History
The T Project is Singapore’s first and only social service for the transgender community. This independent community initiative was set up by Miss June Chua and her late sister Miss Alicia Chua in June 2014. They realised that there were many gaps in the existing social service sectors, which did not address the needs of Singapore’s transgender community.
Aware of the challenges faced by transgender individuals, they first decided to open a shelter that would serve as a temporary safe haven for anyone who was homeless in the community. The residents are welcome to stay at the shelter for an initial period of 6 months, until they are able to find alternative housing or a more permanent place.
In June 2014, our first shelter was set up with the help of another NGO.
The T Project shelter is the only social service in Singapore that exists specifically to cater to the female transgender community and transgender people living with HIV. Our shelter program also provides suitable referral support to our residents to meet their employment, social, healthcare, and emotional needs.
We started our psycho-social programs by inviting registered social workers and counsellors to visit our shelter to offer counselling services to residents.
In June 2016, with the help of the community and allies, The T Project managed to raise approximately $130,000 to set up our current shelter. In July and August 2018, we managed to raise another $60,000 for shelter rent and operations in a campaign called ‘Project Re-Lease’. And in 2022, a new fundraise is launched to support our work, “Can you please be a champion for the most neglected and forgotten today”.
Project Re-Lease, T Project’s fundraising initiative
In our outreach efforts to corporations and social service sectors, it became clear that job opportunities were really limited for the transgender community. Therefore, The T Project decided to create job opportunities for our own community.
We actively connect interested trans individuals (both resident and non-resident) to jobs that are trans-affirmative. The T Project also connects residents to a social worker if they are eligible for financial or medical aid.
We hope that with a safe, rent-free place to stay at, the residents will have stability and a sense of permanency in their lives. This will better enable them to plan for their futures.
We also conduct an ongoing volunteer recruitment drive to train volunteers to support shelter programs like our food ration drives and fundraising events.
A 2018 Empowerment Workshop (funded by AWARE), held at the shelter
In 2018, the Alicia Community Centre was set up to provide a safe space for transgender/gender-non-binary individuals of all ages—particularly the youth. Apart from peer counselling services for the marginalised, the centre offers a non-judgmental place for LGBTQ youths to meet up and get social support.
The public is welcome to hold workshops and visit the centre to get more information about the community. The centre will house a library featuring trans-themed literature, as well as a museum documenting the history of the community in Singapore.
The beginning of the Alicia Community Centre.beginning of the Alicia Community Centre.
Visit us at the Alicia Community Centre
And our story continues…
The T Project Family
About our Founder and Director
June Chua
June founded The T Project together with her late sister Alicia in 2014, to meet the needs of the transgender community in Singapore.
Since then, June has gone on to a broad range of outreach and advocacy events. In Singapore, she has spoken at numerous panels and conferences, and collaborated with local educational institutions and social workers.
Internationally, she participated in the 7th ILGA Asia Conference and the Peace Boat’s 97th Voyage Asia. She also participated in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program in 2018.
June’s work has garnered the attention of many. She was named the AWARE Champion for Gender Equality & Justice Award and the Promising Advocate of the Year by The Working Community 3, to name a few of her awards.
About our Full-Time Peer Counsellor
Solomon (hE/HIM)
Solomon graduated from Murdoch University (Perth, Western Australia) with a Bachelor in Psychology (Major in Psychology, and Organisational Psychology)
Solomon had been a counsellor in hospitals, where he had walked with patients and their families through difficult moments. During COVID, he played a crucial role in supporting the hospital during the pandemic. He is currently serving T Project as a full-time counsellor.
His love and compassion for people has been his compass in life. He had worked with individuals with special needs and disadvantaged families in Singapore.
He has been serving T project since 2018 as he believes that everyone should be treated equally with dignity.
About our LeaD Peer Counsellors
Shan (hE/HIM)
Shan is a registered social worker with a Masters in Social Work and Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology. He is currently employed as a Social Worker in a local youth agency.
Shan started his work with the transgender community in 2010 with Oogachaga. There he worked on supporting the needs of transgender people and their families, as well as clients affected by sexually transmitted diseases.
Since then, Shan has been involved in multiple international conferences organized by bodies such as APEC, UNAIDS and APTN, representing Singapore as transgender activist. His volunteer work with the T Project began in 2017 with the development of the AWARE Trans-Empowerment workshops for transgender women in Singapore.
LAVANIA (ShE/HER)
Lavania is a registered social worker with a Bachelors in Social Work (Hons). She is currently working in a local community setting where she serves a diverse population of multi-stressed families.
Lavania started volunteering with the T Project in 2018 and came onboard as a peer counsellor in 2020.