Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA)

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A 501 (c) 3 organization that acts proactively with other concerned gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) organizations to ensure that transgender veterans will receive appropriate care for their medical conditions in accordance with the Department of Veteran Affairs Health Care System’s Customer Service Standards promise to “treat you with courtesy and dignity . . . as the first class citizen that you are.”

Contents

[edit] Purpose

The Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) was formed to address growing concerns regarding the fair and equal treatment of transgender veterans and active duty service members. As the number of visible gender-different people increases in general society, then so does the group of veterans and active duty service members who identify as such. TAVA's purpose is to educate the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense so that they may better understand the individuals they encounter who identify as being gender-different

[edit] History

TAVA grew out of the experiences and stories that were told through a Yahoo group called “TSVeterans,” a group formed specifically to talk about the various issues faced by transgender veterans. The related experiences with the federal Veteran’s Administration ranged widely between different facilities across the country. Some in the group had good experiences while others were deplorable.

Angela Brightfeather and Monica Helms, both members of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition’s Activism Committee, were struck by these stories, particularly one from a trans man by the name of Alex Fox. Mr. Fox was refused service at the Washington DC Veterans Administration facility when they found out he was trans. He drove 60 miles to the facility in Baltimore and was treated very well. Ms Brightfeather and Ms Helms initially thought that the NTAC committee could work on this issue but soon realized the scope of the problem was too large.

They found out that the main problem was in the vague language of the law governing the treatment of transgendered veterans which allowed so much variation between the different VA facilities. Because the scope of the problem was so large, Ms Brightfeather and Ms Helms convinced the NTAC to allow them to form a VA Committee to address these issues. Some of the members of the “TSVeterans” Yahoo group, however, were concerned that if they approached Congress about this issue they would lose the good treatment they already received from the VA. This concern became the centerpiece of the VA Committee’s work. The moderator of the Yahoo group, Robyn Walters, was very helpful in supporting these efforts by Ms Brightfeather and Ms Helms.

NTAC’s VA Committee existed for eighteen months, with Ms Helms as the Chair and Ms Walters as the Vice-Chair. The committee spent their time researching the problems transgender veterans had within the VA as well as how to effectively address them without endangering the good treatment that was being provided. They actively supported Human Rights Campaign (HRC,) Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) when they united to promote their “Profiles in Courage” program, designed to record the military experiences of GLBT veterans but were never listed as such because they were a committee and not an independent organization.

As the number and scope of the issues affecting transgender veterans grew, the realization came that the committee would soon be overwhelmed so on January 12, 2003, Ms Helms resigned from the NTAC board and started the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) as a Yahoo group. Ms Brightfeather and Ms Walters joined soon after, along with many other of the community’s activists.

Along with their transgender veterans advocacy work, since their formation with Ms Helms as President, TAVA has been involved with the Library of Congress’ “Veterans History Project” whose purpose is to record the history of the United State’s veterans, specifically those from World War 2. TAVA insured that the stories of transgender veterans were preserved along with the others. In addition, Ms Helm along with the assistance and presence of Mara Keisling from the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) lobbied congressional aides about the plight of many transgender veterans.

In May, 2004, after organizing more thoroughly and being incorporated in the State of California, TAVA made history with the first Transgender Veterans March to the Wall in Washington DC as well as being the first transgender group to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Despite some obstructions from intolerant people the ceremony went very well and Ms Brightfeather was rightfully praised as the main driving force and organizer behind the event. A short while later, on July 20, 2005, TAVA received their 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt status from the IRS, allowing them to apply for grants and large donations. Their goal of ensuring transgender veterans are treated equally in the VA still drives their efforts, but now they have access to more assets to work with.

Since then TAVA has continued to work providing help to transgender veterans in their dealings with the Veteran’s Administration as well as in other areas where a need has arisen. In 2005 TAVA worked to provide needed help to transgendered victims of Hurricane Katrina when they saw how badly relief organizations were treating them. They have begun starting regional chapters across the country. The growth has been both beneficial and problematic, providing challenges to their membership in handling the growth while still maintaining the services they were formed to provide. They continue to work with the Veterans Administration as well as with other advocacy organizations dedicated to repealing the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy implemented by Bill Clinton’s Department of Defense in the 1990’s. When a need arises and they can help, they ally themselves with other national transgender organizations in efforts to advance equal rights for all transgendered people.

[edit] External links

http://www.tavausa.org/

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