Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Organizations to Know: Part 1

Transcript

Organizations to Know: Part 1 · Stuff Mom Never Told You

0:05
Speaker 1: Okay, this is Andy and Samantha. Then welcome to stuff.
0:08
Speaker 1: When never told your protection of by Heart Radio.
0:18
Speaker 2: And for these next few episodes, I guess from me
0:22
Speaker 2: specifically because you do you and I do alternate. We
0:26
Speaker 2: just wanted to shout out some organizations that are trying
0:30
Speaker 2: to give resources and help as well as fight back
0:34
Speaker 2: against the horrors of our country at this time. Yes,
0:38
Speaker 2: I'm making this a purposeful I did this on purpose,
0:41
Speaker 2: y'all Colti Polter series because there's so many great organizations
0:45
Speaker 2: out there. And honestly, when I read about some of
0:48
Speaker 2: these organizations that I've never known about, it just brings
0:51
Speaker 2: me joy and hope. And there's one in here specifically,
0:55
Speaker 2: Like I'm excited about all of them, but there's one
0:56
Speaker 2: in here specifically about it was like, oh my goodness.
0:59
Speaker 2: There entire website is just one fight song to me.
1:04
Speaker 2: But yes, so with that, we're going to have a
1:06
Speaker 2: multi part series on the different organizations around this country
1:10
Speaker 2: that are fighting for the good of the people and equality.
1:17
Speaker 2: I don't know you about, y'all, but there are so
1:19
Speaker 2: many bad things that seem to be happening that it
1:21
Speaker 2: gets overwhelming. Like my feed is constantly bad news or
1:25
Speaker 2: things that we need to be aware of, or action
1:27
Speaker 2: calls that I feel like I can't do enough of.
1:30
Speaker 2: You know, citing petitions doesn't seem to be matter. People
1:32
Speaker 2: are doing things under the table, slash behind curtains, slash
1:36
Speaker 2: in the dark, secret sessions are happening that are slowly,
1:40
Speaker 2: very quickly taking away our rights.
1:43
Speaker 3: Any I don't know.
1:43
Speaker 2: Did you hear the report that we went from like
1:46
Speaker 2: top of the list in democracy ratings to the bottom
1:50
Speaker 2: within one year? I think we really like we dropped
1:53
Speaker 2: twenty five places.
1:54
Speaker 1: Makes sense to me.
1:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, so our democratic government is not considered democracy.
2:03
Speaker 3: By the world standards.
2:05
Speaker 2: So with all of that, in all the darkness, it
2:10
Speaker 2: feels like it's a good time to look at something
2:14
Speaker 2: that would be helpful. Trying to go through all this
2:16
Speaker 2: chaos has been tiring, but something that has helped me
2:19
Speaker 2: again through this, Like I said, are also just something
2:22
Speaker 2: that has been the crux of major changes throughout history,
2:26
Speaker 2: And we're going to come back to that conversation at
2:28
Speaker 2: a later time. Are the amazing organizations that have come
2:32
Speaker 2: together to push back for organizational purposes. My very little
2:40
Speaker 2: organizational skills, I don't have many skills, and this is
2:44
Speaker 2: not one of them, but I'm gonna try to keep
2:46
Speaker 2: it organized here. We're gonna do different categories, including the
2:50
Speaker 2: queer organizations than reproductive rights organizations, fhot rights organizations, racial
2:56
Speaker 2: justice organizations, environmental rights organizations, immigration organizations, and some others.
3:02
Speaker 2: So there's a lot. Obviously, because we've talked about this before,
3:05
Speaker 2: there's like this complicated level of people feeling like one
3:10
Speaker 2: cause is more important than the other, and we talked
3:14
Speaker 2: about why intersectional only does matter and it doesn't matter
3:17
Speaker 2: if there's enough of us that, if we all put
3:20
Speaker 2: into what we think is important ourselves, we could do
3:23
Speaker 2: a lot for each one.
3:24
Speaker 3: Of those things.
3:26
Speaker 2: As just a side note, but with that, we wanted
3:30
Speaker 2: to shout out some of these. Obviously, we can't get
3:32
Speaker 2: to all the ones in existence, and there may be
3:34
Speaker 2: some repeats as they're holding strong as the current US
3:37
Speaker 2: government is trying to dismantle as many of these organizations
3:40
Speaker 2: as possible. But as always, if you have an organization
3:45
Speaker 2: you are involved in or love, please let us know.
3:47
Speaker 2: This is an interactive episode. We need those because we're
3:51
Speaker 2: not everywhere. Obviously, we're two women here in Georgia that
3:56
Speaker 2: are in a small pocket which seems a lot more
3:58
Speaker 2: diverse than the rest of the state. Yes, honestly, although
4:03
Speaker 2: our hometowns show exactly how lack of diversity is there
4:07
Speaker 2: is in the state. But whatever with all of that,
4:11
Speaker 2: so we don't have a big perspective. As much as
4:14
Speaker 2: I try to research as and he tries to research
4:17
Speaker 2: as many things that pop up do pop up on
4:19
Speaker 2: my feed. There's a lot better shadow band, and we
4:23
Speaker 2: just can't know everything. So this is again an interactive episode.
4:28
Speaker 2: We need those inputs. We would love to hear your experiences.
4:32
Speaker 2: We would love to hear what your organization is doing.
4:36
Speaker 3: It's amazing. We want more of it.
4:40
Speaker 2: So again, we need all the resources let us know.
