Our History Transgender Health and Wellness Center – TRANSGENDER HEALTH & WELLNESS CENTER

The Transgender Health & Wellness Center began as the Transgender Community Coalition (TCC). It is a certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In the

beginning, its purpose was to raise funds for the first Transgender Day of Remembrance. Due to the strong demand by Southern California’s Transgender,

gender non-conforming, and intersex community, we became the largest Transgender organization in the Inland Empire, serving the needs of the local TGI

community. Our dedicated team works in volunteer positions in a wide range of social services—including HIV/AIDS education, housing, employment,

linkage to care, legal counseling, and other support needs. Our mission is for this community to reach their highest potential. With over 40 active volunteers,

the TH&WC serves in a wide variety of volunteer positions in other community organizations. We do this to ensure that Trans people are visible and have a

voice within the wider LGBTQ community. Partner organizations include:

Desert AIDS Project
Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast
National Transgender HIV Testing Day
Cathedral City LGBT Days
Desert Stonewall Democrats
National Center of Lesbian Rights
Human Rights Campaign
Equality California
TruEvolution
Borrego Health Care Foundation
Eisenhower Medical Center
Congressman Raul Ruiz
Inland Empire Health Plan
ViiV Healthcare
Department of Justice
Cars of Yester-Year
The LGBT Community Center
Temple Isaiah/ Jewish Community Center
Bloom in the Desert Ministries
Safe Schools of the Desert
Latina Coalition
Operation SafeHouse
Sanctuary Palm Springs
Palm Springs Unified School District
Girl Scouts
College of the Desert Gay-Straight Alliance
APAIT
Riverside County Public Health
Riverside County Department of Mental Health
Icon City Entertainment Organization
Transgender Service of Excellence

In 2017, the Trans Center was recognized by Travelocity as being one of the main organizations that make Palm Springs the best place to live.

The Trans Center has served over 3,000 people since 2018, with over 1,100 new enrollments in 2021, linking them to medical and mental health care, legal

services, housing, employment, and other resources. The TH&WC has facilitated training for approximately 1,200 healthcare professionals in the last year

alone. The ongoing mission is to train other Trans people to provide education on healthcare education, human resources, career, and HIV. This includes

developing possible future employment skill-sets.

The TH&WC monitors correctional institutions to ensure that LGBTQ inmates are free from sexual violence, and are provided valuable resources for

rehabilitation and safe community re-entry. The Center responds to hundreds of letters a year from inmates. The TH&WC created the Raina Chessman Fund

—named after a Transgender woman from Palm Springs who was murdered in Whitewater, California in 1999. The funds raised help the local Transgender

community during life crises. The Center recognizes that many Transgender people do not have access to family support and employment—

often as a consequence for living their authentic lives. In 2017, 9,434 people were educated about Raina and the Fund; and 323 people participated in either

supporting the Fund or borrowing from it. TGMondays, which is held on the second Monday of each month at Bongo Johnny’s Patio Bar and Grille, was

created to help raise money for the Raina Chessman Fund.

With the assistance of the Desert AIDS Project, the Center received a 100-foot Transgender Pride flag to march in the annual Palm Springs Pride Parade. This

flag is used to unify the Transgender community. It sends the message that Transgender people exist and deserve equality. We share the flag with other

cities so that they too can generate awareness. The Center brought the Transgender Day of Remembrance to the next level in Palm Springs by providing

special guests—like national Transgender leaders Mya Taylor and Aydian Dowling. The first Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial Cenotaph Statue

was created by the renowned artist, Heath Satow in memory of all the Transgender people who have lost their lives to hate and violence.

MISSION:

We aim to be the preeminent provider of services for—and of support to—the Inland Empire’s Trans community.

VISION:

We aspire to provide a safe, prosperous, and healthy environment for Transgender people across Southern California.

Remember, change starts with you.

VALUES:

Transgender people can be straight, gay, bisexual, or asexual; and may be intersex, gender fluid, or any variety of queer non-binary. We serve the full

spectrum of people; and seek to foster a healthy, welcoming environment for marginalized communities.

PHILOSOPHY:

We believe that the Transgender people are entitled to the freedom to live how they want to live – empowered as self-actualized humans who are in control

of their own lives. This is accomplished by providing the necessary resources for each person to thrive in the identity they choose.

EQUITY:

Those who live outside of the gender-binary world often pay a physical, emotional, and economic toll when trying to realize their constitutional rights. They

often find themselves alone—or even outcast—when attending to their well-being. We create an environment that nurtures Trans people who are

dispossessed, alienated, or lost. We do this by opening doors–providing access to vital services that make a fulfilling life possible. We help those contending

with healthcare needs, legal problems, mental health issues, and homelessness—opening new vistas of possibility. We know how important it is to fully

actualize one’s own right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

ADVOCACY:

We believe strongly in advocacy. That’s why we stand up for those who need a voice. In providing support for Trans people in Southern California, we help

protect vulnerable people from possible retaliation. We work diligently to address on-going problems, and strive to change laws in order to ensure that all

people can have dignity and respect. That’s why we have earned our reputation as a trusted ally for California’s Trans community.