3/10/09

One in 50 US Child Homeless-Texas Ranks Worst at Number 50

March 10, 2009 by Kelli Busey planetransgender

Texas ranks last overall according to a report released March 10 by the National Center on Family Homelessness "America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness".

The report is the first comprehensive compilation of data which enables a state by state comparison. Families that find themselves without secure housing are reluctant to enter the prison like state funded emergency shelters out of fear of being broken apart.

Many families now forsake this option and live on the streets and these numbers are rising exponentially in the face of spiraling double digit unemployment.

Children are the innocent victims suffering lifelong effects from insecurity, unavailability of education and medical care, social interaction issues, malnutrition and violence.

In short, Texas(50), Louisiana(46), Mississippi(41) and South Carolina(39) four of the five states that the republican governors have threatened to refuse extended unemployment benefits offered by the federal government are also rated among the very worst in the report.

These four states have all the necessary ingredients to produce a societal failure of unimaginable proportions. Drug usage, violent crime and a out of control rise in the prison population is already in evidence in Texas, it being
number one in the percentage of imprisoned per population.

The 10 best........10 worst states.

1. Connecticut.....50. Texas
2. New Hampshire...49. Georgia
3. Hawaii..........48. Arkansas
4. Rhode Island....47. New Mexico
5. North Dakota....46. Louisiana
6. Minnesota.......45. Nevada
7. Wisconsin.......44. North Carolina
8. Massachusetts...43. Florida
9. Maine...........40. Kentucky
10. Vermont........41. Mississippi

Take Action

With the release of the new report America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness, the National Center on Family Homelessness challenges advocates, policymakers, funders, and service providers to end to this tragedy. Join this effort to ensure that all of our nation’s children have homes to call their own.

Click on this link to learn about ways to get more involved.

Full report at homelesschildrenamerica.org

3/9/09

Defamatory Language as Defined by The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)






The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.





http://www.glaad.org/about/index.php

ACLU of Florida : No place for discrimination in Gainesville


There is no place for discrimination in Gainesville.

Join the ACLU of Florida and Equality is Gainesville's Business in our fight against discrimination.

The far right has targeted Gainesville with its anti-gay agenda, and is trying to repeal human rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. This effort, which targets one of the most progressive cities in Florida, is part of a broader attack aimed at taking away protections from discrimination for LGBT people in Florida and throughout the nation. We must stop this effort and send the clear message: discrimination stops here!

Click Here to Check out volunteer opportunities, and get involved in ACLU of Florida and Equality is Gainesville's Business campaign to end discrimination.

No Discrimination Against Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

Amnesty International USA
No Discrimination Against Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

On March 6, 2009, Senator Kyl (R-WI) introduced an amendment to the Omnibus bill that would deny Palestinian refugees from Gaza resettlement protection. The US is not likely to resettle this population in 2009, and therefore, the amendment is not only discriminatory but also unnecessary. Contrary to 30 years of extending protection to refugees on the basis of need, the Kyl amendment seeks to discriminate against an entire group based on nationality alone. Tell your Senator that this discriminatory amendment must be defeated.

Take Action! Send your Congress person a message via Amnesty International USA

The 17th Annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet - May 2, 2009


The 17th Annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet - May 2, 2009

2009 Press Release!

The Houston Transgender Unity Committee has opened ticket sales for the annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet, which will be held on Saturday, May 2, at the Sheraton Brookhollow (3000 North Loop West), 6:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. Tickets are $50 in advance ($60 at the door) and can be purchased through Ticketweb at the Unity Committee website, www.htuc.org. Tickets are also available at Vanity: A Trans-formation Studio (1440 Yale, 832/767-3252), the Heights boutique.

Proceeds from Unity Banquet ticket sales support the Peggy Rudd Transgender Scholarship Fund. The Unity Committee will present two scholarships at the banquet to trans-identified students pursuing higher education. The Rudd Scholarship application is available at the Unity Committee website. The application deadline is March 16.

Scott Turner Schofield, the Atlanta-based transgender performance artist, is the 2009 Unity Banquet keynote speaker. During the banquet, representatives from other local transgender groups will make presentations about their work. These groups include Helping TransGenders Anonymous, STAG/Some Transgenders Are Guys, Transgender Foundation for America TG Center, Tau Chi chapter of Tri-Ess, the Society for the Second Self, and Texas Association for Transsexual Support,

Unity Banquet sponsors (as of February 19) are Charles Armstrong Investments, Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church, Phyllis Randolph Frye, Zukowski Center for Plastic Surgery, Denise O’Doherty, and Legacy Community Health Services.

Unity Banquet sponsorships are available at a range of levels, from $75 to $2,000 to underwrite the Brenda Thomas Education Table, named in honor of Thomas (1943-2006), the activist and educator and longtime Unity Committee executive director. Interested individuals and companies may contact the committee via www.htuc.org.

A silent auction held during the banquet will raise additional funds to support Unity Committee programs.

The Houston Transgender Unity Committee is the nonprofit consortium of area trans organizations. In addition to the Unity Banquet, Unity Committee projects include Unity Month in April and Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. Committee representatives frequently speak to schools, businesses, and organizations.

“Disordered” No More: Challenging Transphobia in Psychology, Academia and Society

IFGE 2009 Conference Workshop Presented by
Joelle Ruby Ryan, Ph.D Candidate, Julia Serano, Ph.D. and Kelley Winters, Ph.D.

Transgender people have long been the whipping boy/girl for all of society to use as a source of revenue and those who question this maginalized. Challenging the continued transgender subordination and the associated industries profiteering are three scholars who's dissertations debunk and and expose the lies that have empowered profiteers and rendered helpless us who must live authentically or die.

Online report compiled by Lynn Conwayfound here.

Trans News Updates: 3-9-09 Compiled by Lynn Conway