4:44
Speaker 2: But since it is Pride Month in the US twenty
4:48
Speaker 2: twenty six, if y'all need a timestamp, we are starting
4:51
Speaker 2: off with some amazing queer organizations across the country. And
4:55
Speaker 2: in Samantha fashion, even though I knew it'd be multipart,
4:59
Speaker 2: is a larger multi part because I only got to
5:02
Speaker 2: hit the East Coast.
5:06
Speaker 1: East Coast is a large coast.
5:08
Speaker 3: There's so many coasts. I mean, some say it's the
5:11
Speaker 3: best coast. Who knows, no, they don't gees. It's true.
5:18
Speaker 2: Anyway back to So let's go ahead and start with that.
5:23
Speaker 3: We're going to start in the Northeast area.
5:25
Speaker 2: So we wanted to shout out afro Spectrum, which is
5:28
Speaker 2: an organization that is a student led that provides support
5:32
Speaker 2: to students at Northeastern University from the LGBTQA dot Northeastern
5:37
Speaker 2: dot edu. They write, afro Spectrum is a student group
5:41
Speaker 2: for black LGBTQA plus college students near Northeastern University. Afro
5:46
Speaker 2: Spectrum is an affinity group that quotes strive to create
5:50
Speaker 2: a community that serves as a resource and safe space
5:52
Speaker 2: for black LGBTQ plus college students in Boston. So in
5:56
Speaker 2: a twenty twenty one article written by Hunt News in EA,
6:01
Speaker 2: they talk about the organization and what they will be
6:03
Speaker 2: doing or what they are doing. So they write this
6:06
Speaker 2: afro Spectrum is a space for students to investigate the
6:09
Speaker 2: intersection between their racial identity and their sexual identity. Intersectionality
6:13
Speaker 2: is a founding principle of afro Spectrum. James Leon's, the
6:16
Speaker 2: cultural liaison of the organization, said, and it's essential for
6:20
Speaker 2: black liberation. Afro Spectrum is an inclusive space for students
6:24
Speaker 2: who have been excluded from spaces that are perceived to
6:26
Speaker 2: be white or straight. The group is primarily for LGBTQ
6:30
Speaker 2: plus students of color, although some events are open to allies.
6:34
Speaker 2: So the organization came together after they experienced the pandemic,
6:38
Speaker 2: which shut down a lot of queer spaces, but even
6:42
Speaker 2: before the pandemic, they talked about how these spaces were
6:45
Speaker 2: not always welcoming to black queer folks. So this community
6:49
Speaker 2: was created to bring a feeling of support intogetherness for
6:52
Speaker 2: the black queer community. So the article continues saying, Shantavia Craig,
6:56
Speaker 2: the founder. Her goals in creating afro Spectrum was to
6:59
Speaker 2: build a family so that even when there isn't a
7:02
Speaker 2: physical space available, black queer students still have a support system.
7:06
Speaker 3: So this is something that you're.
7:07
Speaker 2: Going to see throughout our conversations that this is a
7:10
Speaker 2: lot of times led by youth or led by that community,
7:14
Speaker 2: and I love every.
7:15
Speaker 3: Bit of that.
7:16
Speaker 2: Obviously it should be that should be the ones at
7:19
Speaker 2: the helm, but this is one of those organizations that
7:21
Speaker 2: really kind of opened up an idea, especially in college
7:26
Speaker 2: that oftentimes are in controversial states because they don't recognize
7:31
Speaker 2: the need for opening up spaces for people of color,
7:35
Speaker 2: specifically obviously those in queer community as well, so there's
7:38
Speaker 2: a lot of layers in what they're doing. Next, we
7:42
Speaker 2: have out Maine, which is an organization located in Mainzince
7:46
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety six and this is from their site.
7:49
Speaker 3: Outmaine dot org.
7:51
Speaker 2: At out Maine, we have an ambitious goal to help
7:53
Speaker 2: mainze diverse queer youth thrive by demonstrating how much they matter.
7:58
Speaker 2: We do this by creating more welcoming and a firming
8:00
Speaker 2: communities for LGBDQ plus youth and all of their intersectional identities.
8:05
Speaker 2: We seek to strengthen communities by changing the various systems
8:08
Speaker 2: that serve youth, schools, healthcare, foster care, community organizations, and more.
8:12
Speaker 2: No other organization in Maine focuses exclusively on listening and
8:16
Speaker 2: responding to the needs of the LGBTQ plus youth. No
8:20
Speaker 2: other organization here supports rural adolescents throughout this crucial period
8:25
Speaker 2: in their identity, formation, mental wellness, and overall development. Out
8:29
Speaker 2: main helps Maine's queer youth avoid harmful behaviors and instead
8:33
Speaker 2: build connections, skills, and hope for the future. So their
8:37
Speaker 2: overall programs are there to provide support for queer youth
8:40
Speaker 2: and family as they navigate the world. They offer support
8:44
Speaker 2: and education to the youth and families with different programs
8:47
Speaker 2: and resources, as well as empower them to be themselves.
8:51
Speaker 2: They offer different programs like camping, balls and support within schools.
8:55
Speaker 2: They also have amazing events as well, including D and
8:59
Speaker 2: D club, art shows, meetups and support groups, and any
9:04
Speaker 2: good news. Most of these organizations understand that the queer
9:07
Speaker 2: community loves some D and D. I didn't know that
9:10
Speaker 2: was a thing because a lot of them offer that
9:12
Speaker 2: as a thing, so I was like, oh, okay.
9:15
Speaker 3: It definitely is a thing. Episode. Oh, mark it down.
9:20
Speaker 3: It is pride pride in D and D.
