My name is Brit Cervantes and I am the program coordinator for UCI’s Pediatric Gender Diversity Program. I joined the team as a member in October of 2016 as we worked to establish ourselves. I’m so grateful to be part of such an incredible program dedicated to advocating for the transgender community in healthcare and educational settings!
I personally identify as transgender (transmasculine to be specific) and unfortunately in the beginning of my transition I faced discrimination in healthcare settings. It was a struggle to find providers who would see me as a patient because of my transgender status. While I had a difficult time trying to find out where to start, I had supportive friends and family who helped me every step of the way. Throughout my transition I have met many other beautiful transgender people who didn’t have the same support that I did so it became important for me to help others in their own transition.
What I love most about working for the Gender Diversity program is that I get to see how much patients and their families change over time. There have been so many times that a parent has called us to share that their child has just came out to them as trans. Oftentimes parents feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do or where to turn, but they do know one thing: they love their child and they want to support them. We will take the time to sit down with patients and their loved ones to provide resources and information to help them figure out what the next steps will be. As the months go by, we see how much more confident and comfortable our patients become. Frequently, those same parents that felt overwhelmed will turn into fierce advocates for their transgender loved ones. It is such a wonderful change to witness and be part of.
My dream would be to see our program grow and expand on the services that we can provide to the community. One of the most powerful things that we can give back to transgender people and their loved ones is information. Whether this information is given during one of our monthly transgender orientations at the LGBT Center OC or at one of our transgender health educational lectures to other providers, it’s so important and life-saving. Trans folks often have to be their own advocates in healthcare, educational, and employment settings. We would like to be there to help them along the way.