More help for transsexuals

“The attitudes toward transsexual people in Stoke on Trent are disgusting and something the city should be ashamed of. As a woman with a transsexual history I have personally been on the receiving end of the rampant prejudice which extends down from city council employees to the local inhabitants. I stress that there are some lovely and understanding people but there is a lot of bigotry and ignorance too.
At my lowest point I experienced the same total lack of support which Natasha felt and was forced out of my home by threats of physical violence and verbal abuse. I was incredibly lucky that someone I met in the town I now live in literally rescued me and selflessly supported me until my psychological state was such that I was in far less danger of taking my own life. I just wish I could have been there to try to offer my support to Natasha when she desperately needed help.
A word of advice to The Sentinel, it is incredibly disrespectful to reinforce the refer to us by the name given to us at birth as you did in your second sentence after we have taken steps to change our name. Doing what you have done simply gives the impression that you don't see our female identity as valid and reinforces the bigotry we suffer.
Research shows that with the correct support and treatment we tend to have the highest success rates of any psychological and physical treatments. Unfortunately a survey of medical professionals found that 86% did not believe we should receive treatment funded by the NHS. I wonder if people can imagine how we feel when we see binge drinkers being treated without question for their self inflicted injuries. We can no more choose to be transsexual that you can choose your height or eye colour.

All I can say is I'm glad to still be here and hope that I can earn the money I need to pay for my surgery and other treatment as the urge to take my own life is nothing to do with being unhappy with my gender, it's the withholding of treatment which kills us.”