Today we’d like to introduce you to Arianna Lint.
Arianna, before we jump into specific questions about your organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Well, my story starts back in my home country of Peru. Like everyone, I had dreams and those dreams were very much focused on my quality of life, whether it was a car or a nice apartment like so many of us wish for. I knew that to achieve those goals, I needed to commit to my education and so I went to University to become an attorney. Being able to go to University was a big honor for me as so many people in my home country don’t have that privilege. Once I got to University though, it became pretty clear to me that no matter how hard I studied or how smart I was, there would always be a barrier to achieving my goals caused by the way society viewed my gender identity.
Life is short so had to ask myself the question of how I was going to achieve my dreams and live life as my authentic self and that led me to make a choice to come to the United States, after all as everyone said it’s the country where your dreams can come true. I was young and full of energy and thought the world was at my feet so in that moment, I was excited to start my transition and introduce Arianna to the world. It wasn’t easy though being separated from everything and everyone I knew and even now, all these years later, being away from my family to whom I am very close is very painful.
The path to making my home in South Florida and founding my organization had a lot of ups and downs and I worked hard to become the woman I am today. Navigating a new country as a transgender Latinx woman presented many challenges and I’ve done everything from driving a school bus to running a construction business and working for the Department of Health!
It was really during my time with the Department of Health that I saw the need in my community and knew that there was a gap that I could fill. Transgender women of color not only experience unemployment and discrimination at levels substantially higher than the national average but they are vulnerable to HIV at devastating rates. In South Florida alone, estimates point to 44% of black trans women and 23% of Latinx trans women testing reactive for HIV. So, from my experiences working with my community, I decided to start Arianna’s Center. I knew that I wanted to provide services for my community informed by my own lived experience as a transgender woman of color and immigrant experience openly living with HIV.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all, but I know that my journey has made me the woman I am today. Being diagnosed as HIV positive was very traumatic for me. At the time, I had no idea what it meant for my future and it took me a long time to be able to tell my family. Luckily my family are amongst my greatest supporters, but not every trans person is this fortunate.
Even now, with my organization, I come up against roadblocks all the time. Amongst certain people and organizations, there is a very real lack of belief in the talents and capabilities of transgender people. It’s like we always have to go that step further to prove our expertise or our value simply because of our gender identity or our race or our status as immigrants. I’ve found the best way to combat this type of discrimination is to surround myself with allies. Often we see a lot of separation amongst community organizations but I’ve always committed to working with anyone who is willing to step up. As far as I’m concerned, embracing allies is essential to achieving equality for the trans community.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
I founded Arianna’s Center in 2015 as an organization to provide direct services for and uplift the voices of transgender women of color. We provide mobile HIV testing and linkage to care and prevention, linkage to mental health services and hormone therapy and ongoing case management. We also work with those who have experienced incarceration or ICE detention, providing them with emergency housing and linking them to legal assistance with trusted partners. We also operate a clothing bank to assist transgender women with clothing for job interviews, enrollment in G.E.D. and ESOL classes and stipend for assistance with expenses such as groceries, utilities and transport. Finally, we also help clients navigate the process of changing their name and gender marker on official documents.
The thing I am most proud of and that also sets us apart is that we’re the only organization in Florida led by a trans-Latina openly living with HIV. That lived experience is at the core of everything Arianna’s Center does and allows us to provide informed services with a level of trust and understanding that our client’s value and respect.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
South Florida is a wonderfully diverse region with talent and ideas from all over the country and the world. That doesn’t always include the transgender community, though and the reason I started my organization was because I saw a gap here. That said, South Florida has embraced my organization and me and I’ve developed partnerships I would never have thought possible. For example, this year, Arianna’s Center has partnered with the Miami Dolphins Football Unites program to provide meal and mask distributions for our community. To be able to work with a major NFL team to support the transgender community has been a highlight of a very challenging year.
I think there is always room to improve and I think often it begins with listening. Listen to the story of someone who is different from you. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to lead our best lives and when you open yourself up to others, the most surprising connections can take place!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ariannascenter.org
- Phone: 7866001915
- Email: info@ariannascenter.com
- Instagram: @AriannasCenter
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/TransLatinaFlorida
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