Over the past several months, we have been developing a community needs survey for the LGBTQ community in Jackson & Josephine counties. Are you one of the 13,000 LGBTQ+ people living in Josephine & Jackson counties? We want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey: tinyurl.com/racLGBTQ.
Southern Oregon is where many LGBTQ+ people call home. We are part of the fabric of our communities--we are teachers, ministers, small business owners, students, farmers and construction workers. LGBTQ people have chosen to live here for many of the same reasons non-LGBTQ people do, and experience many of the same challenges of rural life that non-LGBTQ people do.
Our region has incredible LGBTQ history and community; and yet, there are few support structures for LGBTQ people here. In 2018, two local organizations serving LGBTQ people--Lotus Rising Project and Rogue Rainbow Elders--both closed. It can be difficult for LGBTQ people to find or access resources, community, or support, and that is amplified for LGBTQ people of color, immigrants, disabled folks, or others living at the intersection of multiple minority identities.
We want to change that! The goal of the Rogue Action Center’s LGBTQ Listening Project is to map the assets, challenges, and resources needed in the LGBTQ community in Jackson & Josephine counties and to boldly vision what we need to co-create so that LGBTQ folks in southern Oregon have the resources and support we need to thrive.
So, what is needed for our communities to thrive? We need to hear from you about what you need and what you envision! We will also be hosting online listening sessions starting in July. Follow “Rogue Action Center” on Facebook, join our mailing list, or visit rogueactioncenter.org for updates.
We especially ask that you share this survey with LGBTQ Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color in our region. Gathering stories, documenting the lived experience of marginalized communities in southern Oregon, and using that information to advocate for change is one of the ways we understand our role in this movement. We know that none of us can thrive until the Black rural, queer, and trans folks in our communities can thrive.
You can help us by sharing this survey widely with your networks. We know that many LGBTQ people may not be 'out' for safety reasons, so sharing this survey with your church, political group, knitting circle, and local library helps us reach LGBTQ people who may be most isolated.
Not sure what to say? Here are graphics and example email and social media templates to get out the word!
Thanks to the following funders who made this work possible:
