mom before I told my girlfriend. I started hormones in March 2015. I
had told my Mom at the end of October 2014, and I had told my cousins and Aunts and
Uncles. I told my girlfriend in November 2014.
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6. What was their reaction?
My Moms reaction was 100% on board the first time, but when I told her that I
was starting the transition, she wasnt. My testing revealed that my testosterone level
was already in the low normal range prior to starting testosterone. They did further
testing (genetic testing) that showed that, not only did I have low normal testosterone, I
was also Intersex. When I told my Mom, she felt guilty. She knew that I was Intersex. I
had a testicle that was present and a slightly larger clitoris. The doctors in 1968 told her
that it would be easier for me to be made into a girl. When she finally told me the
truth, it filled in lots of holes in my life. I was born on November 22, but didnt come
home from the hospital until November 29th. My Mom was released on November 24th.
She had had a complicated birth, so I always assumed thats why I was in there so long.
Gender identity is in the brain, not in the body parts.

7. How did this effect your teen years?


They were horrible. I didnt know what was going on, I just constantly felt like I
was faking it with people. I felt like a boy, not a girl. The changes in my body were
extremely uncomfortable. I spent the majority of my teenage years depressed and on the
verge of suicide.

8. Friendships?
I still had friends. Ive had several people who have told me that they had felt
close to me, when I didnt feel close to anyone. I felt very alone. Most people I was
friends with in high school, I am still friends to some degree with today.

9. Intimate relationships?
Pre-transition, I felt like I was faking it. I felt much more comfortable in
relationships with women, so I was classified as a lesbian. I was still attached to men,
just no desire for vaginal penetration. Post transitioning, after my split from my ex-
girlfriend, I decided to be open with whomever I was dating from day one. If my
transitioning was going to be a deal breaker, I wanted to know before feelings were
involved. I did online dating through OK Cupid. I liked them, because you could pick
transgender as an option in your profile. I did find that there were a few women who
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treated me as a curiosity who werent truly interested. I picked up on that during
conversations and nipped that in the bud. I did date several women, and it felt really
good to be who I was with people. The women were accepting and it positive
experience. I met my now wife on OK Cupid. Our first conversation was her messaging
me to tell me that I had accidentally attached my Instagram account to my profile. We
started talking. We messaged back and forth before that, and became Facebook friends
before that. She asked me out and we were planning on going to a Greek restaurant in
Downingtown. We met in the parking lot, and I had to tell her that they were closed for
vacation! We scrambled and ended up at the Station Tap Room. We dated for five
months before I popped the question. We got married on April 30, in a private ceremony
in Kerr Park in Downingtown. Our reception is July 14th at the Clubhouse at our
complex.

10. How did you feel using the womens rest room?
When I was young, it didnt faze me. As I got older, into my adult years, it made
me uncomfortable. So often, even before transitioning, strangers read me as male. I had
the police called, I had people tell me that I didnt belong there. I was threatened with
violence a handful of times. Once I began transitioning, it became even harder. It didnt
feel proper going in any more, but I didnt feel confident enough in my looks to go into
the mens room.

11. How did it feel to use the mens room in the beginning of your transition?
In the beginning, it was kind of scary. I did have an extremely supportive
environment at work. I came out to my boss in an email. It was a weekend. She had just
posted on the work webpage an article about Ten Things You are Really Saying When
You Refuse to Use Someones Preferred Pronouns. I knew if I waited until Monday
morning, I would chicken out, so I sent her an email. She was very supportive, and we
laid out a plan to tell the rest of the team. By the end of the team meeting, everyone was
calling me he. It was a wonderful experience, and most people dont have that
experience. But, even with that acceptance, it was probably a week before I peed at
work. I had an app on my phone that told me where all of the gender-neutral bathrooms
were.
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12. Did anyone ever say anything derogatory regarding your transition?
My ex-girlfriend made the statement in front of our daughter, that I wanted a
dick and not a daughter. When I was a patient in the Rockford Center, there was
another patient who had been fairly threatening towards me. Staff disregarded my
concerns, that I was paranoid. Less than 24 hours later, he was chasing me around the
nurses station screaming, What are you?!!!!

