GEELONG’S\u00a0 gender diverse community will have access to peer support and workshops next month at the region’s first Affirmation Station event.<\/p>\n
Organised in response to requests from Geelong’s transgender, gender diverse, gender questioning and non-binary community, the weekend-long event aims to empower people in their gender exploration.<\/p>\n
Transgender Victoria’s Hank Paul said these events provide essential social support.<\/p>\n
Collaborating with Geelong Rainbow to bring the event to the region, Paul said responding to community needs is at the core of Transgender Victoria’s work.<\/p>\n
“We are doing this in partnership with Geelong Rainbow, they’re on the ground and in community. We’re not trying to be the people from Melbourne coming out to the regions and telling you how to do it all.<\/p>\n
“Affirmation Stations are being driven by demand from our regional partners, and so our relationship with Geelong Rainbow is what’s informing the particular services we bring.”<\/p>\n
Across the weekend the Affirmation Station will run several trans-led events, including private sessions for binder fittings and peer navigation, and group-based trans femme and trans masc workshops.<\/p>\n
No matter where an individual is on in their gender journey, Paul said they are welcome in these confidential spaces.<\/p>\n
Paul hoped those who attend find new community connections and support that they can carry with them beyond the event.<\/p>\n
“Often when people think about people who are trans and people who are exploring their gender, there’s a lot of connections made around hormone therapies or different surgeries that people might want or need,” Paul said.<\/p>\n
“We don’t really touch that space, but we do pretty much everything else, so social support can look like helping someone navigate changing their legal ID, helping people find clothes that actually help affirm their gender, doing different workshops that help them sound the way that they identify.<\/p>\n
“On top of all those things, there’s a huge social aspect to it as well. We’re really determined to help trans people feel more connected to community, find other peers, other trans people that they can call friends and call mentors.”<\/p>\n
With disproportionately high representation in poor mental health, unemployment, and social isolation, supportive spaces are increasingly essential for the trans community.<\/p>\n
For those living in regional areas, Paul said peer support can be harder to find without events such as the Affirmation Station.<\/p>\n
“We love to go out and let these trans people know that they are celebrated for who they are, that there are other people like them in their town that they can connect with and find community with,” Paul said.<\/p>\n
Affirmation Station will be run in Geelong on 13-14 March, and bookings are essential.<\/p>\n
Further details can be found on Transgender Victoria’s website. These events are for transgender, gender diverse, gender questioning and non-binary people 16 years and over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GEELONG’S\u00a0 gender diverse community will have access to peer support and workshops next month at the region’s first Affirmation Station event. Organised in response to requests from Geelong’s transgender, gender diverse, gender questioning and non-binary community, the weekend-long event aims to empower people in their gender exploration. Transgender Victoria’s Hank Paul said these events provide […]<\/p>\n