Transgender Health

Transgender and gender diverse populations experience poverty, homelessness, and illness at shockingly disproportionate rates. Among transgender adults across the U.S., nearly one in three have experienced homelessness, and nearly half report having negative or discriminatory experiences with a health care provider. Relatedly, studies show that transgender adults are significantly less likely to have flu shots and routine health care visits.

BHCHP’S transgender services program seeks to combat these intertwined injustices, from poor health and lack of access to care to poverty, homelessness, and isolation. Our clinicians and case managers maintain a specialized focus on transgender health, ensuring care is accessible, comprehensive, and respectful. And beyond serving individual patients, staff also provide training for current and future health providers, and engage in local and nationwide advocacy efforts to protect and promote transgender health and human rights.

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Our Impact

100

patients enrolled in transgender services program

patients attending weekly support group, on average

nurses attending monthly nurse chat, on average

Ensuring Access

BHCHP clinicians and case managers do outreach on the streets of Boston to connect with transgender people experiencing homelessness and engage them in care. And care doesn’t just happen within the walls of a clinic; staff meet patients offsite, wherever they are, to provide services as well as to accompany them to other health appointments. Case managers maintain close relationships with patients, providing linkages not just to the transgender services program but also to social support programs addressing basic needs—from housing to nutrition to legal services—that can often take precedence over health. Meanwhile, in the face of poverty and insurance loopholes, BHCHP covers the cost of injection supplies for hormone medications and maintains a dedicated fund to provide patients gender-affirming items such as wigs, chest binders, and makeup.

Quality Care

Transgender patients have access not only to targeted medical care like hormone management, but also to BHCHP’s wide array of other health services: from primary care to mental health care to specialized care for illnesses such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and substance use disorder. Care is coordinated across teams and provided with the utmost commitment to and respect for trans rights and safety. And beyond medicine, BHCHP has run a weekly transgender patient support group since 2008, offering a space for transgender people experiencing homelessness to connect with and support one another.

Thought Leadership

BHCHP staff offer expertise and educational opportunities in the realm of transgender health care to clinicians and policymakers state- and nationwide. The program hosts medical students from Boston University and Harvard University to learn about the intersection of homelessness and transgender identity directly from patients. The manager of our transgender services program, a nurse, lead a monthly web-based “nurse chat”—a forum for nurses around the country and world to connect and earn continuing education credits on topics including gender affirming care in the time of COVID-19; care for transgender and gender diverse adolescents; and sexual health post-gender-affirming surgery. Additionally, BHCHP staff sit on the Massachusetts Department of Health Transgender Advisory Board, MA Transgender Health Coalition, and a Governor’s Special Commission on the Health and Safety of LGBTQIA+ Individuals Incarcerated in the Commonwealth, advocating for improved protections for the state’s transgender population. And they present at nationwide conferences, including the National Health Care for the Homeless Conference , the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, and the U.S. Professional Association of Transgender Health. Staff bring patients to present alongside them, and assure they are compensated for their time and expertise.

“I keep connected to the transgender program because I always stay informed of all the resources that help my needs as a transgender woman. I invite all my LGBTQ+ friends to join the transgender program because I have been connected for years and it’s a great resource of information with the most experienced nurses, case managers, and doctors. Come join us and be a part of the great team.”

Natasha, patient

Make an Appointment

The best way to make an appointment is to call our main number at 857-654-1600. This phone line is answered Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm.

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Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program receives HHS funding and has Federal PHS deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.