13. At any time were you ever threatened with harm?


Yes, at the Rockford Center. I was threatened with the police several times, but
only threatened with harm once.

14. Did you ever feel afraid for your safety?


Yes, many times pre-and post-testosterone. Post, I had a situation when I was
driving for Uber. It was before my name change, but Uber had changed my name in the
system. I had a car full of very drunk and rowdy college football players who were
joking very derogatorily about transgender people. It was really scary and
uncomfortable. I believe they knew I was trans, but didnt come out and say it. I wasnt
going to risk personal safety, so I joked right along with them.

15. How long have you been taking testosterone?

Since March 26, 2015.

16. What were the first changes that you saw in yourself physically?
The first change was a shift in body weight (how I carried it). My fat moved
more from my hips to my stomach. About a month into it, I heard the first noticeable
voice drop. About two months in, I went to pick up something that used to be heavy, and
it wasnt heavy anymore.
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17. Emotionally?
The biggest change overall emotionally is confidence. Because I am more
confident, I am more assertive and able to stand up for myself.

18. Did people who knew you before treat you differently after?
Yes, there were some. I started to get included in the guy stuff. There were
some experiences at work where I felt more listened to by coworkers. I no longer felt
like I had to compete to get in a word. I was allowed to talk. There was a learning
curve, especially with the pronouns. The learning curve was directly proportionate to
how well and how long they knew me. For many, the name change was easier than the
pronoun change.

19. How has this impacted your sexual orientation?


In a way, it has. In counseling and the support groups, I learned a lot more about
sexuality. Before, I classified myself as bi-sexual, but what I am is actually pansexual
(regardless of gender). That takes into account that gender is more than binary. So, there
have been times that I have been attracted to people who dont identify as male or female.

20. Have you been successful with intimate relationships since transitioning?
Yes, Im happily married since April of this year.

21. If money was not an issue, would you completely transition, or are you comfortable with
where you are now?
I probably would completely transition. I say probably, because I am on the fence
about bottom surgery. I am looking into top surgery now. Dr. Kathie Rumer. She does
approximately 200 top surgeries a year.

22. How has your daughter related to you since transitioning?


She had a little problem with pronouns at first, but I feel that was her mothers
doing, since she still does not acknowledge my transition. We have talked about how
other people see me, and what has been going on with her feelings. She still calls me
Baba, but will refer to me as her Dad.
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23. Is there any change in your relationship with her?


Not really. She has stabilized now that she is living with me primarily.

24. What would you like others considering transitioning to know?


I would like them to know that it is much more possible than it seems at first, and
that it gets a lot better. As things start to match, things get easier. As your looks start to
match how you seen yourself, others start to view you as you want them to. It happens
faster with strangers than people who know you, since those who know you have to
unlearn behaviors. I would encourage them to get their documentation changed as soon
as possible, as your body will no longer match your drivers license and social security /
credit cards.

25. If you could go back and talk to your 18-year-old self, what would you tell him?
I would tell him to start the transition now. Life is a whole heck of a lot better as
Don. Its possible to do this, and its worth it to do this. (D. A, personal communication,
July 9, 2017)

Don had a personally challenging transition, due to the breakup of his relationship, and

his ex-girlfriend using their daughter as a weapon. He successfully had his name and gender

changed, his birth certificate is changed, and his drivers license and social security cards bear

his new name. He now retains primary custody of his seven-year-old daughter, and has recently

married. His wife loves him as he is, and he is now the proud step father of two boys who adore

him. I will be attending their reception next Friday evening. I am looking forward to it.

Horizon House, Inc. is the agency that I have worked for these past twelve years. Our

corporate office is located at 120 South 30th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. The offices are

located two blocks from the 30th Street train station, across the street from the post office, and

down the street from Drexel University. On any given day, there are homeless individuals

sleeping in the alcoves of the nearby buildings. White collar individuals walk down the street
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next to the working poor. I have seen all walks of life, color, religion, and gender when I am at

corporate for meetings. Since the corporate offices also house Assertive Community Treatment

Teams, outpatient services, and psychiatric rehabilitation programs, there are any number of

participants in and around the area.

