About Laura's Playground 
  

Laura's Playground is a Free Support Site for MTF, FTM Transsexual , Transgendered, Crossdressers, Intersex, Androgynous and their Significant Others and Friends. We support those who are transitioning as well. It is designed to help us cope with our joys and sorrows as well as our anxiety and physical being. There is a beautiful side to being transgendered and we hope to show you that here. The pain of Gender Dysphoria can be eased. There are 23 message Forums for support without combat for all Trans-folk and their families. No Cybersex or Admirers are allowed. You are Safe here.

On the lighter side there is the Venutian Universe and Horoscopes an Advice Column, Fun Page, Articles, The Daily Blog, Online Games and Polls as well as The Lighter News. In addition please feel free to Register for our Forums and Live Transgender Chat. Check our Calendar for upcoming live chat events. We hope this site provides the support you need the resources you desire and the information you need even if you're just satisfying your curiosity.

Laura's Playground never gets old. There are five pages that are updated daily, some with RSS Feeds. The Daily Blog, Fun Stuff, Software & News, & Site-Pro Newsletter. New content is also added to the forums daily.

This site was started for the following reasons: Trying to find Transfolk support sites in the Search Engines is like looking for a needle in a haystack. They are out there but smothered by sex sites. In fact most sex sites rank higher than the support sites. I was also appalled by the high suicide rate among Transgendered Folk. The suicide rate for Pre-op Transsexuals is 31%. Over 50% of our users have had at least one suicide attempt by age 20. Our mission is to stem that dismal tide. Another estimate puts the rate at nine times the norm.

Our Mission is to lower the horrendous suicide rate and provide online support for all Transgendered persons and their families. We also provide factual information to both our users and the uninformed. There are no fees charged and the entire staff including Laura are all volunteers. All new moderators and many most of our older ones have or are taking a Youth suicide prevention course to give them the tools they need. Many of our moderators put long hours in the Chat rooms to cover as many hours as possible. They are truely dedicated to the Transgendered Community.

Laura's Playground is unique in that our moderators have been trained or are training In Youth Suicide Prevention. This is the same training that many suicide prevention hotlines train their people in. Our Online training is intense. All new moderators are required to take the course.

If for any reason you just feel the need to talk or need a sympathetic ear, I am always available at this address:

laura@laura's-playground.com . You can also schedule a Live Chat session with me at any time for Transgender Peer to peer counseling. I remain here for you.

To donate or help us with our mission Email Georgiann here. We have just changed our policy to allow this. So far our expenses run between a thousand and eight hundred dollars a month. This pays site expenses thousands of Sitepal streams and A few hours a week advertising on Yahoo, Google and MSN so we can reach all Transgendered People. Your money will go direct to the site and not for staff salary's as everyone including me is a volunteer.

Laura's Playground also boasts A well trained competent staff of moderators that keep our Chat Rooms and Forums running smoothly. You'll find them to be most Helpful. Introducing the Moderators.

Peer Counseling available. Peer counseling is a scheduled chat session either privatly or in a group. These sessions are designed to give you options and to assure you that you are not alone. Group Sessions are scheduled on the Calendar. Private sessions can be obtained by writing Laura. Please realize that I am only one person so availability has to fit around my schedule. Realize too that I am not a Psychologist.

We are presently looking for a Psychologist to volunteer to hold weekly group chat sessions. In addition we are looking for prominent Transgendered Folk to hold chat sessions as well. If you can help, write to Laura.

I'm usually available to chat on Aol Instant Messenger:  LaurasGround                                                         Instant Yahoo Messenger:   lamato01089                                                  MSN Instant Messenger   lamato100 at msn.com

Please Book-mark us, sign the guest book, and vote in the polls. For more information read our posted Privacy Policy.

The Playground Concept. In this day and age Playgrounds are no longer thought of as just for kids. In fact many Porno sites have adopted the word. That's not true here. We are not a site about sex, we are about gender and identity. Since our minds and bodies are often not one, we are just exploring the gender we feel that we truely are inside. This makes that side of us children emotionally. That means that many of us are just starting puberty in our new identities. We are seeking to attract Transgendered people like ourselves, not six year olds. We have a solidarity in our astronomical suicide rate. So we need to help each other. Many are Transgendered Teens whose rate is much higher. We seek to get counseling and understanding for all of us. Our site is for PG13 and higher.

Our Experience I have been involved in the Transgender Community for many years and many thousands of hours have gone into the research for this site. Since we are a personal support site we have talked to hundreds of thousands of Transgendered people through chat, the forums and by email. We have had over 2 million hits. We've helped thousands in suicidal crsises. While most transgender surveys have involved only up to 300 people, our statistics include thousands. We know what works and what doesn't. We know full well the results of not getting early treatment listening to numerous true horror stories. After all we deal with Transgendered from ages 13 and up after going through puberty in the wrong gender. We deal with the terrible aftermath of suicide, cutting and self-multilation. In order to fulfill our mission of getting our suicide rate down to zero every Transgender person needs to be treated by a Gender Therapist when the problem shows up at the age of four or five. Too often parents dismiss it as a phase. Please listen to them and at the very least get them into therapy. This can only prevent them from becoming a statistic here later in their adult life. When 50% have had suicide attempts by age 20 think of all the thousands who didn't make it.

Transgendered Wish List for Laura's Playground

Presenting Laura's Playground Staff

Laura Amato