Bronx transgender center helps support growing community

<p>A transgender center is helping to support a growing community in the Bronx.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 19, 2017, 2:40 PM

Updated 2,513 days ago

Share:

A transgender center is helping to support a growing community in the Bronx.
Sasha Washington says the agency "Destination Tomorrow" saved her life.
"I've come to understand that everyone is not going to be cool with your lifestyle and there is a bunch of people that will,” she says.
Her adopted parents disowned her when she was a teenager, she explains.
"They didn’t understand me, they always thought I was going to be a gay man but no, I turned the table and I’m a lady."
Eventually, forced to live on the streets and not knowing what the next day would bring, she met Sean Coleman, the founder of Destination Tomorrow, and the new subsidiary agency "Bronx Trans Collective,” which is the first transgender-specific center in the borough that opened in 2016.
"Folks don't really understand the trans community, right, and we get so caught up in what kind of body parts they have or what they are doing in their bedroom, and we don’t see them as human," Coleman says.
The most recent statistics show that 25,000 members of the trans community live in New York City. It’s believed there is a higher population in the Bronx because cost of living is lower.
Coleman says the center has become more like a family, offering transgender people things they need like medical and mental health resources, legal services and even a way to get their GED.
Staff member Dominique Jackson, who has appeared on Oxygen's TV hit show ‘Strut,’ says the center is also focused on developing programs which help Bronx residents understand transgender people better.
Destination Tomorrow hosted Bronx Pride Festival on Saturday at 152nd and Brook avenues in the Bronx.


More from News 12
1:48
Bushwick building owner cited for illegal work performed before fire destroyed supermarket, apartments

Bushwick building owner cited for illegal work performed before fire destroyed supermarket, apartments

1:44
STORM WATCH: Cool and cloudy with mild temperatures for NYC; tracking thunderstorms midweek

STORM WATCH: Cool and cloudy with mild temperatures for NYC; tracking thunderstorms midweek

1:26
Police: Cyclist struck by car overnight in Bushwick in critical condition

Police: Cyclist struck by car overnight in Bushwick in critical condition

1:24
Lawmakers crack down on theft against small retail, businesses owners in Brooklyn

Lawmakers crack down on theft against small retail, businesses owners in Brooklyn

0:24
Police: Man injured from overnight shooting in Brownsville

Police: Man injured from overnight shooting in Brownsville

New York City National Teacher Appreciation Week Photos

New York City National Teacher Appreciation Week Photos

1:15
NYPD: 23-year-old woman struck by B41 bus in Downtown Brooklyn

NYPD: 23-year-old woman struck by B41 bus in Downtown Brooklyn

1:35
4th annual People's Ball returns to the Brooklyn Public Library

4th annual People's Ball returns to the Brooklyn Public Library

1:43
Interested in transforming public pool sites in New York City? Here's how to submit your ideas

Interested in transforming public pool sites in New York City? Here's how to submit your ideas

2:09
Riverdale Restaurant Week kicks off for the season

Riverdale Restaurant Week kicks off for the season

0:32
NYPD: Man pistol-whipped taxi driver in Olinville, fired shots at vehicle; suspect sought

NYPD: Man pistol-whipped taxi driver in Olinville, fired shots at vehicle; suspect sought

0:30
Zibanejad has 2 goals and 1 assist, Panarin scores as Rangers beat Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1

Zibanejad has 2 goals and 1 assist, Panarin scores as Rangers beat Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1

1:53
Ditmas Park residents fed up with only building elevator being out of service for a year

Ditmas Park residents fed up with only building elevator being out of service for a year

1:48
Mott Haven art exhibit celebrates Indian Arrival Day

Mott Haven art exhibit celebrates Indian Arrival Day

1:48
FDNY: Rooftop fire spreads into apartment in Crown Heights

FDNY: Rooftop fire spreads into apartment in Crown Heights

1:22
Early Red Nose Day festivities kick off in Dumbo

Early Red Nose Day festivities kick off in Dumbo

2:06
Community-run green space needs help to keep produce growing

Community-run green space needs help to keep produce growing

2:13
FDNY: 1 critical, firefighter injured in East Flatbush apartment fire

FDNY: 1 critical, firefighter injured in East Flatbush apartment fire

2:06
New guidance says women need to be screened for breast cancer at 40 or younger

New guidance says women need to be screened for breast cancer at 40 or younger

2:00
Families devastated after learning 2 Brooklyn Catholic schools will be shutting down

Families devastated after learning 2 Brooklyn Catholic schools will be shutting down