The impact of Executive Orders on SFCHC and other health providers
February 7, 2025
I was in Washington, DC this past week for the National Association of Community Health Center's Policy and Issues Forum, an annual convening of the 1500+ health centers across the country to come together and advocate on Capitol Hill for the life-saving safety net services we provide to our communities. In all my years of attending and participating in this conference, never did I experience the level of fear and confusion that I encountered.
As many of you have followed in the news, the slew of Executive Orders issued since the inauguration has been downright scary. When there is an executive order (“Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government") that erases the existence of transgender people at the federal level, it is at once baffling and distressing but, more viscerally, abhorrent and cruel.
Within the past 10 days, we received directives from the federal government to "immediately terminate, to the maximum extent, all programs, personnel, activities, or contracts" related to the Executive Orders on DEI and gender ideology. This threw us—and all of our partners across the country—into a state of confusion. And then out of the blue, SFCHC was one of a dozen or so organizations across the country to be notified that CDC funding for programs serving Trans youth of color was immediately terminated; our grant alone is hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. These specific programs support safe spaces in San Francisco and Oakland to access HIV, STI, and Hep C screening and testing services, as well as linking our clients to more comprehensive health care services. A temporary restraining order was issued by a US District Court which gives us a bit of breathing room to continue for now, and yet, we remain chilled to the bone.
The future of federally funded transgender programs across the country looks bleak. Even if litigation is ultimately successful, the attacks will continue and many programs won’t survive.
We are still assessing the impact in the near future for the many programs and services for our Trans community that we have carefully, thoughtfully, and painstakingly built over decades: our Trans: Thrive drop-in and resource center; our 77 bed emergency shelter for Trans homeless individuals which is ensuring that we reduce the number of homeless individuals in our city; and our research-proven Trans model of HIV care to ensure that Trans women of color who are living with HIV remain healthy, 13 years running. Could all of these vital, long-standing community resources be wiped out with a stroke of a sharpie?
I am flabbergasted. And I am fully prepared to fight for our communities. When I shared all of this with my SFCHC team, our valiant team doubled down on their commitment to our work. I know you are committed to the health and wellbeing of our communities as well; I will keep you updated as we navigate the many hurdles surely to come. You will hear more shortly about our upcoming Show of Hope; the dollars raised will be even more critical in the coming year.
Thank you for all your support, both moral and financial.
In community,
Lance Toma