UPDATE: CNN has changed the air time for this piece to between 5:30PM-6:30PM EST so that it will be on PRIME TIME news. Make sure you tune in!!

TYFA Executive Director Kim Pearson will appear on the CNN Headline News today at 3PM EST to discuss a family that TYFA has been working with in Colorado. This family has an 8 year old affirmed female that has been enrolled in school as a female after previously attending the same school as a male.

A parent in their community contacted the local media to express his “concerns” about this child entering their school. There was a local story done on the family that was not very favorable. The case has now been picked up by the national news and will be discussed today on CNN.

Please tune in and offer your comments to CNN and your support for this wonderful family.

TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. is on the road

TYFA Executive Director, Kim Pearson, President, Shannon Garcia, Director “Just Evelyn”, and Board of Advisors Member Dr. Kelley Winters (Keynote Speaker) will hit the road to Denver to present at the Colorado Gold Rush Conference. The conference will take place February 21-23, 2008 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown Denver.

TYFA will present four dynamic family workshops on Saturday, February 23, 2008. The full day of workshops will be included in your registration fee of only $50.00 per adult and kids are free.    

Successful Partnering With Schools K-12
Does your child’s school accept and affirm their gender identity and expression as you do?  Do they have the education and tools they need to provide the optimal learning environment for your gender variant child?  TYFA can help you learn effective communication techniques for educating your child’s school on topics such as using proper names and pronouns, bathroom and physical education accommodations, and changing gender markers to reflect the child’s true identity.

Creating Positive Media Experiences
Have you, or do you anticipate being approached by the media to do an interview? Our families are increasingly sought out by media outlets wanting to present the life stories of gender variant and transgender children and their families.  Once your story is on national television you can’t take it back. Let us provide you with an informational packet and discussion to help you make informed decisions about your participation with the media

Find Healthcare Providers for your Gender Variant Child No Matter Where You Live
Not all of us live in major metropolitan areas with access to specialists well versed in treating gender variant and trans youth.  Do you live in rural America?  Do you need practical tips and techniques to find healthcare providers for your child?  This is the course for you.  In this hands-on, interactive session, we will empower you with tools to find, screen, network, and educate your child’s health care team.

Who, How, When?  Informing Others of Your Child’s Gender Variance
Do you ask yourself these questions?  Do you have difficulty determining if and when it is appropriate to disclose your child’s gender expression?  TYFA will help you formulate disclosure plans and introduce you to the A.C.E. Program (Attitude, Confidence, and Education) to increase the likelihood of a positive outcome.

In years past Colorado Gold Rush has been an adult focused conference with family programming being introduced for the first time last year. Let’s show them how many families of gender variant and transgender children there are out there! Come join us!

For more information and to register, please visit the Colorado Gold Rush and TYFA information page. Choose the option for Single Day of Workshops Only. Meals are available as part of the conference, but need to be purchased separately as indicated on the registration page. Families interested in attending other workshops offered on any day of the conference may do so for an additional fee. If you have questions or concerns regarding the registration process please contact Kate kath539@earthlink.net.

We hope to see you there!

TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. (TYFA) is proud to announce the launch of TYFA-TALK!

TYFA_TALK is an online support group and referral source for parents, grandparents and guardians negotiating the journey of raising gender variant and transgender children ages 3-18. Members will be able to ask questions, gather information and seek support and referrals from TYFA Board Members and other parents, grandparents and guardians who are also raising gender variant and transgender children.

Prospective members will be asked to provide a brief bio including their first name and the first name and age of their child, along with a phone number at which they can be reached. Prospective members may be interviewed via telephone at the moderator’s discretion. All information will be held confidential, as TYFA_TALK is a members only group.

You may request membership by emailing shannong@imatyfa.org or by visiting TYFA_TALK-subscribe@yahoo.com.

We are excited about the opportunity to bring families together and provide a forum for support and information gathering. We look forward to hearing from you all!

Dear TYFA families, friends and allies,

We hope the New Year finds you well and in good spirits.  Here at TYFA, we are busy working with schools, social service agencies and health care providers to ensure that families with gender variant and transgender children are welcome and supported in their communities.  Our goal for every encounter is to educate and empower others so that they may understand how these children benefit from supportive and inclusive environments.

