LGBT Coffee House for Older Adults

The Simsbury Senior Center invites you to a Coffee House at Eno Hall

Everyone is welcome at our first coffee house for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) older adult community.

We’ll have live acoustic music by Chip Ames, savory and sweet bites, and of course…..coffee.

Thursday, January 15

5:00pm to 6:30pm

Eno Memorial Hall Auditorium

754 Hopmeadow Street ~ Simsbury, CT

This Free event is co-sponsored by The Avon Senior Center and The Canton Senior Center.

The Simsbury Senior Center is committed to offering a safe and welcoming space to everyone. 

For more information, call;
The Simsbury Senior Center at 860.658.3273, 
The Avon Senior Center at 860.675.4355 or 
The Canton Senior Center at 860.693.581.

Survey Request

We have received a request to pass along a survey from a PhD candidate about the importance of access to surgical transition procedures.

Redefining Trans* Persistence and Desistence Toward A More Inclusive Account of Trans* Populations

"I am a fourth-year, trans*/genderqueer identified doctoral student. I would like to invite your followers to consider participating in my dissertation research. My social justice based study is an examination of what, if any, impact access to surgical transition procedures have on transgender (trans*) gender identity. The study explores the following: Is access to surgical transition procedures an important aspect of a trans* gender identity? What barriers exist for trans* populations to accessing surgical transition procedures? Finally, what extent do barriers limit access to surgical transition procedures? Participation will take about 20 minutes and will involve responding to two brief questionnaires presented online. All data related to your participation will be kept anonymous. To participate in this study, you must be a transgender individual at least 18 years of age, self-identify as a trans* individual, live in the United States, and read and comprehend English."

Here's the link: http://bit.ly/15Octy8 

Two events this week...

The movie Gen Silent is playing at the UConn Scool of Social in West Hartford on Wednesday and on Thursday is the Transgender Day of Remembrance

Gen Silent
Wednesday, November 19 at 5:00pm
Gen Silent is a critically acclaimed, award-winning documentary produced by Stu Maddux. The film follows the lives of six Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) seniors living in the Boston area who must consider whether they will hide their sexuality in order to survive in the health care system.
http://ssw.uconn.edu/archives/17553

2014 Transgender Day of Remembrance
Thursday, November 20 at 7:00pm
Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford
155 Wyllys St, Hartford, Connecticut 06106

Join us as we gather this year, to remember, honor, and commit to action that will prevent more transgender lives being senselessly lost. Join us for a night of community, compassion, and hope.
https://www.facebook.com/events/845564998807935/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is also being held at the following locations...
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Thursday, November 20th, 2014 17:00PM (5:00PM)
Amistad Memorial

Westport, Connecticut, United States
Thursday, November 20th, 2014 19:00 PM – 20:30 PM (7:00 PM-8:30 PM)
Unitarian Church in Westport, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport, Connecticut 06880

New Britain, Connecticut, United States
Thursday, November 20th, 2014 19:00 PM (7:00 PM)
Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain CT, 06050

16th Annual

Transgender Day of Remembrance

REMEMBER ** HONOR ** ACT 

7:00pm Thursday November 20, 2014

 To be held at the Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford
 155 Wyllys Street, Hartford CT 06106
 (Parish House, Church of the Good Shepherd, entrance in the back)

Office: (860)724-4605 Pastor: (860)990-1225
www.mcchartford.com

This is a day we reserve each year to memorialize those whose lives were lost due to anti-transgender fear, bigotry and hatred.  Around the world, communities have planned vigils to come together in community to remember those who have died in the past year.  As we gather this year, we remember, we honor, and we commit to action that will prevent more lives being senselessly lost.  Join us for a night of community, compassion, and hope.

Also being held at the following locations in Connecticut...

New Haven, Connecticut
Thursday, November 20th, 2014 17:00PM (5:00PM)
Amistad Memorial

Westport, Connecticut
Thursday, November 20th, 2014 19:00 PM – 20:30 PM (7:00 PM-8:30 PM)
Unitarian Church in Westport, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport, Connecticut 06880

New Britain, Connecticut
Thursday, November 20th, 2014 19:00 PM (7:00 PM)
Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain CT, 06050

Have You Been Discriminated Against In Housing?

We are looking for trans-people who have been harassed or discriminated against in housing and/or in homeless shelters here in Connecticut.

If you were told that you were not welcome when you went to rent an apartment. Or a homeless shelter refused to let you stay there or the shelter required you to stay in the shelter of your birth gender. We want to know about it.

Did the other residents harass you and the landlord or the shelter do nothing?

Email us and briefly tell us what happen and where and when.
Or fill out the “Contact Us” form
Or call us at 860 255 8812 and leave us a voice mail.

And please help us get the word out for this.

Housing Discrimination

Press release from the CHRO...

SAVE THE DATE!

August 20, 2014

The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The National Center for Lesbian Rights

Symposium on New State and Federal Protections Against LGBT Discrimination in Housing

Join CHRO, HUD, NCLR, and our community partners for a day of education about the rights of LGBTQ individuals to equal opportunity housing.

The program will include presentations on:

• what constitutes housing discrimination
• the impact of housing discrimination on LGBTQ persons and communities
• protections provided by federal programs with a focus on the new protections under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s LGBT Equal Access Rule
• protections provided by Connecticut State Law
• the impact of the Equal Access Rule on homeless LGBTQ individuals
• resources for protecting LGBTQ rights to housing
• the rights and obligations of housing providers and lenders

We hope to see you there!

When: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Where: Legislative Office Building
300 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
Time: 9:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.

Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities 25 Sigourney Street Hartford, CT 06106
860-541-3423
http://www.ct.gov/chro

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street S.W.
Washington, DC 20410
202-708-1112
http://www.hud.gov

National Center for Lesbian Rights
1100 H Street, NW Suite 540
Washington, DC 20005
202-734-3545
http://www.nclrights.org

Changes in the California Birth Certificate and Name Change Laws

California just made it easier to change your birth certificate and your name, the Transgender Law Center reports,

The first phase of the law, which went into effect January 1, made it easier for transgender people born in California to obtain an accurate birth certificate by removing the requirement that they present a court-ordered gender change in order to amend a gender marker on a birth certificate. Instead, they now have the option to just submit a form and a doctor’s letter directly to the state Department of Public Health along with a $23 fee.

Under the second part of the law, which becomes effective today, those seeking a name change to better match their gender identity are no longer required to publish the change in a local newspaper.  Also effective today, those seeking to obtain a name change for purposes of gender transition will no longer be required to attend an in-person court hearing unless another person challenges the name change request. These new protections were created to improve the safety and privacy needs of transgender people seeking to obtain accurate and consistent identity documents.

Read the article here.