9:22
Speaker 2: Yes, that sounds like your Yeah, that sounds like your
9:26
Speaker 2: best episode actually, and a Webby nominated episode.
9:30
Speaker 3: Coming up, y'all. I would love it. I'm ready.
9:36
Speaker 2: And they even have a podcast called Thinking out Loud,
9:40
Speaker 2: with the loust episode posted in September twenty twenty five,
9:43
Speaker 2: but it was about queerness and marine biology.
9:46
Speaker 3: I love that.
9:46
Speaker 2: I think they actually talked to a marine biologist in
9:49
Speaker 2: this episode. So really fun. You know, we left shouting
9:52
Speaker 2: out other podcasts, so take a listen to that one.
9:56
Speaker 2: Next we have the Leonard Liz Foundation. So they're a
9:59
Speaker 2: little different in what we're trying to feature because they're
10:01
Speaker 2: not necessarily about like hands on with specific with the community,
10:07
Speaker 2: more so helping other organizations.
10:09
Speaker 3: But we love what they're doing.
10:10
Speaker 2: So they help fund programs for the LGBTQ plus community
10:14
Speaker 2: in Connecticut. So they offer grants for different queer organizations
10:19
Speaker 2: in the Northeast, specifically in the Connecticut area. And according
10:22
Speaker 2: to their side Leonardlitz dot org l E O N
10:25
Speaker 2: A R D l I t Z if you were wondering,
10:29
Speaker 2: they focus more on grants that address the following health
10:32
Speaker 2: and wellness, crisis intervention, racial justice, advocacy in community and
10:36
Speaker 2: social assistance, and programming. So they really have very specific
10:40
Speaker 2: ideals and they do talk about the fact that they
10:42
Speaker 2: do want to also focus a little more on communities
10:46
Speaker 2: of color, like specifically those who are dealing with racial injustice,
10:50
Speaker 2: immigration issues and all of that.
10:51
Speaker 3: So I love that they are focusing everywhere.
10:54
Speaker 2: It was founded by Elliott Leonard and Roger Blitz and
11:00
Speaker 2: corporated in twenty nineteen, and it's really cute. They've been
11:03
Speaker 2: together for like fifty years and they were able to
11:07
Speaker 2: navigate how the world was not the best place, and
11:11
Speaker 2: that the lives of the queer community were in danger.
11:14
Speaker 2: They understood through this because they had to overcome their
11:17
Speaker 2: own trials and traumas, and they will after they were
11:20
Speaker 2: able to really be successful in their careers and their ventures.
11:25
Speaker 2: They wanted to give back to their community. So this
11:27
Speaker 2: is from their website saying, we've been active participants in
11:31
Speaker 2: community organizations that serve teenagers and other clients by helping
11:34
Speaker 2: them define like minded peers and safe, welcoming environments. For
11:37
Speaker 2: the first time, we've seen firsthand how desperately underfunded these
11:41
Speaker 2: organizations tend to be, with no steady or recurring income streams.
11:45
Speaker 2: There are national LGBTQ plus organizations who perform very valuable
11:49
Speaker 2: services for our community, but we knew we wanted to
11:52
Speaker 2: help fund these smaller community groups more directly.
11:55
Speaker 3: So I really love that. I think you just have
11:56
Speaker 3: to have a focus.
11:57
Speaker 2: And they understood that their area really needed that help,
12:00
Speaker 2: and so really strive to have specific intentions and goals,
12:05
Speaker 2: and that's what they've been doing.
12:06
Speaker 3: Since their beginning.
12:07
Speaker 2: They've been helping different local organizations throughout their state, including
12:10
Speaker 2: the trans Plus Resource Center, SoCal Care Center, and so
12:13
Speaker 2: many more, they've been able to help them open like statewide,
12:17
Speaker 2: so they saw how well it didn't want area and
12:19
Speaker 2: they just wanted to expand those areas.
12:22
Speaker 3: And their mission statement from their.
12:24
Speaker 2: Website is this helping LGBTQ plus people fulfill their potential.
12:28
Speaker 2: The Lenardlitz Foundation's mission is to fund organizations which advance
12:32
Speaker 2: the interest and well being of the LGBTQ plus community
12:35
Speaker 2: through advocacy, programs and services that meet the needs of
12:38
Speaker 2: the LGBTQ plus people. So again they prefer to stay
12:41
Speaker 2: in the Northeast area. Again, you can't always help everyone,
12:44
Speaker 2: and they knew exactly what their intentions were.
12:47
Speaker 3: I love their story.
12:48
Speaker 2: They really just talked about how they went through some
12:51
Speaker 2: ups and downs in their lives and striving like persevering
12:54
Speaker 2: through that really showed them that there was more to
12:57
Speaker 2: give as well.
12:59
Speaker 3: And their love. It was really cute.
13:00
Speaker 2: They were like they were together for forty something years
13:02
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, I want to say, Elliott
13:06
Speaker 2: turned to Roger and was like you and get married
13:09
Speaker 2: And their response was I thought you'd never ask so
13:12
Speaker 2: super cute, super sweet, And they seem to be doing
13:16
Speaker 2: quite a lot and have had a lot of great
13:18
Speaker 2: testimony as to their work, so kudos to them. And
13:33
Speaker 2: then we also have the Hudson Pride Center and this
13:36
Speaker 2: is from their site Hudson Pride dot org. We're the
13:39
Speaker 2: largest LGBTQ plus social service center in New Jersey and
13:43
Speaker 2: we offer a variety of free services to support a
13:46
Speaker 2: firm and connect our community to each other and to
13:48
Speaker 2: the services they need. While Husson Pride Center was founded
13:51
Speaker 2: by a group of visionary activists in nineteen ninety three
13:54
Speaker 2: with a focus on the safety and well being of
13:56
Speaker 2: Hudson County's LGBTQ plus residents who were affected by the
14:00
Speaker 2: AIDS epidemic, it is growing to meet the current.
