(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Doug Magditch – HisBigD.com

courtesy: Dallas Voice

Some in the LGBT community have only recently come to know Nell Gaither, the advocate. Just last year, she quit her job as a City of Dallas employee and decided to move to trans advocacy full-time. Gaither is the president of the Trans Pride Initiative, which she started in 2011.

“When I first started getting involved in trans issues I wanted to address, more, social conditions and access to services, rather than just the social support groups and entertainment and that type of thing,” said Gaither.

Gaither considers herself fortunate. She has a stable job, a good education, and a little bit of money. However, she hasn’t become an advocate to help herself out.

“We’re going to give a better, solid foundation to our whole community by addressing the issues that affect low-income persons and persons that experience multiple factors of discrimination from their economic status,” said Gaither.

The Trans-Pride Initiative is working to provide assistance and support with healthcare, housing, employment, education, and public accommodations.

One of Gaither’s first battles has been with Dallas City Council over it’s healthcare coverage for transgender employees.

“There’s a lot of different things that are not clear, especially the way insurance policies are written, to be a little bit vague,” said Gaither, who is currently on the city’s COBRA coverage, because she couldn’t get on an individual insurance plan after she left her job with the city. She says Blue Cross and Blue Shield told her it wouldn’t cover her because she has a pre-existing condition of being trans gendered.

“What we want is for the city to put it in writing. Right now, it’s not really in writing, what is covered for trans persons or not. We want them to put it in writing so it’s clearly articulated. We want it in a public place so it’s accessible by anybody easily.”

The city’s LGBT task force just added trans healthcare to its list of priorities, which gives Gaither some assurances that the issue will be addressed. She wants to see the city cover what’s call ‘all medically-necessary surgeries.

“The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and several others all say these are medically necessary surgeries because they are a valid treatment for a condition. We’re wanting them to cover that just as they would cover any other medically necessary procedure,” said Gaither.

Long-term, Gaither is hoping to find property for a shelter and community center for Dallas’ transgender community.

“For shelter, it would have an emergency shelter that’s, kind of a dorm-like space for providing emergency beds for those cases where somebody’s just has been kicked out of their house and needs a place to go, or something else that’s on an emergency basis, and then, also have more longer-term things like a transitional house,” said Gaither.

If there’s someone who can make it happen, it’s Gaither. She’s a well-spoken, fierce fighter for equality.

…And she’s simply looking to help her family.

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