The Jim Collins Foundation co-founders have presented nation-wide at transgender health conferences to address the widespread lack of understanding about transgender people’s health care. Here, Tony Ferraiolo, a Certified Life Coach and transgender youth advocate, and Dru Levasseur, a national transgender rights attorney, present the workshop, “The Jim Collins Foundation: Why Do We Need It?” at the 2012 Connecticut Transgender Health and Law Conference. They discussed how many transgender people desperately need medical care that insurance just won’t cover, whether due to anti-trans prejudice or ideas about transitioning that are simply out of sync with modern medical thinking. It’s a painful, every-day dilemma that the foundation is working to address through fundraising, education and advocacy. The workshop gave attendees a general overview of the medical and legal support for coverage and discussed ways that trans individuals can empower themselves and each other. It also addressed the following questions: When you know you need surgery and it’s not yet within your reach, how do you get by in the meantime? What keeps you going? Participants were encouraged to share survival skills, fundraising ideas and advocacy tools, Tony and Dru are available for speaking engagements. Please contact the Jim Collins Foundation for more information.