14:02
Speaker 3: Need of our entire community.
14:04
Speaker 2: And we've seen many stories like that where they came
14:06
Speaker 2: in like during the AIDS epidemic really trying to help
14:09
Speaker 2: with that and them growing into so much bigger and
14:12
Speaker 2: so much more. In conversations about this because at one
14:15
Speaker 2: point we understood what AIDS was and the epidemic, and
14:18
Speaker 2: like there were conversations and progress.
14:22
Speaker 3: Are we going backwards?
14:23
Speaker 2: Yes, but that's you know, you know, but we've seen
14:27
Speaker 2: the evolution of many of these organizations like that. So
14:31
Speaker 2: the organization helps with health services support social services, including
14:35
Speaker 2: working with youth, families.
14:36
Speaker 3: And elders. And I love that a lot of.
14:38
Speaker 2: These programs do also include elder queer community folk because
14:43
Speaker 2: for the longest time, they didn't have the support and
14:45
Speaker 2: they probably have lost so many people during their lifetime,
14:48
Speaker 2: and so they need these communities and we need to
14:51
Speaker 2: be able to help and care for them. So I
14:53
Speaker 2: love that one interesting service they had. You know, some
14:57
Speaker 2: things just pop out at you, and one was called
14:59
Speaker 2: the les Fest l ez Fest, which is a social
15:03
Speaker 2: media platform for queer women to connect and help give resources.
15:07
Speaker 2: So this is from their site. The platform is built
15:10
Speaker 2: on the foundation of empowerment, advocacy, health and activism. We
15:14
Speaker 2: support eradicating social injustices, enhancing queer women representation, and celebrating
15:19
Speaker 2: our diverse community. Through activities like open mics, mixers, and
15:23
Speaker 2: dating events, members are provided opportunities to connect with peers
15:26
Speaker 2: and establish lifelong relationships.
15:29
Speaker 3: I love that.
15:30
Speaker 2: Oh look, that is so specific and they're doing it
15:32
Speaker 2: online and able to get to connect with people.
15:36
Speaker 3: It's beautiful. Webs fest excellent name, excellent mean, come on,
15:42
Speaker 3: it's an excellent name.
15:45
Speaker 2: And again we know that for organizations for a giant
15:49
Speaker 2: area is not many, but don't worry again.
15:51
Speaker 3: I love these types of episodes. This really is how I.
15:54
Speaker 2: Get through some of the darkest episodes that we have
15:58
Speaker 2: and feeling like everything's going bad. Just seeing what these
16:01
Speaker 2: organizations do and celebrating their work and highlighting them.
16:04
Speaker 3: I love it.
16:05
Speaker 2: So if any of you are up in the North
16:07
Speaker 2: East and you're like, oh, but you didn't talk about this, send.
16:10
Speaker 3: It to us, Send it to us.
16:12
Speaker 2: Yes you want to go ahead and put it your
16:14
Speaker 2: our email here just in case.
16:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, you can email us at Hello, at stuffmom
16:19
Speaker 1: never told you dot com?
16:21
Speaker 3: Yes, so easy, so easy, so easy.
16:24
Speaker 2: Also, if you send messages on Instagram, I do see them.
16:26
Speaker 2: It might take me a minute to get back to you,
16:28
Speaker 2: but I see them.
16:29
Speaker 3: Same with the email.
16:31
Speaker 1: They are seen, and.
16:33
Speaker 3: We will we will get back to you.
16:34
Speaker 1: It takes us some time, yes, because of the sad news,
16:40
Speaker 1: at least in my case, since you're holding me back.
16:43
Speaker 3: It's true anyway.
16:46
Speaker 2: So now we're going to jump into the southeast area.
16:49
Speaker 2: So we're starting with Campaign for Southern Equality. And here's
16:53
Speaker 2: what their site, Southernequality dot org says about their work
16:57
Speaker 2: At the Campaign for Southern Equality. We're working to build
16:59
Speaker 2: a South where LGBTQ plus people are equal in every
17:03
Speaker 2: sphere of life. And they go on to say, for
17:06
Speaker 2: years the campaign in Southern equality has remained focused on
17:09
Speaker 2: lifting up the voices and experience of LGBTQ plus Southerners
17:13
Speaker 2: who are on the front lines of the work to
17:14
Speaker 2: secure lived and legal equality for LGBTQ plus people at
17:19
Speaker 2: the local, state, and federal levels. And they explain they're
17:23
Speaker 2: saying legal and lived equality because that's a part of
17:26
Speaker 2: their plan as well as their objectives. And they say
17:30
Speaker 2: this as being able to be in your own hometown
17:33
Speaker 2: as who you are and with whom you love. But
17:36
Speaker 2: going beyond that, they have like they also say they
17:38
Speaker 2: want to have equal access to care and respect with
17:42
Speaker 2: the ability to thrive, not just live, but thrive in
17:45
Speaker 2: their community. And some of their work includes being a
17:48
Speaker 2: part of lawsuits to take down marriage bands and adoption
17:51
Speaker 2: bands which have been put on the queer community. So
17:54
Speaker 2: we've seen that they were doing a lot. They offer
17:56
Speaker 2: different programs including studios for artists and writers to work,
18:00
Speaker 2: community health programs, mental health programs, policy and research programs,
18:04
Speaker 2: as well as their trans Youth Emergency Project, and a bit.
