The DC Trans Coalition and allied organizations have completed a new Washington, DC-area needs assessment study for transgender, transsexual and gender non-conforming populations living in the District of Columbia – the first research project of its kind in over a decade.
Many trans folks in DC face particularly great challenges gaining access to employment, basic health care, housing and shelter. Our research explores and documents many issues facing members of the trans community, including:
- General health and access to medical, mental and trans-sensitive health care
- Employment, underemployment and unemployment
- Housing and homelessness
- Interactions with police and the broader criminal justice system, including in jails
- Access to education, including violence in schools
- Immigration and documentation status
- Youth and elder-specific concerns
Documenting this information shows us what the greatest obstacles and issues facing trans folks are, allowing us to advocate more successfully for change with city officials, policy makers and organizations.
The project consisted of a series of community roundtable meetings, a follow-up survey, and a final written report of our findings.
Research and Results
- Access Denied: Washington, DC Trans Needs Assessment Report. Final report from our needs assessment project, November 2015.
- Preliminary Findings — Community Survey. Preliminary data from the survey phase of our research in infographic form, July 2013.
- Survey Instrument. The actual questionnaire used to build the data set for our reports.
- Summary Findings — Community Mapping Roundtables. A four page brief about the findings of the first phase of research, which involved mapping DC as a trans city and identifying survey questions, July 2011.
Community Partners
- DC Area Transmasculine Society
- HIPS
- Latin@s en Accion
- SMYAL
- Transgender Health Empowerment, Inc.(no longer in service)
- Casa Ruby
Supporting and Endorsing Organizations
- American University Queers and Allies
- Brighter Days Collective
- The DC Center
- Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC
- Rainbow Response Coalition
- Washington Peace Center
- Whitman-Walker Health
See also: Our blog posts about the Needs Assessment.
DC Trans Coalition 
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