So thrilled, but could use some advice here.

[Melody Moore]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted let everyone know how thrilled I am today after being voted in as the
inaugural chairperson for my local transgender support group. Next meeting we will be
taking nominations and electing the rest of the committee & drafting up key policies
that will define our agenda & mission statement & remove any of the discrimination &
vilification that has existed previously towards other members & so that the support
group doesn't ever become exclusive of any person in need our support.

My involvement in this forum has given me so much insight & taught me a lot I never knew
about other gender variants in the transgender spectrum & about many of the problems,
stigmas, bigotry discrimination etc., that does exist in the transgender community. My only
hope is to help eliminate some of those issues from my local TG community. So thank you
for all those who have contributed to this here.

My proposals for our support group have been met with overwhelming acceptance from my
local gender clinic with the leading doctor personally calling me up to pledge his full support.
My local government funded LGBT community where I have also been involved in the
organisation & promotion of our regular social events are also fully support my proposals.

But the biggest surprise I got was a few days ago when I was also made an administrator
for our local Women's Support Group and will be linking many different groups like our local
women's group into an affiliation with our transgender group. My idea here is to enable social
networking & better support from the natal females in our community who are willing to help
those male to female transsexuals in transition.

My belief that is as a community we will only get out of it what we are prepared to put into it
& cohesion is also key for any support group to do that in a process that is diplomatic, fair &
with non-discriminatory policies.

Some members in my group have some fears & reservations about personal security etc., by
opening up a social front for what is essentially a hidden transsexual support group so these
issues have also got to be addressed, but the group has been slowly dying a slow death
because it has been hidden away in the shadows & receives no funding or proper support.

So any suggestions an advice you might have about how
to tackle some of those issues would also be appreciated.

If you have any other ideas I could use for my support group, by all
means I am keen to hear them. Thank you for making a difference. :)

[CharleneT]

Most support groups, or splinter political groups suffer the same problem. The active members are at first very active, everyone loves their input and energy and things get roaring along. Then after a while, those doing most (if not all) of the work look around for some help. But it is not there. So, my advice is very general, try and avoid over-using your active members for everything because they will and it needs to ge done. Find a way to get the work distributed around. Burnout in volunteer groups is very common and hard to avoid.

GOOD LUCK, it sounds like you are becoming quite the local hero for TS folks ;) You go girl !!

[Melody Moore]

Thanks Charlene for that - commitment is also an issue affecting transgender group
volunteers as well because so many of us are also dealing with our own issues. At
this point of my life I feel as though I am on top of my issues & ready for this challenge,
but I also consider that if everything is left up to me or like you say to just a few core
members to organise, then it easy to become burnt out with it.

At last month's meeting I gained the full support of significant long term transgender member of the
community, who is considered the matriarch to the local transgender community that came out of the
woodwork suddenly. We spent some time together discussing the issues that affect the local community
because she had tried previously to set up something like I am doing now, but failed to get the support
she needed - but maybe this group wasn't ready and there was not enough enthusiasm group to get such
a proposal off the ground. But I am feeling quietly confident now that with people like her now onside and
with the same ideas or agenda as I have that this is the time for a major change in our support group.

One thing I really pointed out to the members today was that we will only get out of it what we are willing
to put into it and that we can all do our part to help the group while staying in the background if they want,
because some members are not so interested in the group on a social level, as opposed to a support level.

Something else pretty amazing is that Paige Phoenix, a Female to Male Transsexual just won a spot in Australian
X-factor (http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?159204-F-M-Transsexual-wins-spot-in-Australian-X-Factor-Show%21) and his motivation is to promote trans-awareness. He offered me an interview for the magazine I write
for which is absolutely fantastic! I see this as an opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and there is so much
support lately coming from the Australian community for people like Paige - check his video out I posted on that link.

Paige is a real hottie ;)

[SweetIonis]

Melody, I have an idea that maybe you could use for your support group. Perhaps you could start a "Big Sister" mentoring program for MtoF TS. There may be more experience members who are willing to spend time offering support for those who are just starting out. These more experienced persons could be designated as Big Sisters. Then the more neophyte members could contact them or spend time with them and get advice and support.

