The Lavendar Clinic is in crisis, seeks help from community

HONOLULU (KHON2) — It is no secret that some of our most vulnerable residents are under attack from political forces that want to squelch a person’s freedom to assert their gender identity based on personal experience and expression.

The Lavendar Clinic located in Honolulu is the only fully independent non-profit that provides gender-affirming care and primary and behavioral healthcare to any person, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

“The Lavender Clinic is amidst a financial crisis and is in need of funding to continue operations. TLC is reaching out for support of all kinds, be it financial, structural or organizational, so we can continue to serve the gender diverse community in our beautiful state,” said Chief Administrative Officer for the nonprofit healthcare organization, The Lavender Clinic.

According to Caldwell, the clinic needs the community’s support. They are looking for fundraisers, advocates and allies who can step in to secure the future of this unique and needed non-profit.

“We realize the timing of our need is not great with what is going on politically; and because of this, it’s even more important to get our presence known and that it would be detrimental to the community if we closed,” added Caldwell.

As it stands, TLC will close soon leaving their many patients and clients without a resource that in many cases is a lifeline for a particularly marginalized group. The loss of this safe space could be detrimental to many who seek out their services.

“The Lavender Clinic is the foremost provider of gender-affirming care in Hawai’i. We have, thus far, been a fully independent non-profit, operating on the principle that EveryBODY Deserves a Little TLC,” explained Caldwell.

TLC currently has a GoFundMe page where you can offer financial support. But, you can also reach out to the clinic directly if you have other resources that may be valuable to their effort of saving the clinic.

“Our plan for future success includes revenue from elective cash services, financially supporting the vital care and educational outreach we provide to our community and maximizing grant support,” added Caldwell.

As they move through this crisis, TLC has developed a plan for financial goals that will allow them to keep their doors open. They are concerned that even with their utilization of all resources they currently have, they may have to close their doors sooner than expected.

“[Our] goal [is to] raise $150,000 within 2 weeks to keep our doors open and $500,000 for annual operating costs.” concluded Caldwell.