We have several locations throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware State. I manage the 9

Pine Drive Community Residential Rehabilitation (CRR) home in Chester Springs, PA. It is a

residential home on a quiet street with a great amount of wildlife. Large, spacious homes sit on

equally large lots back off the road. We serve five male and female participants. Our neighbors

are all families, with children and pets. Mostly, our neighbors support us, but we have some
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neighbors who do not like having a CRR in their neighborhood. It is an affluent area, with

several local horse farms. Our participants frequently walk around the area, usually without

issue. There are some neighbors who regularly complain to the police about our site, but usually

nothing comes of it.

Individuals come to our agency through referrals. For the 30th Street site, they walk, take

public transportation, or are dropped off by a family member or friend. They may cross cultural

boundaries, as some sections of the city are primarily Hispanic, while others are primarily

African American. As long as they have a primary mental health diagnosis, or intellectual

developmental disability, they will be served. For my location, we receive referrals from the

Chester County Office of Mental Health and Intellectual Developmental Disabilities. They must

be a primary resident of Chester County to qualify for our program. Once we have accepted
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them into our program, our staff will transport them where they need to go. For medical and

mental health appointments, they can take Rover Transportation. Rover is a free or low cost

transportation company for those with Medicaid or Medicare. Family members are also

permitted to pick up and drop off their loved ones.

The city of Philadelphia has a plethora of retail outlets readily available to the

inhabitants. There are a multitude of restaurants, coffee shops, and thrift stores conveniently

located around the city. The Chester Springs location is approximately 2.5 miles off any main

road. The area may be peaceful and gorgeous, but it can be isolating to some participants,

especially our transgender participant. Inclement weather can cause us to be trapped until the

roads are passable. We now have a generator to help with that, and we try to make regular trips

to the arts and crafts store to stock up for those types of days. The participants have regularly

complained that they have to rely on staff to do anything. They cant walk to the convenience

store for a sandwich, soda or pack of cigarettes. It can become frustrating for them. Exton is the

closest town, where the shopping is upscale and often out of their price range. There tend to be

more Caucasians, less ethnic diversity, and little to no support for the transgender community.

There are a couple of retail stores in Chester County that cater to breast cancer survivors that

have embraced the transgender population. The first one is called Gie Gie Lingerie & Breast

Care Boutique in Paoli, PA. The second is Yellow Daffodils in Thorndale, PA. There are not

many support groups offered in Chester County, but Philadelphia has numerous resources

available to help transgender individuals to gain the support and services that they may need.

Horizon House is just now beginning to serve the transgender population, but they have

always been an inclusive agency. The 30th Street offices are decorated with colorful murals and

inspirational sayings with messages of hope, help, and safety. The lobby is comfortable, with
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various participants waiting for their appointments. Over the past few years, I have seen several

transgender participants in our programs. I have not heard of any incidents of harassment or

prejudice involving these participants. Horizon House has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying,

harassment, or violence. There is an employee hotline to report such instances, where they will

be fully investigated. The CRR is furnished as a single-family home, with all of the comforts

implied. My location had its first transgender female move into the site at the end of February.

Interestingly, the other house mates had no issues with the new girl. They adapted almost

immediately to her without reservation, using the right pronouns and treating her as a girl. The

staff, on the other hand, struggled with the correct pronoun usage. The site was very welcoming

and accepting of her where she was in her transition. We support her needs and are looking into

a support group for her. She has stated on several occasions how comfortable she is at the site.

She came from the homeless shelter in West Chester, where she did not feel safe as a transgender

woman. I feel that our agency is very welcoming and comfortable for all participants.

