OC transgender organization meets fear with action in polarizing times

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Alianza Translatinx serves as the first Orange County organization led by transgender people of color.

Their goal is to provide the community with direct medical and mental health services, housing assistance and support groups.

"We make sure that we continue to uplift the voices of trans people by going to city meetings and advocating for the rights of our community," CEO Khloe Rios-Wyatt said.

People who take advantage of Alianza Translatinx's resources said it is lifesaving.

"It means the world because I don't have a place to stay right now, and here's where I come to do my activities throughout the day," client Claudia Vazquez said.

Peer navigator Michelle Darmary said, "We provide a safe space for our youth to come together, and to be able to identify and to present however they like."

Since taking office in January, President Trump has signed several executive actions aimed at the transgender community.

Trump has banned transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, ordered the government to only recognize male and female sexes, restricted gender-affirming care for trans youth under 19 and prohibited transgender people from serving openly in the military.

Alianza Translatinx said they're being targeted for existing.

"The trans community is way less than 1% of the population in our nation, and I think this administration is targeting a very vulnerable, very marginalized group of people that are not responsible for many of the things that are happening here in our nation," Rios-Wyatt said.

The organization believes the current political climate is creating fear. However, they're focused on taking care of each other.

"We're not going anywhere," Rios-Wyatt said. "We're here. We're part of the society and I think that this administration really needs to understand that."

With Transgender Visibility Day coming March 31, Darmary hopes others will look out for them as well.

"Acknowledge your privilege," she said. "You get to exist in a world that doesn't challenge the validity of who you are and the fact that our existence can be used politically, to be polarizing, and to cause debate puts us at risk."

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