Bengaluru: As India continues to fight the second wave of coronavirus, many continue to suffer. While some have lost livelihoods, many more have lost their lives. 

To ease the lives of its people, the government has come out with a number of schemes.

Now, it has come out with a policy to help out transgender people. 

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment being the nodal ministry for Transgender Welfare has decided to provide a subsistence allowance of Rs1500 to each transgender person as immediate support to meet their basic requirements. This financial assistance will help the transgender community to meet their day-to-day needs. NGOs and Community-based Organisations(CBOs) working for transgender Persons have been asked to spread awareness about this step.  

Counselling Services Helpline

The social justice ministry has also come up the concept of counselling. As people facing mental health problems do not feel comfortable about seeking help due to the stigma around it, a free helpline for distressed transgender persons owing to the current pandemic for psychological support and mental health care has also been announced by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Any transgender person can connect with experts on the Helpline Number 8882133897. This helpline will be functional from Monday to Saturday between 11 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 5 PM. On this helpline, counselling services will be provided by professional Psychologists for their mental health.

Vaccination of transgenders

A letter has also been written by the Ministry to the Principal Secretaries of all states to ensure that there is no discrimination against transgender persons in existing covid /vaccination centers. They have also been requested to conduct awareness drives especially reaching out to the transgender community in different vernaculars to ensure they are informed and aware of the vaccination process. A request has also been made to the states to organize separate mobile vaccination centers or booths for vaccination of transgender persons such as those taken up in the states of Haryana & Assam.