Rural LGBTQ Community Care
Thanks to KariLyn McLellan for this fabulous band image of OITO staff! L-R, Ain, HB and Eva.
August 2021
This month is all about community care - mutual aid via binders, funds, and connection; queering our workplace culture through rest as resistance; and more.
Our Rural QTBIPOC/LGBTQ+ Mutual Aid Fund is back! So far this month, we've redistributed $8450 to folks requesting support. The form to make requests will be open until August 31. As always, if you want to give funds, you can do that here. And of course, you can both give and receive!
And as I shared last month, as a way of digging more deeply into our values around rest and personal sustainability leading to movement sustainability, our non-ED staff will be taking a six-week break during September and October. Hear more from Ain & Eva below as they head out.
We’re seeing a lot of organizations do things like this lately. It feels really important to be able to support our staff in these ways with time that is qualitatively different than just a few days here and there. I will be here for all of our dreams, schemes, and needs throughout the next six weeks (and beyond).
One thing I'll be working on while others are away is strategic planning alongside our fabulous Board with community member Claire Wheeler of Re:Work. I'm so excited to be working together to collectively chart this next phase(s) of Out in the Open.
And I'll be continuing work with our friends at Country Queers on what will be season two of their podcast, too. Powerful stories coming to you this Fall & Winter from people in Vermont, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Hawai'i. If you haven't already, check out Season One so you can get ready!
Here for all of it,
HB
--
HB Lozito
Executive Director
hb@WeAreOutintheOpen.org
Staff Send-off
Thanks to KariLyn McLellan for this fabulous band image of OITO staff! L-R, Ain, HB and Eva.
When asked for a few words heading into this break, Eva shared: "I’m feeling so grateful that I have this time of rest, healing, and spaciousness. This would not be possible without out all the ways our community holds each other and supports each other, so thank you for creating space for us to queer our work place culture even more with having these next six weeks off."
And Ain says: "I have so much appreciation for our community members and organization for living our values by creating this restorative break for our rural queer staff. Like so many of us, I'm feeling a deep need for healing rest, time to study, and space to explore outside of a glowing screen. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! I look forward to returning in 6 weeks more resourced and ready to reconnect and radiate queer joy together."
Enjoy spaciousness and rest, y'all. Excited to see you when you are back!