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Support, advocacy, and community action.
Diversity Alliance of the Puget Sound (DAPS) is a Non Profit Organization that works to support 18+ transgender and gender diverse individuals through direct service such as support groups, advocacy, and financial aid. We are based in Tacoma, WA, but serve all of Washington State.
DAPS started as the Tacoma Transgender Support Group (TTSG) in the late 1990's then later became an official non-profit as Gender Alliance of the South Sound (GASS) out of Tacoma, WA. For 20+ years GASS served the South Sound and established social groups, founded TDOR Tacoma, the Transgender Speakers Bureau, and began our Name Aid and Scholarship programs. In the summer of 2020 we decided it was time to expand our service area to the entire State and any state without readily accessible resources, with that we needed to change our name. Since then we have added 4 additional weekly groups; Plugged In, Trans-Cend, Trans 101, and Trans-Mission. We have revamped and re-opened our Name Aid program, started an HRT Supply Kit program, and designed a Microgrant program which will begin soon. One of our amazing Board Members, Astro Pittman is also the founder of TDOR Seattle, so we are honored to be a part of two very important events. We started an Artist in Residency Program for Trans and Gender Diverse Artists to assist with Covid, and have had the pleasure of working with some amazing artists over the past several months. We are also very active in our community, we are part of the Trans in Jail Coalition, as well as other community actions for policy change. We are excited about the expansion of DAPS, but are also mindful of preserving our foundation.
DAPS embodies and celebrates the wide diversity within the gender spectrum, believes that this variation is part of the human family's common, normal and natural predisposition, and supports the establishment of social and legal rights for all individuals who desire to temporarily or permanently present and live their lives in a manner different from the gender roles mandated by traditional culture. DAPS rejects the notion of a gender polarity or duality in which there are only two accepted modes of gender expression, and disputes that one must remain fixed in the gender role assigned at birth or in accord with anatomical manifestations. Additionally, DAPS fully supports the right to privacy, and encourages its membership to consistently maintain awareness of and respect for the confidentiality that non-conformist gender expression often requires.
Diversity Alliance of the Puget Sound (DAPS) does not and shall not discriminate in Board Service, Membership, volunteering, advertisement, termination, contractors, or any other conditions on the basis of race, gender identity, gender expression, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, illness, health status including HIV or other STI status, ability, recovery from addiction, citizenship or citizenship status, immigration status, employment status, economic status, national origin, ethnicity, creed, color, size, height, weight, veteran status, pregnancy, familial responsibilities, genetic makeup, primary language, religion or spiritual belief, housing or houselessness, experience surviving sexual or physical abuse, involvement in sex work or the sex trade, political affiliation, education level, union membership or other unlawful factors. DAPS strives to serve all areas of the diverse transgender and gender diverse community without exception.
Picture from Tacoma News Tribune (Pete Caster) November 19, 2021 Tacoma Municipal half mast flag raise Ben Gilbert Park, Tacoma WA
We offer 7-8 groups per week ranging from education based, support, social, and activities.
We offer one on one advocacy to assist those we serve in receiving care, free from discrimination.
We support our community through various programs such as, our Name Aid program which helps to remove the financial barriers to change your name and our HRT supply kit program which offers free supplies to those who cannot afford them, we also seek to work within our community to partner with programs and actions that affect those we serve.
Diversity Alliance of the Puget Sound is a transgender and gender diverse social service organization, founded in 2004.
Mailing Address: P.O Box 6942 Bellevue, WA 98008
Copyright Diversity Alliance of the Puget Sound | 2021