About

Welcome and thank you for signing up with TransForward where we are moving transgender health forward by creating culturally competent transgender health environments.

TransForward – Texas Transgender Health is a collaboration between Equality Texas Foundation, a 501 (C) 3 non-profit organization, and the Texas Health Institute, a 501 (C) 3 non-profit organization.

The Equality Texas Foundation works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Texans through education, community organizing, and collaboration.

Texas Health Institute, translates emerging research on population and preventative health into practical applications for communities. THl’s programs and education offerings accelerate the implementation of new findings, recruiting opportunities for people to lead a healthy life.

Why this program is important

One of our principal goals is to reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts by transgender, non-binary, and Intersex Texans.

The National Center for Transgender Equality’s Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey documents the extent of this important health issue.

• Among the starkest findings is that 40% of respondents have attempted suicide in their lifetime nearly nine times the attempted suicide rate in the U.S. population (4.6%).
• 82% had seriously thought about killing themselves at some point in their lives.
• 39% reported that their first attempt occurred between the ages of 14 and 17.
• 7% attempted suicide in the past year, nearly twelve times the rate of attempted suicide in the U.S. population in the past year.

Lou Weaver, Co-Director

Lou Weaver is a queer transgender man and a leader in Houston’s LGBTQ community. He is the first Transgender Programs Coordinator for Equality Texas Foundation. Lou is passionate about elevating the voices of transgender Texans, including the Texas TransVisibleProject, a first-of-its-kind public education campaign.

John Oeffinger, Co-Director

John Oeffinger directs Texas Health Institute’s work with the transgender community. He is also the THI’s Director, eLearning and Training. Together with Lou Weaver, he leads the Texas Transgender Health Program to create a broad-based collaborative effort to improve the health of transgender people.