Chandra knew Maitri was where she needed to be as soon as she got a referral.
As a middle-aged transgender woman who had immigrated to the United States from Southeast Asia, Chandra had known adversity. But she also knew who the helpers were when she saw them.
Chandra had worked a long time to try to get the gender-affirming facial feminization surgery she’d longed for. This would be a vital step forward for her.
But after spending so much on her surgery, she didn’t have enough to spend on a place to recover. Worse, because she was staying in transitional housing,her surgeons were planning to reschedule her surgery until after she secured permanent housing.
Chandra’s situation is the reason Maitri recently expanded to provide care to people surrounding their gender-affirming surgeries with our Maitri Affirmation Center.
Through our one-of-a-kind program, we can provide the compassionate wraparound care we’ve been known for to help people not just have a safe place to recover, but have the affirming surgeries they need!
During Chandra’s three week stay at Maitri, she fell in love with Maitri and our community of compassionate care.
Even now, more than a year after her discharge, she continues to be a vital part of the Maitri community, becoming one of the helpers for many of our clients.
Chandra is an active participant in Maitri’s BRANCH Aftercare Program where she’s invited to come back for regular groups, sessions with the Maitri mental health clinician, and delicious meals.
Chandra’s favorite Maitri activity is our weekly Art Group where she helps to lead classes and support other clients in learning new skills and expressing themselves through art.
For our holiday party, she even brought in some additional dancers to help share her love of dance and her culture with the Maitri community!
As Chandra explains, a big part of her staying connected to Maitri is part of her way of giving back, “I’m constantly asking the question how can I contribute to a place that’s given me so much? I want to support the residents and help make them happy and relax while they receive care.”
Your support is helping Maitri create a space for people like Chandra in need of a place to recover–but also, a place to build community.