PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Public Library will partner with Port Townsend’s Mandala Center for Change to present “Transgender Youth, Transforming Society” at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“Transgender Youth, Transforming Society” will highlight last fall’s Transgender Youth Legislative Theatre project produced by the Mandala Center for Change.
It will include a short video summary of the project, a presentation about Transgender/LGBTQ issues, and a community question-and-answer session with project coordinator Marc Weinblatt and some of the youth involved in the project.
It also will be the public debut of a new locally created educational video focusing on transgender health care, which will be used in training local medical providers and support staff. This video was a direct outcome of the project, according to a news release.
The library program intends to increase awareness of the issues pertaining to LGBTQ, specifically transgender children and teens in the community, said the release.
The following day, Thursday, is recognized as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. It was created in 2004 to draw attention to violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people around the globe.
In 2016, a Gallup poll found that 4.1 percent of the American population and 7.3 percent of millennials identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, up from 3.5 percent and 5.8 percent respectively.
For more information about “Transgender Youth, Transforming Society,” contact Hilary Verheggen or Melody Sky Eisler at the Port Townsend Public Library at 360-385-3181 or via email to hverheggen@cityofpt.us.
