Support Group for Parents of Trans* Children to meet in Limerick
Published: Friday May 6 2016
GOSHH, a Mid West charity based in Limerick in partnership with the Transgender Equality Network of Ireland (TENI) on May 16th at 7pm, will hold their second meeting of a group for parents of Trans* people.
Transparenci Limerick is the third group in Ireland for parents of Trans* people alongside groups already being held in Dublin and Carlow. TransParenCI is an open, monthly support group for parents of children or adolescents who self-identify under the ‘trans’ umbrella term. The space aims to be supportive and welcoming. The TransParenCI meeting provides a time where parents can gather to share experiences, difficulties, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and positive aspects of the process they are going through.
The group is led by facilitators who are experienced in managing distress and who are interested in the issues.
GOSHH – Gender Orientation Sexual Health HIV, have been providing support to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans* (LGBT) people in the Mid-West region for over 30 years. They support LGBT young people through one-to-one support, peer support groups, and awareness training for professionals working with young people. Over the last two years significantly more families have children or family members who identify as Trans* and have been engaging with their support services. This group began when a group of parents contacted GOSHH independently and asked for a space to meet other parents like themselves.
The group is a confidential, non-judgemental space for parents to talk about and share their experiences. “GOSHH are delighted that they can provide this space for families. Providing a space for parents to safely and confidentially explore experiences is vital to removing the stigma surrounding being Trans*, All parents share the instinctual urge to protect and keep their child safe from harm and through the support and information shared in TransParenCI, they may be more capable of doing this.’’ Says Patrick McElligott, LGBT Support Project Worker.
The Group will be meeting on the 16th May at 7pm at GOSHH, 18 Davis St. Limerick. If anyone would like to find out more information they can contact GOSHH on 061 314354 or email lgbt@goshh.ie
For more details please contact: Patrick McElligott, LGBT Support Project Worker 061 314354 lgbt@goshh.ie Ann Mason, Manager 061 314354 manager@goshh.ie