Overview of Equal Rights Washington
Equal Rights Washington, whose tagline is, “Together for Justice and Equity”, is an initiative in the state to help the LGBT community establish rights as part of the human race. Their big push , in 2015, is to assist transgender individuals with better health care, among other initiatives, such as helping queer-identified school kids with daily pressures.
This is Washington’s largest state wide advocacy group, and it does a lot to help every community across the state accept LGBT individuals and get these people equal treatment in every area of life. The organization does not have full-time dedicated team members, instead, it depends on the work of volunteers and part-time office members for its agenda. Its main office is located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The organization, part of the larger and national Equality Federation, began an unorganized operation between 1993 and 1997. It became an organized and recognized entity while working toward Washington’s anti-discriminatory bill, Washington House Bill 2661, in 2006. This organization helped pass this bill, which had been turned down for 28 years previously. In 2009, this group was responsible for adding more and more rights to the LGBT domestic partnership laws, and had a large hand in getting gay marriage approved in the state.
This organization is also responsible for the advocacy of every part of the LGBT community, including homelessness, health care, education, legislation, and any other issue facing this community. The group is currently advocating to get better health care for transgender individuals, who are the most recent group of people struggling in this area.
The transgender mentality is still labeled as a mental illness, which is where the issues stem. Some health care providers still harbor negative attitudes toward transgender individuals, which only makes the problem worse. Equal Rights Washington works to change these attitudes, hoping to help the health care industry realize this is not a mental disease. The group will help find health care providers who are accepting of every person, and works to change the attitudes of those who aren’t.
Being afraid to go to the doctor is an issue in the transgender community, so Equal Rights Washington also works with transgender individuals to help them understand that they have a right to health care. When one doctor exhibits the wrong attitude, it is important to seek out another doctor. Many people get scared and never seek out alternative help; Equal Rights Washington is working to change this in individuals.
If you’d like to talk more about Equal Rights Washington, please call Vancouver Home Healthcare Agency today.
At Vancouver Home Health Care Agency, Caring and Compassion is our business.