Horizon House requires that all staff take certain trainings each year as part of our

continuing education. Two trainings that we take that relate to the transgender population (as

well as other minority cultures) are LBGTQI Sensitivity Training and Cultural Competency

Training. The training department keeps current on training trends, and updates the trainings

frequently. The executive level staff email often regarding external trainings that they feel could

benefit our staff. Cultural Diversity training is offered through our contract with Drexel

Learning and most of my staff have taken it. I seek out information regarding transgender and

transitioning to share with my staff at our monthly meetings.

As Horizon House is a nonprofit Human Services agency, most of our funding comes

from Federal / State / County sources. Some grant money may be involved to support certain
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programs, such as our Philadelphia homeless program has received subsidiary block grant

funding to support a Housing First program. Housing First follows the philosophy that people

should be housed before offering voluntary support services. Horizon House offers literature in

both English and Spanish. When a Deaf participant was placed in my program, we received

extra funding from Chester County in order for the staff to take American Sign Language

classes. To my knowledge, no special funding has been allocated to the transgender population.

Our Quality Improvement (QI) department has reached out to the Mazzoni Center, the

LBGT Foundation, and to the National Center for Transgender Equality for input into our

policies and procedures on non-discrimination within the agency. We have not, as an agency,

sought input on the design of our sites and programs. We seek more in the way of appropriate

behavior and language. Our LBGTQI Sensitivity training came from the LBGT Foundation.

Our agency follows a belief in an inclusive service to the community. We do not deny

anyone access to treatment or programs, regardless of disability, gender preference, sexual

identity, religion, race or cultural beliefs. The agency will make any necessary adjustments to

support a participant to the best of our ability. We have Participant Advisory Councils (PAC) in

all counties we serve, and the participants sit on this council and influence agency decisions.

The Chair person and sometimes the Co-Chair will attend our Recovery Steering Committee at

30th Street once a month. The participants make suggestions, critique proposed changes and

added programs, and advocate for participant rights in their respective counties.

I do not know the total number of transgender individuals being served by our agency at

present. I see them at each program I visit, but have never noticed how many. It seems like a

relatively small number, but appears to be growing each year, as I see more and more

transgender participants. My program serves five participants, and I have one official
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transgender female. We have another participant who is questioning whether or not she is a girl

or a boy. I do know that our agency continues to seek ways to support all cultures of our

participants. The transgender woman who now resides at my site, as well as her parents, have

expressed their surprise and happiness that she has been accepted so easily.

When our transgender participant moved into the site, we began to seek out resources for

her. We have connected and transported her to Yellow Daffodils to purchase bras and inserts. I

found a LBGT support group at Phoenixville Hospital that meets monthly. We will be taking her

to the group, along with the participant who is questioning. Her family takes her to her doctors

appointments at the Mazzoni Center, but we have offered to assist with that as well. She has

connected with a lawyer at the Mazzoni Center to petition for a name change. Horizon House

treats her with respect and dignity, and uses the preferred feminine pronouns. We coordinate

with Fellowship Health Resources, who provides her with case management and individual

therapy services, to support her as a team.

In reviewing the ethical standards of cultural competency for the National Organization

for Human Services, I have identified several to discuss briefly. The standards that I chose are

numbers 7, 10, 11, 14, 16, 26, and 34. In assessing Horizon House, standards 10, 11, 14, and 26

apply. Standard 10 relates to providing services without discrimination or preference. Horizon

House had a very strict non-discriminatory policy, that is posted throughout the agency, whether

staff or participant. Standard 11 relates to being knowledgeable about the different cultures and

communities that we serve. Horizon House conducts outreach, has the PAC and Recovery

Steering Committee, as well as direct interaction with the community for input. Standard 14

discusses awareness of how social and political issues can affect the different cultures we serve.

Horizon House serves a large Latino population in Philadelphia, and has held support meetings
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to assist participants with their concerns regarding family members possibly being deported.

Standard 26 conveys the need for further education and training. Horizon House requires

numerous trainings each year, and strongly encourages external trainings. The agency promotes

higher education to their employees, and even offers tuition reimbursement.

