Home for transgender persons opened

A first of its kind in State, the shelter can accommodate 25 persons

A first-of-its-kind shelter home for transmen and transwomen in Tamil Nadu has become operational at Periyar Nagar here with a capacity to accommodate up to 25 persons as of now.

While a night shelter of the Greater Chennai Corporation was being run as a shelter home by a community-based organisation for transwomen alone in Chetpet, this new home can accommodate transmen as well, apart from providing them stay and training for up to one year.

The shelter home is part of an initiative of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) called “Garima Greh” and will be run by Transgender Rights Association (TRA), a community-based organisation.

R. Giri Raj, a Deputy Director with the National Institute of Social Defence, which comes under MoSJE, said the home in Chennai was one of the 13 opened across the country in different cities as part of a pilot initiative. “Based on their success, more such homes will be opened in future,” he said.

He said the objective was to help the transgender community in a holistic manner by providing accommodation and impart them job-related training so that they could become self-reliant.

Jeeva Rangaraj of TRA, who is now the director of the home, said that a person would be allowed to stay for a maximum of one year.

“Within that period, we are planning for a number of training programmes in areas like tailoring, jute bag manufacturing or to become beauticians or security guards. The residents can undergo training in their area of interest,” she said.

Highlighting that a number of organisations were now coming forward to recruit transgender persons, she said the home would help residents in finding a job after the training. “We have a capacity to accommodate 25 persons now with separate rooms for yoga sessions, counselling and training. We have space to expand to accommodate more persons in future,” she added.

She said that the home would help the residents in getting registered with the Transgender Welfare Board of Tamil Nadu and in obtaining other benefits from the government.

Welcoming the initiative, Priya Babu of Transgender Resource Centre, another organisation working for the rights of the transgender community, said that more such shelter homes must come up in Chennai and other places.

“It is so difficult for transpersons who face rejection from their families and move to cities in the hope of a future as they will have nowhere to go,” she said.

“Providing them three meals a day and a place to stay, where they can feel a sense of belonging, are the most basic things that are needed,” she added.

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