Today we’d like to introduce you to Arianna Lint.
Hi Arianna, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I founded Arianna’s Center in 2015 to provide direct services and advocacy to the transgender community in South Florida, and now Puerto Rico. We focus on HIV testing and linkage to care and prevention, emergency housing, post-incarceration support services, enrollment in educational programs, leadership training, and emergency stipends.
Our clients are predominantly transgender women of color, those released from incarceration, and those navigating the immigration system. As a trans Latina openly living with HIV it hasn’t always been an easy path, we’re often taken advantage of, and we aren’t always given a seat at the table. I personally experienced discrimination that led to homelessness.
But perseverance has always been in my nature and the rewards of seeing my community empowered make it all worthwhile. I want the world to know that the trans community deserves the respect and opportunities that everyone enjoys. It can be an uphill battle at times, but that just makes us more determined!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Arianna’s Center like other TransLead organizations, especially those serving marginalized communities, faces unique challenges and disparities when it comes to accessing grants and funding for their work.
A search online reveals a range of obstacles that TransLead organizations encounter:
1. Limited Funding Opportunities: TransLead organizations often find themselves overlooked or underrepresented in grant opportunities. Many funding programs do not specifically target or prioritize TransLead initiatives, making it challenging for these organizations to secure financial support for their crucial work.
2. Complex Application Processes: Grant applications can be complex and time-consuming, requiring detailed proposals, financial reports, and impact assessments. TransLead organizations, often operating with limited resources and capacity, may struggle to meet these requirements, further limiting their access to funding.
3. Stigma and Discrimination: TransLead organizations and the communities they serve often face stigma, discrimination, and lack of understanding from funders, which can hinder their ability to secure funding and support for their initiatives.
4. Limited Capacity Building Support: Many TransLead organizations operate with limited resources and capacity, making it challenging to navigate the grant application process, manage funds effectively, and demonstrate impact. They often lack access to capacity-building resources and support that could help strengthen their organizations and programs.
5. Intersectional Challenges: TransLead organizations working at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, such as race, gender, and sexuality, face compounded challenges. They must navigate complex systems of oppression and discrimination, which can further impact their ability to access funding and resources.
Despite these challenges, TransLead organizations continue to play a crucial role in addressing the needs of their communities and driving positive change. Efforts to increase awareness, promote inclusivity, and create targeted funding opportunities for TransLead organizations are essential to addressing the disparities they face and supporting their impactful work. Arianna Lint
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Arianna’s Center?
Professionally, I think I have demonstrated that my work is valued and that the projects that I have been in charge of have been completed and still exist, such as the program for transgender people that I created in South Florida. Now with my new agency, I am working on creating respect awareness.
Transgender women help and contribute to this country and to this society. But we need respect and tolerance. Often, being a positive Transgender woman is a death sentence, for all of us face so much violence and discrimination. Trans organizations should be welcomed and helped, not mistreated.
I feel proud of being MYSELF, of being a transgender woman whose life has been based on breaking barriers of misunderstanding. But also, by being who I am, by living my own gender identity, and being the woman that I am, I have demonstrated that work is the best credential. Who told us that life would be easy? No one, but it is best to live it with DIGNITY.
I am most proud that Arianna’s Center provides assistance with all of our services to more than 200 patients annually in South Florida and another 200 to our transgender community in Puerto Rico. We continue to grow our services which leads to an even bigger impact on the lives that we touch on a yearly basis.
Last year we started a new program to link transgender community members with housing assistance up to a two-year term. This is so important as housing and financial instability is one of the biggest issues in our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ariannas-center.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/1097308096969364/ariannas-center-translatina-fl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AriannasCenter/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariannascenter
- Youtube: @ariannascenter1262