Just an idea.

[Melody Moore]

Thank you for that input Ionis, because that was something that we discussed today that when new members
want to join the group, they get assigned a mentor who will be their buddy & advocate to help them to get the
right support through our local gender clinic & even go with them if they need that type of support when they
attend their initial appointments.

This was brought up to also help to assess their commitment to transition & determine their suitability to be in a new
transsexual support program that I am proposing for the group. There are transsexuals there that don't want to be
part of any other activities involving crossdressers on any sort of a social level for example, so the idea is to provide
a social network of support with other affiliated transgender related support groups to direct those gender variants
to the right groups & have a separate program for those who have GID, on hormones & undergoing transition.

However there will be public social events that will be fund raisers that will allow the entire transgender
community to come together. Those transsexuals that don't want to be part of it won't be forced to.

My aim is to set up a social program of fund raising events to help the transsexual community with group
vocal feminisation therapy & cosmetic treatments like laser treatments & electrolysis etc. There are also funds
available for projects like this through government grants. But I already know that my proposal for the fund
raising events will also be fully supported by my local LGBT community & Women's Support Group because
all of these groups all have unity as their main agenda in the local LGBT community.

This proposal has been met very favourably because it addresses those in the most amount of need of these
types of services to help them transition back into society in their new gender roles. This proposal has also
been fully supported by my local government funded gender clinic. So I am really hoping to win this one for us ;)

What other needs could we address or ideas do you have that could be beneficial to the transsexual community?

[morgan51]

Good luck to you Melody I wish you every success. Sounds like your endevors are off to a great start

[Kaitlyn Michele]

Good luck Melody.
mentoring is brilliant...it saves lives, and it minimizes the chance for huge mistakes that many of us make over and over

fund raising is a difficult proposition, and good luck with it.
i did fund raising my whole life..

if you over specify the use of money, you will get less funds, and you will find yourself in a difficult position because its inevitable you will want to make changes..
if you change the purpose of the $$ at any time, you lose credibility..

people won't likely find it compelling to help us with cosmetic procedures, but they will easily find it compelling to help transsexuals improve their quality of life in an unforgiving world
remember you are aiming at the cisgendered world for fundraising..we dont have the $$, THEY do..!
transsexuals know how important voice training and laser can be..the rest of the world doesnt care nearly as much...educating about suicide prevention, inability to find jobs, denial of health care and other services is something everyone can understand..

also you would be well served to use your group to get the word out to electrologists and voice doctors than giving people $$ to pay for services... i know in the states, many electrologists foolishly shun us when we are an incredibly motivated customer..
by educating service providers you become less of a gatekeeper (helping only those who actually get funds) and more of an advocate..

maybe even try to raise money to train some ts women as electrologists, providing jobs and services at the same time ...what a success story is your group could train some unemployed ts folk that use community investment to actually build a small business..
just my 2 cents..

[SweetIonis]

Kaitlyn, education and training are excellent ideas!

Melody, along those same lines perhaps you could offer scholarships to TG folks trying to get an education. As this would be something with appeal to the younger crowd it would also have the effect of training and educating effective leadership for the future. You could have a competition where each contestant is to write an essay on a topic, say something like: What to you feel is the most important issue facing transgendered people in our society and what can be done about it. It would also draw some attention to your group from younger people.

[Louise C]

Hi Melody, congratulations! i really think you deserve this position if your contribution here is anything to go by!

How about some form of education for employers in your area - you could get a small team of your best people together and have some form of presentation or maybe something less informal? I would like to think that i will eventually be able to help other GD people and educate the masses (65,000!) where i live.

Just a thought.......:)

[SweetIonis]

Melody, I was thinking about you today. A couple of more ideas. These should be organized with local media, because I think they can create a good positive image for your group. The first thing is that you could pick someone from an economically disadvantaged community and take a day and do some repairs on their home. Another thing is that you could pick a weekend and go to a park or some other public area and do something like pick up the trash and/or trim the vegetation.