Grantee: Ingersoll Gender Center
Timeframe: January 2020 – September 2020 | Amount: $25,000
Nimble Grant funds were originally intended to create resources and conduct outreach to transgender and gender diverse (t/gd) individuals in preparation for open enrollment in October/November 2020. Ingersoll planned to create a detailed Health Guide for healthcare and community partners to disseminate to their patients and communities in person and online, a how-to video as part of the healthcare access educational video series, a comprehensive outreach effort and open enrollment event that will direct our community members to these resources.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ingersoll shifted focus. The funds will now ensure that transgender and gender diverse (t/gd) communities have access to resources they need to navigate accessing gender affirming healthcare during the COVID-19 public health crisis. This will consist of creating digital materials that explain and get the word out on new open enrollment periods and expanded Apple Health enrollment criteria to increase the number of t/gd people who are enrolled in health insurance. Additionally, Ingersoll will reach out to healthcare and insurance providers to ensure there is an action plan prepared to support community members who have had their gender affirming surgery canceled as a result of COVID-19 once surgeries resume. Finally, Ingersoll will build a robust self care and resource guide for community members who have lost access to life saving gender affirming healthcare as a result of COVID-19. We will share this resource digitally and mail it out to community members we serve.
This project will buttress Ingersoll’s existing healthcare access programming. The project will educate t/gd community members on the expanded eligibility to State and market place health insurance plans during the COVID-19 crisis. The goal of this project is to connect community members to the critical resources they need to navigate devastating interruptions to their life saving gender affirming healthcare.
The project will include the following activities:
- COMMUNITY OUTREACH & HEALTH INSURANCE EXPLAINERS: We will create digital and print materials that explain special enrollment periods and expanded eligibility criteria for health insurance. We will plan and execute a digital outreach campaign to ensure that as many community members have access to these important resources. Further, we will mail a limited number to community members we serve as well as to community based organizations that we partner with who are either still doing in person direct service or have the capacity to mail these cards to the community members they serve.
- PREPARE AN ACTION PLAN FOR WHEN GENDER AFFIRMING SURGERY RESUMES: We will reach out to providers and insurance companies to ensure we understand their process for rescheduling patients and advocate for relaxed rules (i.e, not requiring community members to get new letters if they are now outdated when they wouldn’t have been on their original surgery date).
- PREPARE A SELF CARE AND RESOURCE GUIDE: We will prepare a robust self care and resource guide for community members who have lost access to life saving gender affirming healthcare as a result of COVID-19. We will share this resource digitally and mail it out to community members we serve.
About Our Grantee
Ingersoll Gender Center
Ingersoll Gender Center is an organization by, and for transgender and gender nonconforming people that provides mutual support through peer led support groups, advocacy in navigating resources, community organizing, and education — all in the pursuit of our collective self-determination. They envision a world that nurtures healthy communities free from violence, centers self-determination for all people, and celebrates all gender identities and expressions.
