Past Programs
G.I.F.T.
Guaranteed Income for Transgender People
Winter 2022
Guaranteed Income for Transgender People (G.I.F.T.) provided economically marginalized transgender people with unrestricted, monthly guaranteed income as a way to combat poverty our most impacted community members face.
The Transgender District and Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, in partnership with municipal city departments in the City and County of San Francisco, provided 55 Transgender residents of San Francisco County with $1,200 a month in guaranteed income for a year and a half.
The program prioritized enrollment of Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex (TGI) people who are also Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), experiencing homelessness, living with disabilities and chronic illnesses, youth and elders, monolingual Spanish-speakers, and those who are legally vulnerable such as TGI people who are undocumented, engaging in survival sex trades, or are formerly incarcerated.
H.O.T.T.
Housing Opportunities for Transgender Tenants
2021
The Housing Opportunities for Trans Tenants (H.O.T.T.) Program was a housing subsidy program whose main goal is to provide equitable, stable, gender affirming and permanent housing opportunities for transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex individuals living in the San Francisco Bay Area. HOTT highlights The Transgender District’s various program initiatives, which include Tenant Protections, Economic and Workforce Development, Arts and Culture, Culture and Heritage Preservation, Cultural Competency, Land Use, and Trans Empowerment.
Housing Opportunities for Trans Tenants (HOTT) aimed to provide equitable, stable, and gender affirming housing opportunities for TGNC-identified individuals, and tackle the disproportionate housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area that has displaced many long-time residents as a result of gentrification and a drastic increase in rent prices. The transgender community has been, and continues to be, a prominent aspect of the rich and diverse culture in San Francisco.
Know Our Place
Transgender Visibility Campaign
Spring 2021
KnowOurPlace was a 2021 Public Awareness Campaign promoting historic placemaking and Trans resilience through public and social media streams. Launched via this interactive webpage, print and digital BART posters, and a full scale print billboard in the SoMa district of San Francisco, the campaign aimed to bolster the recognition of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) efforts throughout San Francisco and in the world at large. Conceptualized by an all TGNC team and featuring all TGNC models, Know Our Place presents the unique stories and strivings of our Transgender and Gender Non-conforming models, while also highlighting the groundbreaking initiatives of The Transgender District.
With the artistic direction of Juniper Yun, then Director of Cultural Affairs at the District, this campaign featured models Jupiter Peraza (former Director of Social Justice & Empowerment Initiatives), Ivory Nicole (Rest in Power), Christian Washington (comfort collective), Eli Chi, Aroma, and Destiny Gong. Photos by Karen Santos, website by cato wheeler.
Visual Storytelling
Video project
2020
We firmly believe in acknowledging the rich history, resilience, and culture of transgender people in the western world- a culture that birthed and cultivated the gay liberation movement to what it is today. Our hopes are that this project highlights the lives, stories, experiences, and voices of transgender people- from transgender youth to transgender elders, in a way that is humane and celebratory.
Visual storytelling projects have existed in the past for transgender people, though the focus was primarily from a "cisgender gaze”- e.g., highlighting medical transition or HIV/AIDS. This project was led, directed and facilitated by transgender people themselves with the hope of showcasing the expansive lives transgender people lead in the world, from all walks of life.
Our Visual Storytelling Project planned to feature the stories of 25 transgender people, via singular and panel interviews, highlighted through visual media on social media, the internet, and through exhibitions.
Due to COVID-19, we had to postpone future recordings. Before the Shelter-in-Place order, we hosted a 2 day gathering. Day 1 participants went through a day-long Storytelling Workshop, preparing them for recording their stories for camera, facilitated by long standing community stakeholder, and current Co-Executive Director, Breonna McCree. Day 2, we filmed the stories of 9 beautifully unique trans people: they got the full experience, catered meals, MUAs, and community building between sessions.