When Jonah Murray looks for health care in Fort Worth, he uses word of mouth.
Safe, accessible health care for the trans community “can be difficult to find in Texas,” Murray, who uses they/he pronouns, said. “Providers might not feel safe to put that kind of information out there.”
Murray is board president of Finn’s Place, a gathering space for the trans and gender-diverse community in Fort Worth. His mission, in part, is to connect people in the LGBTQ community with resources and each other.
The next opportunity to do so is March 25 at the inaugural LGBTQ Community Health Fair. The free fair, which includes a panel discussion about LGBTQ health care, comes amid a legislative session where several bills seek to limit or ban gender-affirming health care for trans children and adults.
While the event centers trans people, Murray said, it’s also for the wider LGBTQ community, as well as friends, families and people who want to learn how to support their friends and family members. No registration is required.
If you go:
What: Finn’s Place LGBTQ Community Health Fair, which will include a panel about LGBTQ health, tabling by health organizations in North Texas and free food.
When: Saturday, March 25
Attendance is free. No registration required.
For details about when and where, visit Finn’s Place on Facebook or Instagram.
Murray hopes the fair encourages more conversations about LGBTQ health care. “There’s not a whole lot of talk about it,” he said. “And when there’s misinformation, or no information at all, that’s where prejudice can creep in.”
Historically, people in the LGBTQ community experience higher rates of depression and anxiety, as well as some cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health. They’re also more likely to encounter violence, including rape, in their lifetimes.
Finn’s Place, which formed in 2022, is a project of Galileo Church in Fort Worth, where the mission includes doing “justice for LGBTQ+ humans.” Finn was a trans boy and “beloved” member of Galileo’s congregation who died in 2018, Murray said. Finn’s Place isn’t religious.
“We’re very intentional about making the space feel safe and welcoming, because we know that religion is a big source of trauma for a lot of people in the LGBTQ community and in the trans community,” he said.
The panel discussion, which kickstarts the fair, will include the following people:
- Kamyon Conner, with Texas Equal Access Fund
- Andres Rodriguez, with TransVive
- Brenda Barajas-Koch with The Women’s Center
- Jane Rogers, with Tarrant County Coalition for Aging LGBT
- Dr. Frank Sloan, with the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU
- Wes Parks, with Metroplex Mental Health.
Each panelist will discuss the services their organizations offer, as well as the barriers the LGBTQ community faces in accessing health care. Murray anticipates the panelists will also correct common misconceptions about LGBTQ health.
“Trans health care is not just (hormone replacement therapy),” he said. “Trans health care has to be comprehensive. And if we don’t feel safe going to a health care provider, then we’re not just missing out on HRT, we’re missing out on every other aspect of health care.”
Myriad organizations across North Texas will table the event. Attendees can sip free coffee from Queer Wave Coffee.
In the past year, Finn’s Place has coordinated support groups, defense classes and clothing swaps. More health care events will come, Murray said:
“I believe, and Finn’s Place believes, that education of the community about trans people and about the LGBTQ community is some of the best medicine that we can have right now.”
Alexis Allison is the health reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Her position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact her at alexis.allison@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter.
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