TD Bank donated $500,000 this year to a program that provides gender-affirming care for children.
According to a May article from the Canadian financial institution, TD Bank donated to support gender transitions at the McMaster Pediatric Gender Diversity Program through Canada's Children's Hospital Foundations. The program provides medical and mental health services for "trans and gender diverse youth" at the McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario.
"We are aware that adolescent physical and mental health remains a pressing issue," said Sarah Colley, community relations manager for TD. "That's why we are so pleased to provide support to the McMaster Pediatric Gender Diversity Program through the TD Ready Commitment."
The Canadian Mental Health Association states "there is no general age of consent to treatment or counseling."
"Instead, the issue depends on whether the young person is capable of consenting," the organization wrote.
When Chloe Cole was 12, she decided she was transgender and came out to her parents at 13, according to the New York Post.
She was put on puberty blockers and prescribed testosterone, before undergoing a double mastectomy at 15. At 16, she realized she'd made a mistake.
"I was failed by the system," she told the Post. "I literally lost organs."
The McMaster's program "aims to provide medical and mental health services to trans and gender diverse youth as part of a comprehensive program that includes adolescent medicine, psychology, psychiatry, endocrinology, speech-language pathology, and social work," according to TD.
It also is "able to complete medical referrals and legal referrals such as changing gender markers and a person's legal name on identification."
Since McMaster Children's Hospital first started providing gender-affirming care to children in 2016, demand for its services has grown substantially. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the program was receiving three to four referrals a week. Now there are reportedly 150 young people on the current waiting list, with an estimated wait time of 24 months for an initial assessment.
While the program's current model provides care for 60-70 new youths per year, TD's grant will allow it to expand to serve another 25-30 children.
Dr. Rosheen Grady, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at the children's hospital, said in the article that she met a parent whose child had been "drowning in depression" before finding the program.
"They realized they have a daughter now, and they're grateful for the resources and support that the program provided to them," she said. "It can be so rewarding to hear that."
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