SOCIAL SERVICES
Transgender Latinas Find a Refuge in Queens
By JULIE TURKEWITZ and JULIET LINDERMAN
December 2, 2012, 11:00 amhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/for-transgender-latinas-a-refuge-in-queens-away-from-streets/
PHOTO: Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Cecilia Gentili, left.Since 2008, a growing number of transgender Latinas have gathered in Queens every Friday night, discussing challenges unfamiliar to many New Yorkers: Where do I buy female hormones without a prescription? How do I avoid the police when reporting a drug overdose? Who can help me find a lawyer familiar with asylum petitions?
Conducted in Spanish, the sessions are aimed at those who have emigrated, most illegally, from Latin American countries where violence toward gay and transgender people is common. The group provides participants with concrete knowledge and life skills. But above all, it is a refuge that helps build self-esteem and unites a community.
The group meets in a tiny conference room in Jackson Heights. On a recent Friday, the space was filled and the group's facilitator, Cecilia Gentili, stood in front as Deyanira Santamaria told the story of a man she loved who scalded her with boiling water. She still bears the scars.
When she finished, other participants surged toward Ms. Santamaria, stroking her hair and squeezing her shoulders. "From that love you've lost," Ms. Gentili told her, "you now have the love of all of us."
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For more information, contact the
AIDS Center of Queens County
