Meet Yah, 2022 Annual Trans Surgery Fund Recipient

Congratulations to Yah, who has been awarded $8,000 towards her gender-affirming surgery!

Yah (she/her) is a Black trans woman seeking gender-affirming bottom surgery.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yah had to relocate back to her home state where there are very few legal protections—and no real healthcare access or inclusive health insurance coverage—for trans people. Along with job insecurity, Yah struggled to stay housed and also afford food, HRT, and other necessities.

With this grant and access to gender-affirming care, Yah is looking forward to a life where getting dressed in the morning isn’t a daunting experience. She feels that following surgery, she will be able to finally be at peace and at home in her body.

Yah is a youth worker and is passionate about Black indigenous liberation. When she’s not working with youth, she’s cooking meals for her community and family, resting, or reading. She enjoys learning more about her history and ancestry, especially her spiritual practices that have been handed down to her from many generations ago.

Yah plans to have surgery with Dr. Ellie Zara Ley of the Gender Confirmation Center in the coming months. The Gender Confirmation Center has been a proud sponsor with Point of Pride’s Annual Trans Surgery Fund since 2018, and we are so grateful for the work Dr. Ley does to provide gender-affirming surgeries for the trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse community.

*Note: For Yah's safety, we have modified or removed identifying details about her story.