--UPDATE: A news report reveals an investigation concluded that neglect killed Haywood Earl, a 60 year old black man, at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital.  The same hospital at which Jean and I were patients.--

CLICK HERE TO LINK TO ARTICLE

CLICK HERE TO SEE A LETTER OF SUPPORT BY MINDFREEDOM INTERNATIONAL

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The goals of this petition are:

*To get Jean Busch's death investigated by the Attorney General of MA, Andrea Joy Campbell.

*To get allegations of systemic abuse of transgender patients in DMH hospitals investigated by Andrea Joy Campbell.

*To get Maura Healey, Massachusetts' first openly gay governor, to throw the full weight of her office behind the Attorney General's office.

*To use the results of these investigations to effect long lasting changes for transgender patients in MA and beyond.

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My name is And Steiner (pictured in above photo). My pronouns are it/it's. I am a transgender patient that has been hospitalized in Massachusetts' Department of Mental Health (DMH) hospitals for over two years because of severe suicidality and suicide attempts.

About a year ago I began being abused, mistreated, and discriminated against at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital.

I have written over 90 complaints, detailing hundreds of legal, policy and human rights violations.

I have also written over 1000+ emails and made hundreds of phone calls to staff members at the DMH's Office of Inpatient Management (OIM), various lawmakers, MA's Attorney General, Boston City Council members and other relevant authorities in an attempt to raise awareness of my treatment, the death of Jean Busch, and allegations of systemic abuse and discrimination against other transgender patients.

Here are some things that have happened to me during my time in DMH hospitals:

*Multiple room searches without probable cause.
*Medication restriction/reduction without explanation including HIV medication. (Both Disability Law Center and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition sent representatives to resolve this)
*Banned access to telephone communication for weeks at a time.
*Regularly having my privileges stripped without explanation.
*Staff breaking protocol to have me restrained while calm.
*Being tackled by staff at LSH in my room without provocation.
*Being coerced into an unnecessary body search.
*Not being allowed to use the bathroom according to my gender identity.
*Being misgendered constantly and intentionally by staff members.
*Having critical medical care/services withheld punitively (as outlined in MindFreedom International's letter of support above)
*Being transferred, under restraint, as a voluntary patient under no criminal investigation (illegal) to an acute, dangerous forensic ward where I endure constant emotional, verbal and physical abuse from other patients.
*Being forced into seclusion despite having been calm and showing no signs of self-harm behavior for many hours.
*Having my electronics taken from me with no verbal warning (as is afforded to other patients.) This resulted in suicide attempts both times. 2 of those 3 suicide attempts require medical care.
*Being denied/restricted from accessing gender-affirming healthcare for over 18 months.


These incidents represent a small fraction of my - and other transgender patients'- experiences in these hospitals.

During this process I developed close friendships with social workers, nurses and peer specialists who regularly told me that the abuse, mistreatment and discrimination I am experiencing is systemic to transgender patients and that there is ample evidence of this.

According to one peer specialist approximately 80% of transgender patients complain of similar issues at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital.

Multiple staff members also confided in me that Jean Busch, a transgender woman, was experiencing abuse and discrimination similar to me, and, like me, was filing complaints.

Her providers, then perceiving her as a liability, coerced her into leaving the hospital into a dangerous living situation in which she committed suicide shortly thereafter!

Disturbingly the same providers attempted to discharge me into a similarly dangerous living situation after I began filing complaints around my own experiences of abuse and discrimination!

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Important Update:

Fortunately, MA House Representative John Moran and Boston city-council member Tania Anderson have taken action and are communicating directly with me and advocating directly to DMH!

Unfortunately, despite Rep Moran's and Councilor Anderson's efforts, DMH has not been convinced to do what they are paid heavily by taxpayers to do; to ensure that I, and other transgender patients, have access to clinically appropriate services in a clinically appropriate environment (including gender-affirming healthcare).

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We are asking everyone, regardless of your location or relation to the transgender community, to come to the defense of transgender patients in Massachusetts by signing this petition.

This is our message to Massachusetts' Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Massachusetts' Governor Maura Healey:

1. Massachusetts prides itself on being a haven for queer people. Massachusetts voters expect Massachusetts' leaders to stand up for LGBTQIA+ rights, as does the rest of the world!
   
2. Serious accusations have been raised by patients and staff members of systemic abuse, mistreatment, and discrimination against transgender patients in MA's DMH hospitals, including the death of a trans woman, Jean Busch.
3. Investigate and let the facts speak for themselves!
   
4. Make changes and/or add laws to ensure that transgender patients are treated with dignity and respect in MA's healthcare system.
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   #justiceforjean
   

Email: matransgenderrights@proton.me