Trans Latina Coalition urges Los Angeles to fund TGI wellness and equity initiative

Trans Latina Coalition leaders told a Los Angeles City council committee that transgender, gender‑expansive and intersex (TGI) residents need sustained, city‑level investment backed by program funding and capacity building.

"Transgender, gender expansive, and intersex people are not an afterthought," Maria Roman, vice president and chief operations officer of the Trans Latina Coalition, said during a presentation to the Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee. Roman and other coalition speakers framed the proposal as a move from symbolic support to concrete services, including workforce development, housing navigation, legal services and violence‑prevention programs.

The coalition described its growth since 2009 into one of the largest TGI service providers locally and pointed to rising demand: presenters said their services in 2025 exceeded 2024 levels. They asked the committee to direct the Trans Advisory Council to present the initiative to the Budget and Finance Committee and to create a motion in this committee that could move to full City Council consideration.

Panelists outlined how the initiative would work in practice: grant dollars would prioritize nonprofits with 60% or greater TGI leadership or board representation; grant guidelines would fund capacity building (program evaluation, grant writing, budgeting, Medi‑Cal managed care billing) and include a proposed allocation of 5% of each organizational grant to a third‑party administrator for training and infrastructure. Presenters also referenced complementary state and county actions (transcribed in the record as 'AB 22 18' and 'AB 14 78') and a county TGI wellness effort they said had set aside funds they estimated at $15,000,000 and a separate county allocation described as $3,500,000 per year ($7,000,000 over two years) for comparable services.

Committee members asked how proposed city budget cuts to homelessness services — cited in the discussion as potential 10–15% reductions in some council districts — would affect TGI clients. Presenters and council members discussed peer‑navigation models, LA Family Housing partnerships for trans‑inclusive shelter design, and the coalition's existing housing program (called Hope House) that the presenters said had been financed historically through local fundraising and events. The coalition emphasized that funding should support both immediate housing needs and long‑term supportive services such as mental‑health care and workforce development.

The committee accepted the Trans Latina Coalition's presentation as a verbal report; no committee vote was required on the item. Speakers said they would follow up with committee members to provide program metrics and per‑capita cost information for council offices that requested it.

Next steps: the coalition asked to be scheduled before Budget and Finance and for the committee to draft a motion that could be considered by the full City Council.