From Our New Outreach Worker

by Tanya

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Do I go for an H.I.V. test? Which doctors can I trust? If I'm post-op, can I still get H.I.V.? How will my drug use affect my Hepatitis C? What do I do if I've been sexually assaulted? Now that I'm positive, what will hormones do to my health? Which condoms won't break on me? Can I share the needles I use to inject hormones? Where can I go for detox when I get sick of using?

What does an H.I.V. Outreach Worker do?

Although I have met some of our transgender readers in person in the past few weeks, I am using this opportunity to introduce myself and the service which I am now responsible for. My name is Tanya and I am the new H.I.V. Outreach Worker for the Gender Centre. This is the role that was previously carried our by Camille, who a lot of you will remember well.

H.I.V. Outreach sounds like a very limited job, because there are only so many condoms and fits that can be given out, but outreach is not just about prevention. H.I.V. has proven itself to be a disease that affects people not just physically, but socially, emotionally, psychologically and economically. My concerns, then, are around the health of clients of the Gender Centre in a number of different ways.

The point of this little introduction is to let you know that on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I will be available as an outreach worker for:

• Safe using and safe sex equipment, at the Centre, on the street, or wherever the need is arising (so to speak);
• Health information, not just about H.I.V., but other relevant areas as well such as other sexually transmitted diseases, injecting hormones, safe sex work, and many other health concerns that trannies encounter. Home visits. If for any reason you would like us to visit you at home, please call and we will arrange a time;
• Hospital and prison visits. Trannies are often at their most vulnerable when in the hands of the jail or medical system. If you or someone you know is experiencing any difficulties with these, or simply needs some support or questions answered, then this is another branch of outreach that we are here for; and
• Questions, questions, questions. If there is something that you would like to know about H.I.V., or one of the many trannie specific health areas; then please feel free to call me. If I don't know the answer, and nobody in the Centre does either, we will do our best to find out for you.

Above all, we want our clients to make as informed decisions as possible, so please don't hesitate to call.

If I've left something out, let me know. That's the best way of making the service as helpful as possible.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.