A picnic for transgender community pride

Wearing blue, white and pink leis — the colors of the transgender flag — Adriano Sofranko handed out buttons and chatted at the Palm Springs' first Trans Pride Picnic in Ruth Hardy Park Sunday afternoon.

Sofranko, a 19-year-old from Whitewater who uses they/them/their pronouns, came to the picnic to raise awareness.

"Some people don't even know the word transgender," Sofranko said.

As Sofranko was coming out, Thomi Clinton, a local transgender activist, found Sofranko there and referred the 19-year-old to a local clinic that provides transgender services.

And, at the picnic, Clinton introduced Sofranko to everybody.

"Have you met Adriano?" Clinton asked as she called Sofranko over to crowds of smiling adults also wearing leis.

Clinton, director of the Transgender Community Coalition in Palm Springs, planned the picnic and invited guests for two big goals: to raise trans public awareness and to introduce trans teens and kids to trans adults.

She wanted kids to see that "once you get through puberty, it's going to be OK."

Clinton made as many introductions as possible. "Get the kids over here," she said while gathering a group for photographs. "Have you met Parker?" she asked.

Parker Jewell, a 15-year-old from Upland, came out as transgender only two months ago. She had heard of transgender celebrity Laverne Cox, and her school has gender and sexuality awareness programs. As she searched for more information on the Internet, she realized that she identified with transgenders. "That's how I feel," she said, recalling that moment.

All 20 of the friends Jewell has come out to have been supportive. Her family has been equally encouraging.

"She's no different than before except for now we see her more," said her dad, Kyle Jewell. "She comes down and hangs out more now that she feels like she can be herself."

Jewell's dad said they had a family friend whose daughter had went through transition recently, so they were aware of the process. Now, Jewell and her family joined Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and she goes to weekly meetings with other trans high schoolers.

"Being trans is normal," Jewell said.

One of the transgendered adults at the picnic, 37-year-old Jennifer Alaniz, didn't get that kind of family support through her transition. It wasn't until after graduating high school that she even learned what trans is about. She met her first transgender friend through co-workers and everything started to make sense.

"That's when I realized that's who I want to be," Alaniz said.

Alaniz came to the pride picnic to support the transgender community and help others come out.

Community sponsors — SafeHouse, a youth emergency shelter with LGBT programs, Boo 2 Bullying and PFLAG — set up booths, chatted and handed out flyers. Get Tested Coachella Valley tested about 10 people for human immunodeficiency virus in their mobile lab van.

Mayors and city council members from across Coachella Valley attended the picnic to issue each city's formal proclamation declaring Sunday Transgender Pride Day.

Last year, Palm Springs earned a perfect score for LGBT policy and community outreach in the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index. "We're really proud of that," said Paul Lewin, a Palm Springs city council member and mayor pro tem, so government officials came out for Clinton's event to connect with the local trans community.

That awareness and community has made a difference for local transgender people, like 17-year-old Leon Garcia. Forty-one percent of transgender people attempt suicide, according to a Williams Institute study, and transgender people, especially transgender women of color, experience high levels of violence nationally.

"I've been in that stage in my life where I've felt helpless and felt suicidal," said Garcia, a transgender picnic attendee from Palm Springs North. "Thomi [Clinton] helped me out."

"And food always brings people together," he added, pointing to the picnic's hot dogs, fruit salads and other dishes.