18:07
Speaker 3: More about that.
18:08
Speaker 2: From their site, they write, cruel laws spanning best practice
18:12
Speaker 2: gender affirming care have passed in twenty five states across
18:14
Speaker 2: the country, and as a result, thousands of transgender youth
18:18
Speaker 2: and their families are being forced to travel extreme distances
18:21
Speaker 2: and take on significant expenses to get the care they need.
18:25
Speaker 2: The Trans Youth Emergency Project is here to help families
18:28
Speaker 2: navigate this complex in exhausting maze, offering logistical and financial support.
18:34
Speaker 2: Our team provides one on one custom patient navigation services
18:37
Speaker 2: and supports families of transgender youth with emergency grants to
18:42
Speaker 2: help them travel out of state for care. So I
18:45
Speaker 2: love that they understood that what is needed and how
18:48
Speaker 2: funding is needed oftentimes for a lot of these types
18:52
Speaker 2: of affirming care. So that was a program that I
18:55
Speaker 2: thought was really beneficial and necessary and wanting to highlight
18:59
Speaker 2: that from them. Then we have Queer Hands here in Atlanta.
19:04
Speaker 2: From their site queerhandsatl dot com, they write, queer Hands
19:08
Speaker 2: is a five OHO one c three nonprofit and trusted
19:11
Speaker 2: source for all kinds of handy work and odd jobs
19:15
Speaker 2: tailored to meet the needs of our local queer community,
19:17
Speaker 2: whether it's repairs, maintenance, lawn care, moving ass as junk removal, cleaning, organizing, PetCare,
19:23
Speaker 2: or even childcare. You can count on us to help
19:26
Speaker 2: with it all. And they go on as a queer
19:29
Speaker 2: power trans led worker cooperative. We're passionate about fostering safe, inclusive,
19:34
Speaker 2: and affirming spaces for everyone. Every job we take on
19:38
Speaker 2: is done with care, love, and a deep sense of community.
19:41
Speaker 2: We're not just here to get the job done. We're
19:43
Speaker 2: here to build connections and offer support to those who
19:46
Speaker 2: need it most. Okay, so this one's a little bit specific,
19:50
Speaker 2: but I think this is such an amazing idea. Just
19:52
Speaker 2: as much as wanting to support women owned businesses or
19:55
Speaker 2: the such, this is similar, along with the providing safe
19:58
Speaker 2: spaces to those who may be in this field as
20:01
Speaker 2: well as for those who need these services. I have
20:04
Speaker 2: read horror stories of people coming in with judgment, with assumptions,
20:08
Speaker 2: or people coming having all of these incidents, or being
20:12
Speaker 2: told they don't want their services because you are like
20:15
Speaker 2: trans or this or that, And so this offers a
20:18
Speaker 2: safe way to do your job, or a safe way
20:20
Speaker 2: to get a job done without judgment.
20:24
Speaker 3: I think it's necessary.
20:25
Speaker 2: Unfortunately, you would think it shouldn't be necessary, but organizations
20:29
Speaker 2: like this are so important to be able to have.
20:33
Speaker 3: Sound of mind. Yeah.
20:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, because if you're especially if you're letting someone into
20:40
Speaker 1: your home, right and there is a safety question unfortunately,
20:46
Speaker 1: it is nice to know I don't have to worry
20:51
Speaker 1: about that part.
20:52
Speaker 3: So yeah, Annie, I did this for you.
20:54
Speaker 2: Go ahead, put this website in your in your phone
20:57
Speaker 2: just in case you need some handiwork.
20:58
Speaker 3: I know you're pretty good at you on your own.
21:01
Speaker 1: I can be, I can be sometimes I would like
21:06
Speaker 1: some help though, Yeah.
21:08
Speaker 2: You know though, And then I'm saying this in a
21:10
Speaker 2: different way, like as a woman with a man, a
21:15
Speaker 2: male partner, I don't think about this as often, but
21:17
Speaker 2: if I was alone, the idea of having like because
21:22
Speaker 2: I've had maintenance guys before hit on me and make
21:26
Speaker 2: things really uncomfortable for me, And I'm like, okay, you know,
21:30
Speaker 2: like I feel like there's a safe safety net with
21:33
Speaker 2: queer people in general, yeah, where they at least understand consent. Yeah,
21:40
Speaker 2: so I feel like I might use them if I
21:43
Speaker 2: ever needed.
21:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it sounds like a great, great organization.
21:50
Speaker 2: Like Yeah, anyway, that was just a side note because
21:52
Speaker 2: that's a whole different conversation we have to have right
21:54
Speaker 2: now because there's a real big increase in violence against
21:57
Speaker 2: women here in the Lena.
21:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's real bad actually, yeah, just for walking in daylight.
22:06
Speaker 3: But anyway, moving on, See, this is what happens. This
22:09
Speaker 3: is why we need the good news because my head
22:10
Speaker 3: jumps to the bad news.
22:12
Speaker 1: Yes.
22:12
Speaker 2: And then we have one from Alabama which is called
22:15
Speaker 2: the Knights and Orchards Organization and it's called the Tkosociety
22:20
Speaker 2: dot org. If you want to go and check out
22:22
Speaker 2: their site, and this is their story from their site.
22:25
Speaker 3: Ys.
