CHENNAI: I left my home in Tirunelveli in search of a job to Chennai. I don’t know anything about the city, but to have survived here for over a month was possible only because of the shelter,” says Agnisha, a 23-year-old transwoman has given 12 interviews and is awaiting job at the Chennai Metro Rail. She has a degree in Computer Science The Chennai Corporation provides 46 shelters for urban homeless and poor, one of which is a transgender shelter at McNicholas Road, Chetpet. With about 20 residents, the shelter is home for sick, old and abandoned transgenders from Tamil Nadu. It is run by Thozhi, a community-based organisation working towards health, rights, education, empowerment and employment of transwomen.
“The Corporation provides free dinner and snacks while breakfast and lunch is taken care by the organisation. Utensils are also provided by the Corporation. It is of immense help to rebuild the lives of homeless transgenders in getting them a secure place to stay,” says Sarah, one of the chief organisers in Thozhi.
The shelter has four CCTV cameras two of which was provided by the Kilpauk Police station. It covers the outside of the shelter. The other two are inside the house. The place was allegedly unsafe earlier with local thugs using it for anti-social activities, but with security being beefed up, it is reported to have been completely stopped.
“One of the challenges our community faces is unavailability of a safe place to eat and sleep, which this shelter now provides us. This is a significant reason to stop people from doing sex work and other illegal activities,” says Sarah.
Residents are given yoga training once a week, regular counselling, and health camp every month to nurture their mental well being. They also hold meeting with Zonal Health Officer, inspectors and members from Corporation.
Three transwomen from the shelter have regular jobs — Rowlin works in Cognizant, Kamali works in packaging department of Kolapasi restaurant and Janani, an upcoming tailor, will soon work independently.
“We require professional training to equip people in various skills so that they get a career like the others. So, if the shelter has more rooms for training purposes we would shine bright,” she adds.
S Sudha, project director in Thozhi says, “With a shelter like this, our people are introduced to living in harmony. This will enhance their psychological health and improve their social behaviour.
We are planning to acquire shelter in bigger place to provide a serene residential space and in collaboration with an Australian fund source, ASTERIA, plans are on to get ration card, Aadhaar card and voter ID for our community.” The organisation conducts gender sensitising seminars in workplaces to create awareness about inclusive work environment.
The residents look forward to achieving their goals with the help of others. Twenty three-year-old Iniya, a poet and ‘gana’ singer, has adopted Agnisha as her daughter. “I have three short film scripts and I’m looking forward to work on them if I get a producer. My ambition is to become a media icon,” says Iniya, who stays with her family in Kolathur, but visits the shelter once a week.