Renae Punzalan is the director of youth services at the Marsha P. Johnson Youth Drop-in Center in Palm Springs, which opened its doors in January 2024. It’s a service of the Transgender Health and Wellness Center (TGHWC) focused on young people struggling to feel secure in their gender identity.
“Our youth-services growth was catapulted two or three years ago, when we got a call from a counselor at a high school somewhere up in the high desert,” Punzalan said. A young trans girl had tried to take her own life.
“We were just so heartbroken,” Punzalan said. “I was sitting in my car talking to this counselor … about my experience, and how I, as a trans person, survived in my life. I’ve also experienced trying to (take my own life) when I was 16, because I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I thought I was the devil.”
Similar thoughts and feelings confront a number of youth in our Coachella Valley communities, and before the arrival of “The MPJ,” as its staff and beneficiaries fondly call it, if a troubled young person could not confide in family members, there was no dedicated place to go to receive support.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California’s 2024 study of the state’s LGBTQ+ population, California “is home to the country’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population—2.8 million people. Texas is second … with an LGBTQ+ population of 1.8 million.” According to the study, 6% of the LGBTQ+ population identifies as transgender—roughly 168,000 Californians.
To better meet the needs of the Coachella Valley transgender community, the Desert Healthcare District in July 2022 granted the TGHWC nearly $130,000 to support its work.
“There was a small little office (in the TGHWC building) that was supposed to be for some administration purposes, but I said, ‘What about (putting) the drop-in center here?’” Punzalan said.
In the months since the drop-in center opened, Punzalan has built a varied list of programs and types of support to offer young visitors.
“Our mission is to support and assist LGBTQ+ youth in the Coachella Valley and beyond (to help them) find their power, and to offer them resources to further the safe and healthy development of … their identities and, of course, their lives,” Punzalan said. “And part of the mission is to focus on their mental health, so if youth want to come in to see somebody, because they’re having issues identifying as trans or non-binary, and they don’t really know what that is, here at the center, they can get connected to one of our therapists. If they’re 13 and above, they can access that service without their parental permission.
“Youth can access the center as a safe space to just be affirmed. They can come here Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some of them come after school on a Friday, and they stay until 7 o’clock. I just have to be notified, so I can have the extra time to stay here for them. They get connected to this space, watch TV, play games, and they have access to the food pantry, hygiene products and new school supplies.”
The MPJ staff is determined to help participating youth in any way they can. The types of support offered also include mentoring, rapid re-housing to those fleeing domestic violence or sexual assault, and rental assistance.
Punzalan estimates that 20-plus youth have availed themselves of the drop-in center thus far. Punzalan said the MPJ has faced two barriers in helping a larger number of younger people.
“One is transportation to come to the drop-in center,” Punzalan said. “On the west side of the Coachella Valley, a lot of youth are very supported by their parents and by the schools, so they don’t really need a place to drop in. We found out that the majority of the kids who need a safe space are in the east valley. We might open a location out there, and then have this space as a main office. We’re considering that, but we don’t know yet.”
Meanwhile, she and TGHWC CEO/founder Thomi Clinton are working to expand their reach. One priority is to sponsor GSA (gender and sexualities alliance) clubs at area middle and high schools. These organizations are also known as gay-straight alliance, SAGA (sexuality and gender acceptance) or rainbow clubs. The MPJ has created an initiative to “sponsor their T-shirts, and their meetings (where) we offer nourishment and food like pizza and snacks to the kids.” Punzalan, who serves as a sponsor for the Palm Springs High School and Coachella Valley High School GSA clubs, notes: “If there’s a need for funding field trips or other student-related expenses, the MPJ would hope to help, if possible.”
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2022 U.S. Trans Survey, “Nearly two-thirds of 16- and 17-year-old respondents (60%) who were out, or perceived as transgender in K-12, experienced one or more form of mistreatment or negative experience, including verbal harassment, physical attacks, online bullying, being denied the ability to dress according to their gender identity/expression, teachers or staff refusing to use chosen name or pronouns, or being denied the use of restrooms or locker rooms matching their gender identity.”
“Even though we’re here in Palm Springs—which is supposed to be the gay mecca, right?—there are still students who face discrimination for being trans or gender-diverse.”
Renae Punzalan, director of youth services, Marsha P. Johnson Youth Drop-in Center
Said Punzalan: “Even though we’re here in Palm Springs—which is supposed to be the gay mecca, right?—there are still students who face discrimination for being trans or gender-diverse.”
So far, she said, she’s had limited success in building partnerships with other schools in the valley.
“I have reached out to Indio High School, and I’ve been talking to Cathedral City High School, Rancho Mirage and Desert Hot Springs,” Punzalan said. “It’s just a matter of me getting approved to come in to do a presentation on the services we offer here. I don’t know if some parents or some staff might be opposed, because we are a trans-led organization, and I am a trans-woman. … I just want all these folks to know, particularly the advisers for these clubs, that we’re here for them as a resource. We’d love to help them out, or get them involved in any way we can in the future.”
The MPJ welcomes supportive family members as well.
“We do get whole families together,” Punzalan said. “We get mothers, fathers and siblings, who all come in. … We offer support groups for families and friends and allies that they can take advantage of every week. They can ask questions and get more knowledge on what it is to be transgender or non-binary, or gender-diverse, or LGBTQ+, or any of those things. … We’ve even had families who moved from really conservative states just to access our services here.”
Looking to the future, Punzalan is focusing on both expanding the MPJ’s services and reach.
“My goal is to do more youth-centric events, like social events, parties, maybe fundraisers, but fun little events for youth,” she said. “I would like to host a social event once a month for youth, so that they can come out, and everything will be free. … It’s important and vital that, to sustain the Youth Drop-in Center, we obtain funding. I constantly work with our grant writers to propose grants, and write grants and get funding for events, so we can continue to do the work here.”
In November, the MPJ and the TGHWC will be representing their LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Palm Springs Pride parade. Next, they will host the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Palm Springs City Hall.
“It’s a candlelight vigil, and it is a sad day, honestly,” Punzalan said. “It’s the day to remember those people who we’ve lost in the transgender community due to anti-transgender violence. These people are no longer with us in this realm, but we honor them by saying their names and coming together as a community to show support for one another.”
Punzalan had this message for valley youth who are confronting their own gender identity and looking for support: “I just want youth to take their time with their transition, or with (forming) their identities. Just, like, sit with it and enjoy who they are as a person, and know that there are people out there to support them.”
The Marsha P. Johnson LGBTQ+ Youth Drop-in Center is located at 340 S. Farrell Drive, Suite A106, in Palm Springs. For more information, call 760-464-0223, or visit trans.health/mpj-youthcenter.
