How does SOGI 123 show up in Cowichan Valley schools?

Several individuals and groups like Columbus Community Deathcare and Live Without Regrets doula services are emerging to offer LGBTQ+ people adequate deathcare as they often don’t have access to the same resources, autonomy or dignity as cisgender people. End-of-life doulas and other providers that embrace the Death Positive Movement are offering holistic care that honors a dying person’s wants and needs while respecting their identity.

LGBTQ+ youth centers, like The Ruth Ellis Center, are working to provide a sense of community and access to necessary services to uplift local LGBTQ+ youth. The Ruth Ellis Center offers shelter to LGBTQ+ youth facing homelessness and serves about 1,200 people each year. Along with shelter, the Center also works to bridge the healthcare gap in the LGBTQ+ community by partnering with Henry Ford Health to provide general wellness visits, STI/HIV screening, contraceptives and gender-affirming care.

Queer cowboys, cowgirls, and cowfolx attend gay rodeos across the United States to compete and partake in community events that are more welcoming than traditional rodeos. The International Gay Rodeo Association was founded in 1985 and continued to host events that anyone is welcome to join without judgment ever since.

The Everywhere Is Queer mobile app houses a directory of over 13,000 LGBTQ+-owned brick-and-mortar and online businesses, services and community groups around the world. The app features a map that highlights LGBTQ+-friendly businesses and safe spaces for members of the community and allies to frequent. The app also features a job board and access to therapists and has been downloaded over 80,0000 times since February.

Genderdoc-M (GDM) partners with a local lawyer to offer legal support to members of the LGBTQ+ community in an effort to promote human rights and continue to work toward a more inclusive society. Every year, about 40 people seek legal advice from GDM on matters ranging from workplace discrimination to physical abuse.

Local volunteers dubbed “activist archivists” are working to document the lives and contributions of LGBTQ+ people across the state, creating an archive of local LGBTQ+ history in the midst of recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that makes it difficult — and even illegal — to discuss and teach about LGBTQ+ identities and activism.

Groups like Portland: Neighbors Welcome and Black & Beyond the Binary Collective aims to provide safe, affordable housing to people in crisis — specifically members of the LGBTQ+ community. The group partners with other local organizations to raise funds through donations and events like drag shows to help address extreme rates of homelessness and housing discrimination within the LGBTQ+ community. These groups have helped more than 200 people access housing in the past four years and are continuing to acquire funds to expand their services.

gods closet is a pop-up shop that aims to create a community experience around fashion for LGBTQ+ people who often struggle to find clothes that fit their gender identity and expression. gods closet provides the clothes and services like styling free of charge.

The João W. Nery Outpatient Clinic provides medical and transition-related care for the area’s trans community. The Clinic provides patients access to social workers, psychologists, endocrinologists, nurses, and general practitioners who help patients get prescriptions for hormones, referrals for gender-affirming surgery, and advice on legally changing their names, all of which are offered for free.

The Lavender Courtyard is an income-restricted, three-story complex designed to serve LGBTQ seniors by providing safe, inclusive and affordable housing. It has 53 units and serves seniors ages 62 and up who pay affordable rents based on income as determined by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, which caps rents at 30% of their monthly adjusted income.