Resources to Advocate For and Support LGBTQ+ Communities

Just minutes before the national Transgender Day of Remembrance began on November 20, a gunman entered Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and opened fire, killing five people and injuring at least 25. The club was one of few spaces in the city for queer people to congregate and socialize free of judgment and bigotry. As anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has begun to dominate the national conversation—often thinly veiled under the guise of “equality” in sports, accusations of “grooming” children, and protecting spaces created for women—violence against these very communities has also proliferated.

The persistence of homophobic and transphobic attacks in the United States is overwhelming, especially for those whose very right to exist is considered by some to be up for debate; the material and psychological dangers are all too real. Whether it’s through direct action or mutual aid, here are some steps you can take to help:

Mutual Aid and Support Groups

Corporate nonprofits have high visibility and can wield influence on a national scale, but are often bogged down by high overhead and complex bureaucracy that divert much of their resources before they can reach those in need. The best way to make a material difference in the lives of queer people is often through mutual aid, which acknowledges and directly addresses the needs of vulnerable communities. In Colorado Springs, Inside Out Youth Services has supported LGBTQ+ youth with programs and counseling since 1990. Some organizations, like the Okra Projectthe Trevor Project, and the Third Wave Fund, operate nationally, but many mutual aid groups are focused on local support. The Trans Housing Coalition, for example, works to move Atlanta’s unhoused transgender and gender nonconforming people into into long-term housing; For the Gworls hosts monthly parties to fundraise for Black trans folks’ rent and gender-affirming surgeries; the Brattleboro, Vermont–based Out in the Open helps rural LGBTQ+ people build community; and Collective Focus is an artist collective that operates a resource hub in North Brooklyn. If you’re having trouble finding a group in your community, you can also learn how to do it yourself.

Bystander Intervention and De-Escalation

A continuing theme in attacks against the LGBTQ+ community is the lack of support from law enforcement, who often fail to protect the most vulnerable members of the municipalities they’re supposed to serve. At Club Q, it was the club’s patrons who apprehended the shooter; victims of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando sued police for their inaction, and several were arrested or detained as they fled gunfire.

Protecting marginalized people starts with calling out bigotry, no matter how innocuous it seems. If you are a witness to harassment and/or violence, know that it is unlikely to stop without intervention. De-escalating potentially violent situations is ideal, but if it falls to you to defend yourself or others from a hateful attack, self-defense training can help save your life—and others.

Lobbying Elected Officials

Hundreds of bills were introduced this year in the United States targeting the LGBTQ+ community. You can use this legislative tracker from Freedom for All Americans to monitor those bills; contact the offices of those legislators; lobby and/or organize campaigns against their donors (which you can find on OpenSecrets); and support candidates who vote against these bills and advocate for equality and marginalized groups.

Legal Assistance

If you find yourself targeted by the state, your employer, or your healthcare provider, legal assistance can be a lifeline—but an expensive one. The National Center for Transgender Equality maintains a directory of firms and other organizations that provide services for legal issues for transgender people, though many support the LGBTQ+ community at large. For those in New York, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center offers a free monthly legal clinic.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
The breakout Chinese opera Genshin Impact single is out now thumbnail

The breakout Chinese opera Genshin Impact single is out now

‘Devastation and Redemption’ Genshin Impact is still making waves a year and change since launch, and multiple soundtrack releases are a big part of that story. That includes the Genshin Impact Chinese opera single “Devastation and Redemption,” which was shown earlier this month as a story teaser, and is now out on iTunes and Spotify…
Read More
One morning I woke up almost blind: Doris Bizetić has been struggling with a difficult diagnosis for years thumbnail

One morning I woke up almost blind: Doris Bizetić has been struggling with a difficult diagnosis for years

Bolest Doris Bizetić - Dugogodišnja borba sa teškom dijagnozom Doris Bizetić, veliku popularnost stekla je devedesetih godina kada je zajedno sa svojim ocem, kantautorom i šoumenom Borisom Bizetićem učestvovala u TV programu “BB šou”. Tokom proteklih godina nismo je mnogo viđali u medijima, znamo da se udala i rodila ćerku ali manje poznata stvar iz…
Read More

Autumn trends 2021: What should you definitely not miss?

Zabudnite na kontrast Výrazný prechod medzi dvomi farbami, ako napríklad bielou a čiernou, bol v obľube počas minulých rokov. Túto jeseň by ste mali siahnuť po jemnejších kombináciách podobných odtieňov. Napríklad hnedej a béžovej alebo bielej a sivej. Takéto ladenie sa nazýva tón v tóne a ide o nadčasový spôsob obliekania. Hodí sa všetkým vekovým…
Read More
Index Of News
Consider making some contribution to keep us going. We are donation based team who works to bring the best content to the readers. Every donation matters.
Donate Now

Subscription Form

Liking our Index Of News so far? Would you like to subscribe to receive news updates daily?

Total
0
Share