22:26
Speaker 2: The Knights and Orchids Society TKO is an Alabama black
22:29
Speaker 2: trans led nonprofit that was founded in twenty twelve. In
22:33
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen, TKO became the first and only aid services
22:36
Speaker 2: organization and sdd SDI clinic in the state of Alabama.
22:40
Speaker 2: Founded and led by black trans and LGBQ people. We
22:44
Speaker 2: are community people serving the communities that we represent. Our
22:47
Speaker 2: goal is to help more black, trans, same gender loving
22:50
Speaker 2: and black quar folks access high quality primary care and
22:54
Speaker 2: indo chronology services. And I thought that was really important
22:59
Speaker 2: because we were just talking about the fact that we
23:00
Speaker 2: need access and we know here in the South a
23:02
Speaker 2: lot of the places are being shut down in so
23:06
Speaker 2: many ways, and this is such a horrifying thought that
23:10
Speaker 2: these organizations could be shut down. This is one that
23:12
Speaker 2: has been operating since twenty twelve and in twenty seventeen
23:16
Speaker 2: becoming the first clinic so that gave all of those services.
23:21
Speaker 2: This is what their mission states. The Knights in Orchid
23:23
Speaker 2: Society TKO envisions of future where trans gender, queer, bisexual, lesbian,
23:29
Speaker 2: and gay LGBTQ plus black people are empowered to live
23:32
Speaker 2: full and healthy lives free from harm. Our mission is
23:35
Speaker 2: to build the power of LGBTQ plus black people across
23:39
Speaker 2: the South by providing a spectrum of health and wellness services.
23:45
Speaker 2: I hated that's a thing that in twenty seventeen they
23:48
Speaker 2: were the only black lead trans organization like that that
23:51
Speaker 2: could get those types of services. I hope that they
23:54
Speaker 2: can continue in those services. Obviously, we're very fearful about
24:01
Speaker 2: what's happening with the serve with the future. Just take
24:07
Speaker 2: a moment, because like, you see these things and you
24:09
Speaker 2: still have this small moment of like in the back
24:11
Speaker 2: of your mind, how long will they be allowed to
24:13
Speaker 2: stay open? How long will we be able to see
24:16
Speaker 2: that these services can be given to the people who
24:18
Speaker 2: need it and the people who can't access it in
24:21
Speaker 2: other areas. You know that just it's just it's just
24:24
Speaker 2: a really heartbreaking moment, but also uh empowering moment to
24:29
Speaker 2: know that there there are still today organizations for now
24:32
Speaker 2: they are here, and that these are the organizations that
24:34
Speaker 2: need to be seen and empowered and funded.
24:39
Speaker 3: Uh.
24:39
Speaker 2: They have a lot of different types of services, but
24:42
Speaker 2: they have different care coordinators who help help out in
24:47
Speaker 2: different ways. And it could be from reproductive care. I
24:50
Speaker 2: love that they have some programs for that as well
24:53
Speaker 2: as what they call faith or fast a firming Innovative
24:56
Speaker 2: testing and healthcare, which again is for the HIV and
25:00
Speaker 2: STD and SDI testing. They have direct support. They do
25:05
Speaker 2: so much for their area and you can go again
25:08
Speaker 2: find them at t Kosociety dot org based out of Alabama.
25:24
Speaker 2: And then the last organization and this is that one
25:26
Speaker 2: that I was just like.
25:28
Speaker 3: Wow, like this.
25:30
Speaker 2: They they are different and I loved everything they do
25:34
Speaker 2: And if you get a chance to go and check
25:36
Speaker 2: out their site, you really should because I can't write.
25:41
Speaker 2: You know, we're not going to take their entire site
25:42
Speaker 2: and repeat it to you, but you should take time
25:46
Speaker 2: to look at what they say. But we're talking about
25:48
Speaker 2: the Stay Project, based out of Tennessee, so this is
25:52
Speaker 2: from their site, the Stayproject dot net. The Stay Together
25:56
Speaker 2: Appalachian Youth Project is a for youth by youth network
25:59
Speaker 2: of young people people aged fourteen to thirty who are
26:02
Speaker 2: committed to supporting one another to make Appalachia a place
26:05
Speaker 2: we can and want to stay. I don't think we've
26:09
Speaker 2: talked about this enough because it doesn't feel like an
26:14
Speaker 2: option as a woman of color, as an Asian woman,
26:17
Speaker 2: as a Asian woman who had naturalized citizenship, who technically,
26:23
Speaker 2: even though I feel like I'm perimental, Bazzle is still
26:25
Speaker 2: in the reproductive age, like I could still get pregnant,
26:28
Speaker 2: I could still go through those types of moments feeling
26:33
Speaker 2: like staying is not the option. Even though this is
26:36
Speaker 2: where you know we were raised, this doesn't always feel safe.
26:41
Speaker 2: So I can imagine for those in the queer community,
26:46
Speaker 2: especially when you see it's also about Texas, and I've
26:49
Speaker 2: been seeing more and more articles talking about people, queer people,
26:52
Speaker 2: trans people specifically finding ways to escape, like I've seen
26:56
Speaker 2: go fundmes for trans people trying to find a way
26:58
Speaker 2: to leave because they know they're in danger. And so
27:02
Speaker 2: this project is about wanting to be there, wanting to
27:06
Speaker 2: be in their home, like loving their home, but having
27:09
Speaker 2: this conflict of what do I do? How do I
27:11
Speaker 2: do this? So they really come out with like, no,
27:15
Speaker 2: but I want to stay. No, I want to change
27:17
Speaker 2: you here. And we've talked about this before, because we
27:19
Speaker 2: talked about it would be so much easier. But if
27:21
Speaker 2: we left, we would be one more like vote left,
27:25
Speaker 2: you know, like leaving in a dangerous area, and a
27:28
Speaker 2: lot of people can't.
