Dr. Christine McGinn

One of the most pressing medical needs for some transgender and transsexual people is the need for surgical intervention that helps confirm their gender identity. The Jim Collins Foundation was started to provide grants to trans people for this purpose.

“The need is immense,” said Tony Ferraiolo, co-founder of the organization and a transgender youth advocate. “Many transgender people are not able to access the health care that they need, and this can lead to extremely unfortunate circumstances. These surgeries are life-saving.”

I agree that they are life-saving, because some transgender people attempt suicide when they are unable to access surgical care. Others who can’t access surgical care have their lives negatively affected in very serious ways. Some people feel continual anxiety, find going out of the house difficult, or find themselves subject to ridicule or assault. The world of romance and partnership is also made well-nigh impossible. Since the culture considers our lives a ridiculous joke, the idea of providing appropriate health-care if you aren’t rich is dismissed with a laugh. This is where the Jim Collins Foundation comes in.

The Foundation has announced its latest grantees.

The Jim Collins Foundation is a non-profit, all volunteer organization whose mission is to provide financial assistance to transgender people for gender-confirming surgeries. Founded by two transgender people in 2008, the organization operates on individual donations and is run by a board comprised of medical professionals, attorneys, and activists. Last year, the Jim Collins Foundation gave away its first grant to Drew Lodi, a transgender man on Medicaid who resorted to collecting cans towards his surgery expense.…read more at the Bilerico Project