OLTT is an organization founded and led by trans Latinx immigrants working for the intersectional wellbeing of our community.
With over 300 active members of the trans Latinx community in Houston, OLTT is dedicated to ensuring, protecting, and defending the human rights of all trans, gender-nonconforming, and LGBTQIA+ people in Texas.
This means intersectional advocacy, solidarity, and empowerment work; providing direct aid, emergency shelter, access to services, and physical meeting space; answering crises as they come; and celebrating and strengthening our community with joy and pride.
What we do:
Provide temporary housing
OLTT’s Casa Anandrea provides a trans-affirming home with a bed and hot food in an emergency situation. The only explicitly LGBTQI+-positive shelter in the Houston area, Casa Anandrea prioritizes serving undocumented people and those living with HIV, with beds for 15 during typical times but supporting up to 50 displaced people in emergencies.
Organize our community
OLTT is the home of empowerment groups by and for trans women, trans men, people living with HIV, survivors of sex trafficking and sexual assault, gay and bisexual men, lesbian and bisexual women, people with experience with sex work, and allies of our intersectional work. Groups are conducted primarily in Spanish with some English, and offer leadership scaffolding, pathways to resources, guest talks, political organizing, emotional support, and peer connections. All group meetings provide a meal. We also nurture our community by distributing food aid and direct aid, and assisting each other in times of need.
Defending our rights
OLTT works to make legal services of all kinds more accessible to our community. We conduct programs to [support LGBTQ people in the detention system [link https://www.facebook.com/Oltt-Deportation-Defense-Trans-lgbqi-108904770827004]] (Facebook link), connect immigration attorneys with those detained, fight and organize political pressure to advocate for the release of those detained, and care for those who are released from the system or ordered deported without support or resources.
Gender-affirming care
OLTT provides comprehensive gender non-conforming care, including collaborating with local health centers to initiate and continue gender-affirming medical and mental health care; assisting with transportation for and costs of hormone therapy; and supporting gender expression through practical assistance, from new clothes, binders, and workshops in makeup application to helping raise funds for gender-affirming surgery. We can also help change name and gender markers on official documentation.
Supporting our health
OLTT connects members of all gender identities to health services of many kinds, including HIV care, mental health services, hormone therapy, basic healthcare, and LGBTQIA-specific care, partnering with community providers with a track record of allyship and relevant expertise.
Trans and queer joy
OLTT’s events celebrate the beauty and pride of our members and create the solidarity and closeness that fuel our work. Join us for Pride, Trans Fest, Dia de los Muertos, Mr. and Mrs. OLTT beauty pageants, Novenas, healing and spiritual cleansing and special events throughout the year.
Who we are: History and biography
From four trans women excluded from an LGBTQ+ event, to more than 300 community members showing what we can do when we come together, OLTT has grown and responded to years of change.
History
Jan 2015: Anandrea Molina and other transgender women were banned from a women’s restroom in a public space that promotes LGBTQ+ programming in Houston, TX.
In response to the restroom incident and ongoing injustices against trans women of color, the first gathering of approximately 70 trans Latinx immigrant women occurred. Organización Latina de Trans in Texas (OLTT) was formed.
2016: Defensa de Deportación program begins, dedicated to freedom for undocumented Latinx LGBTQI+ immigrants held in detention centers and at risk of deportation, especially trans Latinx women.
April 2017: The Casa Anandrea shelter opens by welcoming two trans Latinx sisters who were granted asylum but had nowhere to go after they left their respective detention centers. It is the only shelter in the greater Houston area inclusive of the LGBTQI+ community and which prioritizes providing housing to undocumented persons living with HIV.
2017: Dallas OLTT [link https://www.facebook.com/groups/translatinasdallas/]] chapter is founded.
2017: OLTT’s Name and Gender Marker (NGM) program begins, assisting with approximately 10 official document changes per year.
August 2017: Hurricane Harvey. Casa Anandrea opens its doors to ALL unhoused or displaced people and provides meals for 50 people for the two weeks following.
2018: Austin chapter of OLTT formed.
2019: OLTT expands to include a trans masculine group, an empowerment group for people living with HIV, and a sexual assault survivorship program. The organization partners with local clinics to connect members with mental health, hormone affirming therapy, and HIV care.
Summer 2021: Casa Anandrea opens its doors to serve as emergency shelter for Latin American migrant families with children dropped off of buses from ICE detention with nowhere to go.
Dec. 2021: In partnership with a United Way grant, OLTT distributes nearly $65,000 in direct aid to more than 200 community members hurt by the disastrous Feb. 2021 winter storm.
2022: Several community leaders to officially join OLTT’s staff and expand our programming. Programs centering food security, shelter, health, and legal protection expand. A pilot program to provide a safety hotline to sex workers begins. OLTT sets a goal to double the number of name and gender marker changes it has assisted with over 2022.