27:29
Speaker 3: Leave like both of those things.
27:32
Speaker 2: So they go on saying this, we are building a
27:35
Speaker 2: movement that is for youth living in Appalachia and by
27:38
Speaker 2: youth living in Appalachia, which recognizes and resources the brilliance
27:41
Speaker 2: of our own leadership potential. We center the leadership of
27:45
Speaker 2: young folks under eighteenth black youth, youth of color, queer
27:48
Speaker 2: and trans youth, poor youth, and disabled youth. So I
27:51
Speaker 2: love that they really do call on their own because
27:54
Speaker 2: that's honestly the best bet right for the futures to
27:59
Speaker 2: train and teach them as they're growing up, and also
28:03
Speaker 2: just teaching them to be leaders. Not even just like
28:05
Speaker 2: teaching them this is my way, because anybody, everybody does that,
28:08
Speaker 2: but teaching them this is how you can do it.
28:12
Speaker 3: Learn.
28:13
Speaker 2: So this program is teaching the youth to become leaders
28:15
Speaker 2: in their community, giving each other support and helping them
28:18
Speaker 2: to organize from where they are. And again that's that
28:20
Speaker 2: big conversation like where they are in Tennessee and Apalachia
28:23
Speaker 2: are going through a lot. Tennessee is going through a lot,
28:26
Speaker 2: focusing specifically on use in the Appalachia area. They chat
28:30
Speaker 2: to navigate a complicated landscape with an understanding that this
28:33
Speaker 2: is home for so many queer youths and on their
28:37
Speaker 2: west side.
28:37
Speaker 3: This is their vision and mission.
28:40
Speaker 2: We envision and economically and environmentally sustainable Central and Southern
28:43
Speaker 2: Appalachia where young people have the power to build and
28:46
Speaker 2: participate in diverse, inclusive and healthy communities where all people
28:51
Speaker 2: have what we need to survive and thrive. And their
28:54
Speaker 2: mission goes on to say, as young people from Central
28:57
Speaker 2: and Southern Appalachia, we are connecting across our region to
29:00
Speaker 2: make our home communities places we can and want to stay.
29:04
Speaker 2: There's so much to be said about being at home
29:08
Speaker 2: and finding home. Of course, there's this a conversation too,
29:11
Speaker 2: like your home is where your community is, and you
29:13
Speaker 2: can build that outside of that if that's what you
29:15
Speaker 2: need to do. But for so many again who can't
29:18
Speaker 2: and who just don't want to like this is their familiarity.
29:21
Speaker 2: Going from one area to another is jarring in so
29:25
Speaker 2: many ways and seeing laws that really can affect you
29:31
Speaker 2: beyond harmful physically, mentally, emotionally, all the ways. So this
29:37
Speaker 2: organization is a powerful one in an area that can
29:40
Speaker 2: be dangerous for them. And in the last year they
29:43
Speaker 2: have come together to prepare for their future and how
29:45
Speaker 2: to navigate navigate it. So they did this virtually and
29:48
Speaker 2: in person gatherings, knowing that they understand their communities and
29:52
Speaker 2: their own experience is best. They wrote out their synthesis,
29:56
Speaker 2: which is what they explain as a process of weaving
29:59
Speaker 2: different perspectives together into a collective perspective. And here's what
30:03
Speaker 2: they have to say. So it was a long bit
30:04
Speaker 2: and I took bits from it because there's a lot.
30:06
Speaker 2: There's a lot, So if you want to go see
30:09
Speaker 2: and read the whole thing, please do so. But this
30:12
Speaker 2: is what some of it was. Some of what they wrote.
30:16
Speaker 2: We came to SSI, which is the actual I think
30:20
Speaker 2: it's a summit. They called it a summit, which is
30:22
Speaker 2: the summit representing our communities across West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky,
30:27
Speaker 2: North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. As one of the only
30:30
Speaker 2: regional movement organizations led by and for Appalachian youth. We
30:34
Speaker 2: are a space of rural and small town folks, for
30:36
Speaker 2: the weirdos and for those who want to learn, feel connected,
30:39
Speaker 2: and to grow. We gathered as queer and trans youth,
30:42
Speaker 2: as black, brown and white youth, as disabled youth, as
30:45
Speaker 2: working class and poor youth. We gathered as a group
30:48
Speaker 2: of regular, everyday people who are committed to organizing other
30:51
Speaker 2: regular everyday people into a movement for just, inclusive and
30:54
Speaker 2: sustainable communities. We gathered a vibrant group of young people
30:58
Speaker 2: who brought all of our joys and pay our open heartedness,
31:01
Speaker 2: and our deep passion for making our communities places where
31:04
Speaker 2: we can and want to stay and live full lives.
