Since 2020, HTWS has been providing comprehensive services focusing on health, social protection and crisis management to the Transgender community in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts, with support from the Telangana State AIDS Control Society (TSACS) through the Targeted Intervention (TI) program.
HEALTH – HIV/AIDS PREVENTION & TREATMENT SERVICES:
By means of intensive outreach and counselling, we create awareness about HIV and other STIs amongst the community, leading to the adoption of safer sex practices. Regular screening for HIV and STIs is conducted to enable timely detection of HIV and STIs.
For HIV positive community members, we ensure linkages with the Govt. anti-retrovital therapy (ART) facilities and follow-up to ensure ART adherence and management of opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis. At present, 25 transgenders living with HIV are receiving HIV treatment and referral services.
Support group meetings and individual counselling sessions held at our two drop-in centres provide the community with a safe space to discuss and address their concerns.
SOCIAL PROTECTION:
HTWS has been persistently working to generate awareness concerning constitutional rights. We regularly conduct trainings for our staff and other community members on The
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and other legal and constitutional provisions important for them. Our team facilitates access to social entitlements such as Transgender certificate, voter id card, PAN card and ration card, thus enabling the community members to access social welfare schemes.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT:
Crisis resolution committees are formed to deal with instances of violence faced by the community. The committee is composed of diverse stakeholders – a community leader/ member, HTWS staff, a lawyer and a doctor and efforts are directed at resolving the incident within 24 hours.
Till date, 400+ incidents of crisis have been successfully resolved within 24 hours.
Till date, our TI program has benefitted 1500+ community members.
HTWS was awarded the Best Targeted Intervention (TI) Program by the TSACS in 2022.
ADVOCACY & SENSITIZATION
In collaboration with the National Network of Transgender Persons (NNTP) and with support from the Global Fund, HTWS conducted awareness and sensitization meetings with the community, the district authorities, the police, the health staff, the govt. department officials through discussion on the provisions of The Transgender (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
SKILL BUILDING & LIVELIHOOD:
With support from the Nirmaan Foundation, community members were trained in beauty and make-up courses at the VLCC institute.
HTWS’s Saksham initiative provided training to community members on computer skills.
COVID-19 RELIEF:
Our team also collaborated with the district authorities and mobilized the transgender community for vaccination by addressing their misconceptions and apprehensions about the vaccine.
With support from NNTP and local CSOs – Prajwala, Youngistaan Foundation and Bay Sheetal Pariwar, HTWS distributed ration kits to the marginalized community members during Covid-19.