Mission, Vision, + Values
SisTers PGH is a BLACK and TRANS-led nonprofit organization that serves the Transgender community of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
SisTers PGH provides holistic, supportive services, including housing, rent/utility support, emergency shelter, and a drop-in center for Trans youth, adults, and seniors experiencing houselessness, domestic and sexual assault, gender-based violence, and those living with HIV.
Our ground-breaking organization is led by Founder/Director Ciora Thomas and directed by a leadership team composed of Black, Trans, and womxn accomplices geared toward providing equitable resources, housing, employment, and developmental support for Black Trans leadership in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
SisTers PGH stands as Pennsylvania’s only Black Trans-woman directed 501c3 organization working at its capacity; the organization has been in operation since 2013 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
SisTers PGH not only works to provide direct services for the Transgender community but is also a long-standing beacon of education and support for allied cisgender-led nonprofits and groups looking to create a more inclusive Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
Our Trans-affirming programming includes transitional housing, leadership roles, employment, lobbying, direction action, and initiatives that improve the quality of life for Transgender people, especially Black Trans people.
We envision a future in which Trans people are providing essential care for Trans people, so they will no longer need the nonprofit industrial complex that feeds off of their marginalization. We are building a root system that blossoms into a tree foundationally embedded in harm reduction and care, alongside a city/county where Black and Brown Trans youth, adults, seniors, and especially Black Trans women and girls, are given the space and opportunities to think and thrive on their terms, radically. We intend to be the bridge that holds the intersections together by working closely with our comrades to find the best solutions to care for Black Trans Pittsburgh.
SisTers PGH values the experiences of Black Trans Pennsylvanians lives, from sex workers, to the homeless.
“SisTers PGH has provided safe spaces for black and brown trans and nonbinary throughout the years and has continued to provide the necessary tools and resources for our siblings in the community who need trans affirming, safe emergency housing in Pittsburgh/Allegheny County. When admitted into the program I felt a sense of welcome, respect, and love for who I am as a person and encouragement to prosper in my own success.”
Past + Present Programming
➢ Case Management
➢ Project T
➢ Grow To Succeed
➢ BroThers PGH
➢ TGNC Youth Collective
➢ People’s Pride
➢ Emergency shelter/relocation assistance
➢ Medical referral services
➢ Rent/Utility/Security Deposit assistance
➢ Drop-in center and computer lab
➢ Employment and Education
➢ The T (TRANSportation Services)
➢ Sylvia’s Library