About Mazzoni Center
Mazzoni Center is the only healthcare provider in the Philadelphia region specifically targeting the unique needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities. Operating with the mission "to provide quality comprehensive health and wellness services in an LGBT-focused environment while preserving the dignity and improving the quality of lives of individuals we serve", Mazzoni Center offers a full continuum of services including primary medical care, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment, legal services, and HIV-related prevention and care services. Serving over 15,000 individuals annually, we have proven ourselves to be a leader among community-based organizations in the greater Philadelphia area, and have developed a reputation for excellence and innovation in service delivery to our constituents.
Mazzoni Center was founded in 1979 to provide and advocate for the health needs of Philadelphia’s sexual minority communities. With the onset of AIDS in 1981, Mazzoni Center responded by incorporating HIV education, prevention, and care services. In doing so, it became the first AIDS service organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the fourth in the country. The organization has remained at the forefront of designing and implementing innovative programs to address the changing needs of the AIDS epidemic, while continuing to develop and expand health and well-being services specific to the needs of the LGBT communities.
Mazzoni Center has been a supporter of the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference since the first conference in 2002. In 2006, the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference officially became a program of Mazzoni Center.
For more information on Mazzoni Center and its programs, go to www.mazzonicenter.org
Conference history
The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (PTHC) was founded in 2002 by a group of transgender activists, allies, and service providers. Now in its ninth year, PTHC proudly offers a space for transgender people and our allies, families, and providers to come together to re-envision what health means for transgender people.
The focus of this unique conference is promoting transgender health and wellness in mind, body, spirit, and community. PTHC recognizes the interconnections among all aspects of our well-being; including health, safety, education, employment, housing, and social support. Further, PTHC recognizes that accessible and quality healthcare is an integral part of self-determining our bodies and identities in the larger world.
As much as possible, PTHC strives to ensure that the conference addresses the diverse needs of all transgender communities: transgender men, transgender women, gender-queer, and gender-variant people, as well as our partners, families, and allies. In addition, in an effort to increase the availability of quality, culturally-competent care for transgender communities, PTHC provides a workshop track for medical, mental health, and social service providers.
We are committed to making the conference as inclusive and accessible as possible. Therefore, the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference charges no registration fee.
Conference information
Who organizes the conference?
In 2006, PTHC officially became a program of Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia's LGBT Health Center. Mazzoni Center has been a major supporter of PTHC since the first conference in 2002.
While providing institutional support, Mazzoni Center is mindful of maintaining the "grassroots" spirit of the conference, soliciting the input and support of the communities it seeks to serve. To that end, a Planning Committee consisting of a diverse group of trans-identified individuals and allies, have joined together for the sole purpose of overseeing the program development of the conference.
PTHC is committed to encouraging participation in conference planning and workshop delivery by under-represented transgender and gender-variant people, including youth, people of color, working-class people, and people with disabilities.
Who attends the conference?
This conference focuses on the specific issues, needs, and experiences of trans-identified individuals with regard to the health of body, mind, spirit, and community. Everyone concerned about these issues is welcome to attend, including but not limited to: members of the transgender and gender-variant communities, partners, family members, allies, and service providers.
