Karen Maclean

Yesterday I heard the saddest of news

Karen Maclean the driving force and heart behind the T-Junction support group in Derby has passed away. This was sudden and surprising news.

Karen was an unsung heroine of the Transgender community. The work she did with T-Junction helped many a fledgling T-Girl, just like myself. I remember the first time I attended her group. I had been out and about as Jen a few times but had never really socialised. I was very nervous walking up to the Community Centre, but as soon as a walked in Karen was there, with a warmth of welcome and understanding that immediately put me at ease. She took time to introduce everyone personally, and made sure I was included in the conversations. I saw her do this countless times over my couple of years attending the group. The success of T-Junction is its inclusiveness. Anybody, whatever shade of gender was always made to feel welcome and wanted.

I remember one evening in particular. There were a few teenagers milling around the community centre entrance. Karen was worried that this might be intimidating some some members, so me and her went outside to talk to the kids. Instead of just shooing them away, we talked to them. After their initial giggling they started to ask us questions about being transgendered. They turned out to be genuinely interested. After chatting for a while, she explained that their presence may put some people off attending. They accepted this without any fuss and went off to mill around somewhere else, problem solved. I remember this as an example of Karen's patience.

It is a measure of the impact she had on me and the vital part she played in my eventual transition, that although I only saw her once in the last year or so, I miss her already.

Rest In Peace Karen.
I hope you knew how loved you were.