31:07
Speaker 2: We gathered to build collective power as young people struggling
31:11
Speaker 2: for a new world, a liberated world, a world transformed
31:14
Speaker 2: beyond this fascist empire that is killing, kidnapping, and caging
31:18
Speaker 2: our people across the region and world. We gathered as
31:21
Speaker 2: young people organizing for liberation, as young people who believe
31:24
Speaker 2: and remind each other that quote nobody's free until Everybody's
31:28
Speaker 2: free Fanny lou Hammer, that small quote everything. I thought
31:32
Speaker 2: that was just a powerhouse of a statement. And for
31:37
Speaker 2: this to be a group of fourteen to thirty year
31:38
Speaker 2: olds is such an inspiration, honestly, And that was just
31:46
Speaker 2: a little bit and it's from their State of Youth
31:48
Speaker 2: Issues in Appalachia and plan of action, So they have
31:51
Speaker 2: the whole page dedicated to this, and with that, they
31:54
Speaker 2: have identified ways to move forward with their movement, which
31:57
Speaker 2: include community organizing, multi racial organisational organizing, base building, and
32:03
Speaker 2: to coordinate and build on the resources they already have
32:05
Speaker 2: in their region. So they also acknowledge that there are
32:08
Speaker 2: resources out there near them. So I love that, so
32:10
Speaker 2: they understand they're not starting from ground zero. With all
32:14
Speaker 2: of that, they talk about training and education as well
32:16
Speaker 2: as a way of growing and to grow in their
32:18
Speaker 2: numbers as well. So they kind of had a call
32:20
Speaker 2: out for more youth to join this movement. And I
32:25
Speaker 2: don't know how big this movement is, but they have
32:28
Speaker 2: been highlighted in different organizations and they're calling out for
32:32
Speaker 2: others to join. They have one specific program called the Bear.
32:38
Speaker 2: I just realized those saying hello, which is the Black
32:41
Speaker 2: Appalation Young and Rising, and it is specific to connecting
32:47
Speaker 2: the Black youth and empowering Black youth in the Appalation area.
32:52
Speaker 2: And this is what they wrote about their context. BEAR
32:56
Speaker 2: or Black Appllation Youth and Rising is a manifestation of
32:59
Speaker 2: more in a decade long history of Black youth attempting
33:02
Speaker 2: to carve out space for themselves within STAY. Since stay's inception,
33:06
Speaker 2: member leaders have said that it is a goal to
33:08
Speaker 2: support and follow youth leaders, particularly from Black and LGBTQIA
33:13
Speaker 2: youth in Appalachia, from planning for a Youth of Color
33:16
Speaker 2: gathering in twenty eleven too, It's Good to be Young
33:19
Speaker 2: in the Mountains Black Youth Caucus in twenty fifteen, to
33:22
Speaker 2: black youth leading racial justice committees at STAY and planning
33:26
Speaker 2: Black youth hanging out gatherings in twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen.
33:28
Speaker 2: At the first formal Black Black Appalachian Young and Rising
33:33
Speaker 2: Gathering held in twenty nineteen, there has always been a
33:36
Speaker 2: need at STAY for Black youth to self organize into
33:39
Speaker 2: spaces to care for each other. So I think that's
33:42
Speaker 2: really important. They understood the bigger conversation and why it
33:46
Speaker 2: needs to be highlighted. They're really trying to make this
33:48
Speaker 2: intersectional in that level of making sure they carve out
33:52
Speaker 2: spaces for these types of groups, those who are most
33:58
Speaker 2: marginalized oftentimes, y'all. I love everything about organizations like this,
34:05
Speaker 2: when I see the young communities, when I see them
34:08
Speaker 2: in areas that you don't expect, tennessee, when you see
34:13
Speaker 2: that they're coming together with a powerhouse conversation, calling a
34:16
Speaker 2: spade a spade, calling a fascist empire, like, I find
34:22
Speaker 2: nothing but hope. Reading their whole site, seeing what they're doing,
34:26
Speaker 2: how they're gathering together, really does give me hope. And
34:30
Speaker 2: I think it's important that we have conversations and highlight
34:32
Speaker 2: organizations like these so that we continue to remember there's
34:37
Speaker 2: still a fight happening, and people were not giving up
34:41
Speaker 2: their organizations out there that we can be a part of,
34:43
Speaker 2: or we can look into or donate to, however, highlight
34:47
Speaker 2: whatever we need to do in order to keep with
34:49
Speaker 2: this fight and make sure we're standing strong. So, yeah,
34:53
Speaker 2: this is probably gonna be part one of twenty.
35:00
Speaker 3: I don't know.
35:00
Speaker 2: I don't know, but this is just half of queer
35:04
Speaker 2: organizations that we were going to not even half probably,
35:07
Speaker 2: but like a little bit of the queer organizations that
35:09
Speaker 2: we're going to talk about, and then that's going to
35:10
Speaker 2: follow along with the environmental and racial justice so many more.
35:15
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, well, at least this time it was on purpose, right.
35:19
Speaker 3: On purpose. I need that to be noted.
35:21
Speaker 1: Okay, yes, not your habit of accidentally making mini series
35:27
Speaker 1: rearing its head again. Uh well, listeners, yes, please right,
35:32
Speaker 1: and let us know if we've missed anything something you
35:36
Speaker 1: want us to highlight in one of these future episodes.
35:40
Speaker 1: If you're involved in any way, let us know. You
35:44
Speaker 1: can email us at Hello at Stuffwenever Told You dot com.
35:47
Speaker 1: You can find us on polue sky at mom Stuff podcast,
35:49
Speaker 1: or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff when Never Told
35:52
Speaker 1: You for us on YouTube. We have some merchandise at
35:54
Speaker 1: Compureau and we have a book you can get where
35:56
Speaker 1: you get your books. Thanks as always to our super
35:59
Speaker 1: just A Casey and our executive producer Maya.
36:01
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, and thanks to.
36:03
Speaker 1: You for listening Stuff Never Told You to production by
36:06
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you
36:07
Speaker 1: can check out the heart Radio app, Apple podcast or
36:09
Speaker 1: where you listen to your favorite shows