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Advocates press City Council to fund $4 million TGI Wellness & Equity Initiative
Summary
Speakers representing Trans Latina Coalition and allied groups urged the council to allocate $4,000,000 over two years to strengthen transgender, gender-expansive and intersex (TGI) community organizations, citing urgent needs for housing, health and anti-violence services.
Dozens of speakers — including organizational leaders and people with lived experience — addressed the Los Angeles City Council during public comment to urge funding for the proposed TGI Wellness & Equity Initiative, a $4,000,000 request across two years to support community-based TGI organizations.
Bambi Salcedo, introduced on the record as president and CEO of the Trans Latina Coalition, said the coalition and allied organizations had worked for years to have TGI investments included in the budget and asked the council to move beyond symbolic gestures to sustained funding. "We made it to the budget," Salcedo said in her remarks, pressing the council to make the commitment concrete. Numerous other speakers — program managers, service providers and residents — described the initiative as life-saving and asked for urgency and partnership with TGI-led organizations.
Speakers highlighted the long-standing vulnerabilities faced by TGI Angelenos: disproportionate homelessness, barriers to healthcare, employment discrimination and heightened vulnerability to violence. They urged the council to prioritize TGI-specific services, culturally competent training, and nondiscriminatory access for undocumented people. Testimony also asked the council to include protections for TGI-led programs as budget discussions continue.
Council members acknowledged the testimony on the record. The hearing included advocacy from program managers who described invoicing and reimbursement practices for homelessness contracts, and emphasized that many of the organizations seeking funds rely on sparse resources to provide daily life-saving services.
The transcript records substantial public comment and advocacy but does not record a final Council vote on the funding request during this meeting. Supporters said they will continue to press the council and meet with Council offices to move the initiative forward.