The same four standards apply to our programs and services. Horizon House continues

to strive to be inclusive, offering bilingual literature and will engage the services of interpreters

as needed. Each program or service can be altered as needed to accommodate a cultural

difference or diverse population, such as transgender. Treating people with dignity and respect is

our main philosophy, and that covers everyone.

My personal cultural competency can be best expressed through standards 7, 26, and 34.

In looking at standard 7, in regards to bias and imposing values, it can be hard not to impose my

own bias and values on my participants. They have been a part of me forever. I must leave them

at the door upon entering work, so that I can give my participants the best service and support

that I can. I feel that I do a good job of accomplishing that. Standard 26 is a must for me. I love

to learn about my chosen field, and am always seeking additional external trainings. I just

finished Leadership, Team-Building, and Coaching Skills to make me a better manager. If I

want my team to follow my lead, I need to be an effective leader. To be an asset to the company

and my participants, standard 34, regarding your own cultural background, is vitally important. I

have to know my own cultural background before I can effectively support anothers. I am part

Choctaw. I have heard the stories that my grandmother told before she died, of growing up in

Pharaoh, OK. Being discriminated against for the color of her skin, for how she worshiped. She

became ashamed of who she was, where she came from, and learned English, became a teacher,

and never acknowledged that side of her outside of her home again. It always made me sad to
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hear the stories. I couldnt understand as a young child, how someone could hate another person

because of how they looked. I comprehend it now, but it still makes me sad.

My father was gay. He was with my stepfather for almost 15 years when my stepfather

died. My father was destroyed. His partners family came over to his house, under the guise of

comfort and sympathy, only to try to rip his home apart to get their precious family heirlooms.

He felt so betrayed, on top of already grieving. He threw them out of his house and they never

spoke again. He later died of AIDS. I had a hard time with it, and with the looks from people

when I told them what he died from. It made me despair for humanity, and made me so very

angry. I empathize with others who are discriminated against, hated for who they are, what they

look like, how they identify. I feel it makes me a stronger advocate for my participants.

I have learned a lot from this project. I always thought I had an idea of how bad it was

for the LBGT community, but, no. I really had no idea how bad it was. When I interviewed my

friend, it was an eye-opening experience. I have known him for ten years, knew some of the

story, and felt that I grasped the depth of his pain. I was dumbstruck several times, especially

since I was the one to took him to be admitted to Rockford for being suicidal, then I come to find

out he was nearly attacked! I want to learn more, do more, to advocate for the transgender

population. They have a right to live free of violence and hate crimes, free to choose who they

are and how they want to live their lives. I am proud to work for an agency that cares, truly cares

for its participants, and wants to support them in their individual Recovery. Horizon House is a

forward-thinking agency who seeks to help the helpless, give hope to the hopeless, and dignity to

those who lack it. This is the type of agency I want to be a part of for a great many years to

come.
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Resources

D. A., personal communication, July 9, 2017.

Associated Press. (2017, May 30). Transgender Wisconsin Student May Use Boys' Bathroom,

Appeals Court Says. New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/us/transgender-wisconsin-student-may-use-boys-

bathroom-appeals-court-says.html

Folley, A. (2017, June 22). The tragic story behind the world's first documented transgender

person. Retrieved July 8, 2017, from https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/06/22/the-

tragic-story-behind-the-worlds-first-documented-transgender/22534834/

Glicksman, E. (2013). Transgender Today. American Psychological Association,44(4), 36-40.

Retrieved June 30, 2017, from www.apa.org/monitor/2013/04/transgender.aspx.

Mitchell, J. C. (Director). (2001). Hedwig and the Angry Inch [Video file]. United States: New Line

Cinema. Retrieved July 8, 2017.

Stack, L. (2017, May 16). U.S. Hate Crime Law Punishes Transgender Woman's Killer, in a

First. NY Times. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/us-hate-crime-law-transgender-murder.html

Steinmetz, K. (2015, August 17). Why Transgender People Are Being Murdered at a Historic

Rate. Time.com. Retrieved July 9, 2017, from time.com/3999348/transgender-murders-2015/

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