Classifieds Wedding Announcements Jobs/Volunteers May 23, 2009, in Victoria, British Columbia. The wedding and reception were held at Hatley Castle and attended by family and friends. Rae, an attorney and graduate of Gonzaga Unviersity, is the son of Nancy and Ron Rae of Helena, MT. Werttemberger, a corporate marketing manager and also a graduate of Gonzaga University, is the son of John and Mary Werttemberger and step-father Rick Lint. The newlyweds honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta before returning to Spokane, WA where they reside. Foster Parents Needed (non-traditional homes welcome) Lutheran Community Services is currently seeking potential foster parents for children ages 6 and up. Generous compensation and support package provided. Please call Azra at: (509) 343-5035. C LAS S I F I E D S Announcements: Up to 75 words and photo FREE, 20 cents/word thereafter. Other Categories: 25 cents/word. Deadline: Payment and content must be received by the 15th of the month for the following issue. Contact: mail@qviewnorthwest. com or 509.570.8768 Victim Advocates The Sexual Assault & Crime Victims Center is seeking individuals who want to make a difference in their community by becoming Victim Advocates. Volunteers provide medical and legal advocacy, crisis intervention, and information referral to victims of sexual assault and other crimes. Commitment of two evening or weekend shifts per month required, stipends available. For more information, please contact Mandy Iverson at 343-5005. Ronnie Rae & Trevor Werttemberger Following eight years together, Ronnie Rae & Trevor Werttemberger were married Giuliani - From Page 13 of her girlfriend being anything but, well, her girlfriend. As a newly-out lesbian, she was not sure she wanted to return to being in a relationship with a man. But Giuliani is the person she is in love with, she says, so she chose to support him as he transforms into a happier, more authentic version of himself. The pair is now engaged to be married and parent Dawson's two children together. Dawson says being involved with the kids' lives and communicating openly has helped them adjust to Giuliani's physical changes. "They knew ahead of time what was going to be going on," she says, as they have during each step of the process. Dawson believes her children benefit from being exposed to adults who embrace openmindedness. "They're both very accepting and don't like for anybody to get picked on," she says, adding that to her knowledge, her children are not teased by their peers for having a non-traditional family. Spokane is an ideal city in which to raise children, says Dawson, but not yet an easy place to be transgender. Whether because they do not know where to look or because it is nonexistent, the couple has not found a community of families and resources specific to their situation in Spokane. Giuliani's transition process did not begin until he began to search online and discovered others with similar stories. Because Spokane's community of openly transgender people is small, says Dawson, transitioning is riskier socially, professionally, and in terms of physical safety. "I think pretty much, if you're `out,' you get `outed,'" says Giuliani. As a result, many people keep their gender identity to themselves and difficult even for other transgender people to discover. "Lesbian" no longer feels quite fitting a term for their relationship, says Dawson, and she is not sure how they will now fit into the lesbian community. Together, they have transitioned to being a straight couple, she says, but many straight couples may not be open-minded enough to accept them. Giuliani and Dawson have decided to join an LGBT-friendly church to find a community where they belong, but they say moving to a larger or more politically progressive city may be the only way they will find themselves among more couples with whom they can relate. "I think it's just the numbers," says Giuliani. He speculates Spokane simply does not have enough female-to-male transgender people for a strong support network to have formed. Q Erika Prins is a writer, local small business manager and novice marathon runner. She is a recent graduate of Whitworth University, where she tirelessly advocated for chartering a Gay-Straight Alliance club, sometimes instead of doing her homework. www.qviewnorthwest.com | Q View Northwest - Spokane Edition | June 2009 | 2