Transgender Tamworth: Mother-daughter duo on a mission to help gender, sexually diverse young people

Trans daughter Alexis found there were almost no local services to offer a helping hand.

"Having access to those sorts of things is important especially when you're first starting out," she said.

Mum, Leoni, said there was even a shortage of trained doctors and psychologists.

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"When Alexis first came out we had a horrific, traumatic experience here in Tamworth talking to a psychologist who had no training whatsoever," she said.

"And it was traumatic what she told us, we thought we were going to lose her.

"It wasn't until we booked in down in Wollongong and we got the correct information and also how do we help - they gave it to us."

They also found existing diversity help groups did not specifically cater to the interests and experiences of LGBTQI+ young people.

The mum and daughter team are hoping to change all that.

They recently held the first meeting of a new group for young people aged between 16 and 30.

Alexis said she hopes to be able to develop the sort of care group that exists online, often internationally.

But they also hope to be able to lobby for more, and better coordinated government services - and better community understanding of the institutions that do exist.

"That's one of the goals, is that we can get everybody working together and get that information in Tamworth. That would be the goal, to get everybody working together here in Tamworth, but also bring those services here," Leoni said.

"We have all these little separate departments and things, but nobody's talking to each other."

Alexis and Leoni don't believe the resource shortages are the result of prejudice - just lack of attention.

"A lot of trans people go to Newcastle, or somewhere like that, to get support," Alexis said.

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