Los Angeles LGBT Center Expands Services for Transgender People With Support From Citi Community Development

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles LGBT Center, with support from Citi Community Development, announces the expansion of its Transgender Economic Empowerment Project (TEEP), which empowers transgender individuals to secure jobs and become financially stable. With Citi's support, the Los Angeles LGBT Center will provide approximately 150 members of the transgender community with robust financial capability training, employment counseling, and career development resources.

The program expansion will also include development of inclusive workplace trainings for employers, which covers essential topics such as legal protection of gender identity and expression, making the workplace an inclusive envirionment that is safer and more welcoming for transgender people, and providing culturally competent services to the transgender community.

In addition to financial capability and employment services, TEEP provides an array of support services to transgender clients, including one-on-one sessions with a client advocate and case manager; peer mentoring and goal setting; job referrals to transgender-friendly employers; and name and gender change and other legal assistance.

"This relationship with Citi will enable the Center to expand vital services for the transgender community, who experience unemployment at twice the national rate—and that rate increases to four times the national rate for trans people of color," said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. "Even in a relatively progressive city like Los Angeles, discrimination and violence against trans people is terrifyingly common. This must end, and we are proud to work with Citi to build a world where every member of the LGBT community can thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society."

"Integrating financial capability training into career readiness programs enables individuals to build a more resilient financial future," said James Alva, South California Market Manager, Citi Community Development. "We are pleased to collaborate with the Los Angeles LGBT Center to expand access to critical services that will boost long term economic success for transgender individuals."

"Transgender people continue experience high rates of poverty because they are too often discriminated against by employers and are unable to find work," said Center TEEP Program Manager Drian Juarez. "Advancing the economic stability of our community is not only the right thing to do, it is what we must do so that trans people advance in life."

About the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center's nearly 600 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBT people can be healthy, equal and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.

About Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at citicommunitydevelopment.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

Contact: Gil Diaz
323-993-7622
[email protected]

SOURCE Los Angeles LGBT Center

Related Links

http://lalgbtcenter.org