[News] [Australia] Trans Camp: Hopes new national gathering will become annual event
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Stephanie Stevens
Oct 21, 2016, 9:50:40 AM10/21/16
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ABC News, Australia
7.30
October 21, 2016
Trans Camp: Hopes new national gathering will become annual event
By Natalie Whiting
[Photo: Des said the support Trans Camp offered was really important.]
A prominent transgender rights activist hopes a new national camp for trans people will help members of the community overcome mental health issues sometimes experienced when transitioning.
Around 20 people attended the inaugural Trans Camp in Hobart, which organisers say was aimed at providing support and education.
One of the guest speakers at the event was Martine Delaney, who began transitioning in 2001 and has been a lobbyist and activist for 15 years.
"It's good to see a camp like this happening," Ms Delaney said.
"It's a very scary road to begin journeying down, to actually step out and say, 'I don't fit into the box I was squeezed into at birth.'
"A camp like this can provide people with an enormous amount of support to begin a journey or take the steps that they need to take to be able to live a healthy life, rather than be confronted with issues of drug and alcohol abuse, or possibly think about suicide.
"It's as serious as that for some people."
She said it was sad a camp such as this was necessary because "our society hasn't grown up sufficiently that people can be themselves without having to work up a lot of courage".
[Photo: Photo: Avery Holderness-Roddam decided to organise Trans Camp when he realised there were no national events like it in Australia.]
'Come and forget the stress of day-to-day life'
Organisers hope the event will become an annual fixture for the community.
"To my knowledge there are no other national trans camps happening so I thought, let's make it happen," said Avery Holderness-Roddam, the head of Transgender Tasmania.
"I just thought it would be nice to have a weekend where members of the trans community could just come and forget the stress that can often come with day-to-day life, and meet other trans people who are at a range of points on their journeys."
[Photo: Photo: Jess said being able to speak to other people who were transitioning had been really useful.]
One of the campers, Jess, said being able to speak to people in similar situations was invaluable.
"I'm definitely at the early stages of transitioning. I'm still kind of figuring out where to go, what I want. And being able to speak to people who understand that narrative is really useful," Jess said.
Another camper, Des, who identifies as non-binary, agreed. Des is about to begin medically transitioning.
"I think that the support side of things that Trans Camp is including is really, really important," Des said.
"It's such an incredibly positive thing for everybody, having that space, having those people, just feeling OK and expressing yourself. It's a really, really positive thing."
[Photo: Camp volunteer Cate Bessell explains different types of bras.]
'It can definitely be tough going clothes shopping'
Going clothes shopping can be a cause of anxiety for transgender people, so a few months before the camp Mr Holderness-Roddam put out a call on social media for clothing donations.
"I thought a few friends would donate clothes and suddenly we had hundreds and hundreds of clothes in masculine and feminie styles.
"We've got bags and scarves and shoes, people have donated make-up and nail polish and all sort of things. It's fantastic," he said.
"With most of the people [donating] they've not just gone, 'Hey I've got some clothes.' They've said, 'This is great you guys are doing this, I really want to help the trans community.'
"It's been really beautiful having all this positive energy being sent with the clothes."
Jess said she was grateful people had been so generous.
"It can definitely be tough going clothes shopping if you're transitioning or questioning even, because there's a lot of stigma.
"Even standing in the section where the clothes are being sold, for example — people assume you're buying for someone else."
[Photo: Hundreds of clothing items were donated to Trans Camp.]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-21/hopes-new-national-trans-camp-will-become-national-event/7905552
7.30
October 21, 2016
Trans Camp: Hopes new national gathering will become annual event
By Natalie Whiting
[Photo: Des said the support Trans Camp offered was really important.]
A prominent transgender rights activist hopes a new national camp for trans people will help members of the community overcome mental health issues sometimes experienced when transitioning.
Around 20 people attended the inaugural Trans Camp in Hobart, which organisers say was aimed at providing support and education.
One of the guest speakers at the event was Martine Delaney, who began transitioning in 2001 and has been a lobbyist and activist for 15 years.
"It's good to see a camp like this happening," Ms Delaney said.
"It's a very scary road to begin journeying down, to actually step out and say, 'I don't fit into the box I was squeezed into at birth.'
"A camp like this can provide people with an enormous amount of support to begin a journey or take the steps that they need to take to be able to live a healthy life, rather than be confronted with issues of drug and alcohol abuse, or possibly think about suicide.
"It's as serious as that for some people."
She said it was sad a camp such as this was necessary because "our society hasn't grown up sufficiently that people can be themselves without having to work up a lot of courage".
[Photo: Photo: Avery Holderness-Roddam decided to organise Trans Camp when he realised there were no national events like it in Australia.]
'Come and forget the stress of day-to-day life'
Organisers hope the event will become an annual fixture for the community.
"To my knowledge there are no other national trans camps happening so I thought, let's make it happen," said Avery Holderness-Roddam, the head of Transgender Tasmania.
"I just thought it would be nice to have a weekend where members of the trans community could just come and forget the stress that can often come with day-to-day life, and meet other trans people who are at a range of points on their journeys."
[Photo: Photo: Jess said being able to speak to other people who were transitioning had been really useful.]
One of the campers, Jess, said being able to speak to people in similar situations was invaluable.
"I'm definitely at the early stages of transitioning. I'm still kind of figuring out where to go, what I want. And being able to speak to people who understand that narrative is really useful," Jess said.
Another camper, Des, who identifies as non-binary, agreed. Des is about to begin medically transitioning.
"I think that the support side of things that Trans Camp is including is really, really important," Des said.
"It's such an incredibly positive thing for everybody, having that space, having those people, just feeling OK and expressing yourself. It's a really, really positive thing."
[Photo: Camp volunteer Cate Bessell explains different types of bras.]
'It can definitely be tough going clothes shopping'
Going clothes shopping can be a cause of anxiety for transgender people, so a few months before the camp Mr Holderness-Roddam put out a call on social media for clothing donations.
"I thought a few friends would donate clothes and suddenly we had hundreds and hundreds of clothes in masculine and feminie styles.
"We've got bags and scarves and shoes, people have donated make-up and nail polish and all sort of things. It's fantastic," he said.
"With most of the people [donating] they've not just gone, 'Hey I've got some clothes.' They've said, 'This is great you guys are doing this, I really want to help the trans community.'
"It's been really beautiful having all this positive energy being sent with the clothes."
Jess said she was grateful people had been so generous.
"It can definitely be tough going clothes shopping if you're transitioning or questioning even, because there's a lot of stigma.
"Even standing in the section where the clothes are being sold, for example — people assume you're buying for someone else."
[Photo: Hundreds of clothing items were donated to Trans Camp.]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-21/hopes-new-national-trans-camp-will-become-national-event/7905552
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