My meeting today

I am actively involved in the well-being of transgenders suffering with substance abuse issues and attended a meeting about the future of support agencies today. There is very little qualitative or quantitative data available on the transgender community with regards alcoholism and drugs addiction, it seems we are a forgotten enclave. I have my own views as to why this may be and fundamental to these, is the issue that the gender clinics take a dim view of individuals with substance issues and are reluctant to offer gender therapies to those suffering substance issues. I believe that this has led to a culture of non disclosure amongst individuals seeking to transition. I also believe that as a consequence, individuals are not seeking help from the support agencies with their substance abuse issues. Furthermore, residential recovery facilities have little understanding for specific needs of the transgender individual, resorting to an umbrella LGBT approach to application of anti discrimination policy rather than the practicalities of a transgenders needs. Few if any, have policy on provision of facilities. Which toileting facilities they can use, which gender specific groups they attend, right to the point of accommodation, pre-op sharing with men or women? Or worse still, accommodated alone. Few residential centres know, let alone follow the prescribed legislation, not to surprising that transgenderd individuals rarely seek help with substance problems. It will be no shock that we suffer much torment and trauma coming to terms with are transgenderd condition, along with this, many resort to damaging use of drugs, alcohol and prescribed medication, suffering silently.

I am sorry for painting such a bleak picture of the situation, but it is soon to be made even worse with the protected status of addiction support being withdrawn, and with the centralisation of NHS funding this mean that the addiction services will be competing for funding in the same arena as every other service. Inevitably the drugs and alcohol services will loose out as it lacks the sympathetic eye of the populous wholesale. My conclusion is where we were under regarded in the first place in terms of support for substance issues, we will be even less provided for in the new future, I would imagine this will remain the same long term also.