He She Ze and We

He She Ze and We Family Connections Program:Positive social interactions with peers is essential for healthy social, intellectual, and emotional development of all children. There is a nationwide attack on Transgender and Nonbinary Youth which is negatively impacting our families. The Virginia General Assembly has dozens of anti-trans bills in the 2023 session. During these extremely volatile times in our society, He She Ze and We brings families together to foster the growth of community close to home. Trans youth and their families need to know that they are seen, understood, accepted, and celebrated! Family Connections programming takes families out into their local communities to feed their souls by engaging in group activities...just for fun! We launched this pilot program in Hampton Roads and Central Virginia in early 2022 and expanded to other regions in the summer. This program compliments our educational support for adult family members by inviting siblings into the mix so that they too feel supported and valued, as well as experience first hand the natural variances of gender identity and expression amongst peers. For each locality, various relationships are forming with other organizations and businesses that are willing to provide a welcoming environment. We have organizers training to build our Family Connections Program in Lynchburg and New River Valley. The goal is to lift up this vibrant community and help our children not only survive, but THRIVE! We expect to have 6 Family Connections groups in 2023.

Transgender Cultural Competency Training Program--A Professional Development Opportunity: Educating families is only part of the solution to creating a safe and welcoming community for transgender and nonbinary individuals. Knowledge dislodges fear and can begin changing hearts and minds. HSZ&W strives to increase awareness and acceptance of gender variances beyond the traditional binary system to a larger audience. We were not able to track the number of attendees through our training program in 2022 though we worked with schools, businesses, community organizations, medical and mental health providers. HSZ&Ws informational sessions cover the basics about gender identity, the history of gender variances beyond the traditional binary system, and encourages best practices to include a look at gender diversity. Our executive director will consult with clients and design a program that fits their needs. Attendees have the opportunity to apply new concepts in workshop style break out sessions, if time permits, to think through a variety of scenarios in a small group setting. Each session ends with Q & A. HSZ&W empowers attendees and helps build confidence around the topic of gender identity. Followup includes a satisfaction survey and comprehensive resources. With financial support, HSZ&W will be able to increase our capacity by adding new facilitators and continuing education for the training team. Equally important, HSZ&W will meet the growing number of requests to bring our training to schools and community groups or agencies regardless of their budget.

Educational Support Program: Parents/guardians and adult family members need accurate information about gender identity to feel more comfortable accepting their transgender child, of any age. The magic of a peer-led support meeting occurs when a new person shows up with a variety of raw emotions; listens to someone that has a little or a lot more lived experience; and leaves feeling relieved and less alone. Sharing lived experiences and trusted resources with the help of skilled and knowledgeable co-facilitators is what makes He She Ze and We meetings a brave and non-judgmental space for all attendees. Morning and evening options are available to reach caregivers with varied work schedules. In-person and virtual options allow for access statewide. Multiple facilitators make room for a variety of perspectives, including a monthly BIPOC meeting and Interfaith meeting. HSZ&W currently holds 12 educational support meetings each month with the goal to expand to 2-3 more.

Education--Guest Speaker Program benefiting HSZ&W Families and the Greater Community:Possibility Models, a term coined by Laverne Cox. It is always best practice to listen and learn directly from The Transgender Community by lifting and centering their voices. He She Ze and We has the privilege to work with Transgender and Nonbinary individuals as they are the true experts of their own lived experience. Who better to teach us than them? Our guest speaker events are always the most widely attended and the most impactful. This year we are inviting groups we have trained to attend these sessions as a way to continue their education. We also invite extended family plus trans and nonbinary individuals and their siblings to attend these inspirational and educational events. The goal in 2023 is to be able to increase our stipend to our guest speakers to a more equitable fee. We also hope to host in person events and professionally film them to begin developing a video library that can be used to inspire new families. Financial support would make this goal a possibility, assisting us to continue our high impact guest speaker program while also creating a professional level training tool that will be invaluable.