We want to share with you something exciting that is happening.  TYFA is currently experiencing an amazing influx of families requesting our educational and advocacy services.  This indicates two wonderful things, 1) families with gender variant and transgender children are reaching out and standing up for their special kids; 2) TYFA is being recognized as the “go to” organization for the support and guidance that they seek.  We couldn’t be more thrilled!

We continue to be committed to providing services to families without regard to their ability to compensate us for our expenses.  We currently have 17 open case files and most of these are new clients since January 1, 2008.  These numbers have already surpassed the total number of families we provided services for last year!

As with any education and advocacy effort, there are costs involved with bringing TYFA’s programs to these families.  Some examples of program costs are:

Staff In-service for local school
or service provider                           $250-$500
Staff In-service for out-of-state
school or service provider                $800-1200

These 17 families are located in 13 states and only 2 of them are “local” to one of our advocates.  The bottom line is: if all of these families end up needing on-site services, our total projected expenses could be as much as $12,000-$18,000.

Will you help us continue to provide these important services to families without regard to their ability to pay by providing funding for all or a portion of one of these programs?  Your contribution will directly influence the quality of life for one of these deserving children.

On another note,  in October of 2007, we launched the Ian Benson Project and Amethyst Ribbon Campaign, an awareness project to battle suicide among transgender youth.

Ian Benson was a 16 year old affirmed male who took his own life in October of last year.  Ian’s mother, TYFA Secretary/Treasurer, hopes that we can help other children and families avoid the pain and struggles that lead to suicide among transgender youth.  You may read more about this project and order ribbons by clicking on the Amethyst Ribbon.

We are very proud to announce that we have secured sponsorship for the Ian Benson Project.  A private donor from the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund made a donation of $20,000 for the development of programs and services specifically related to our suicide prevention outreach.  You can look forward to more information via email and our website about the development of this essential program.

We are overcome with gratitude for the generosity of our private donor.  We thank them from the bottom of our hearts…the loss of even one child is too many.

On behalf of all the courageous children and the families that love them, we ask you to be as generous as you can with a donation to TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. (TYFA), so that we may continue our work and keep up with the growing demand for our services.

If each and every person on our mailing list would find it in their heart to donate just $20, we would raise over $18,000.  If each individual coming to our website for the remainder of January would also contribute $20 we could raise an additional $48, 000. Think of the impact your $20 donation could have on the life of one of these children. You can make your tax deductible donation via paypal or credit card by clicking on the “Make a donation’ button.

With the greatest of appreciation,

TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. Board of Directors:

Kim Pearson, Executive Director
Shannon Garcia, President
Amy G., Secretary/Treasurer
Bruce Parker, II, MS, Director of Curriculum Development
“Just Evelyn” Director
Jamison Green, MFA, Director
Andrea James, MA, Director

TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. Advisory Committee

Kelley Winters, Ph.D.
Moonhawk River Stone, MS, LMHC,
Reid Vanderburgh, MA, LMFT

P.S.- We don’t want you to give until it hurts; we just want you to give until it feels good.  Any amount is appreciated and will provide support for our education and advocacy efforts on behalf of gender variant children and their families.

TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. is a 501(C)3 organization, therefore, all donations are tax deductible.  Our Tax ID number is 20-8050977.  Make checks payable to:

TYFA
P.O. Box 1471
Holland, MI.  49422-1471

TYFA board member “Just Evelyn” has just released the second edition of her amazing book “Mom I Need to be a Girl”, which chronicles how she facilitated her teen daughter’s transition more than 10 years ago.

Evelyn, the determined, single mom of 3, is the original pioneer of the work that TYFA is doing today. Her book is full of insight, wisdom and good old-fashioned common sense advice. It is a must read for parents and young transitioners alike (age 9 and up). We also recommend her book for the libraries of every care provider who works with children and adolescents.

“Mom I Need to be a Girl” (second edition) is now available for your personal library at Amazon.com for only…$15.99.

In a marvelous demonstration of her commitment to gender variant and transgender children, their families and TYFA’s mission of advocacy and education, Evelyn has decided to donate all profits from the sale of her book to TYFA. When you purchase your copy, you not only get to enjoy a wonderful and informative book, but you can also take pleasure and pride in knowing that you have helped to support TYFA children.

Special thanks to Evelyn for writing this remarkable book, her commitment to enlightening others, and for her incredibly generous donation.

“Knowledge is the prime need of the hour.”
                   –Mary McLeod Bethune 

Namasté,

Kim Pearson
Executive Director