As you may know, Survivors Organizing for Liberation (SOL) and Buried Seedz of Resistance (BSeedz) formally ceased operations on June 30, 2019. SOL, formerly the Colorado Anti-Violence Project, had provided support and assistance to LGBTQ survivors of violence since 1986.
SOL staff reached out to Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN) in April to discuss the possibility of transitioning the SOL 24/7 hotline over to SPAN’s 24/7 crisis line as the organization prepared to close. SPAN agreed to do so and after several weeks of discussions, resource gathering, and training, SPAN began answering calls to the SOL hotline in mid-June. Because the SOL hotline was statewide, SPAN worked closely with SOL to compile resources for LGBTQ survivors across the state.
While SPAN has historically supported LGBTQ survivors of intimate partner violence through our 24/7 crisis line, all-gender Shelter, and other advocacy and counseling programs, we recognize our limitations as an organization to fully serve the LGBTQ community. SPAN will not replace SOL. Our intention is to maintain 24/7 crisis line access for LGBTQ survivors during this transition period as we work with Queer-Trans (QT), Queer-Trans-People-of-Color (QTPoC), and Queer-Trans-Black-Indigenous-People-of Color (QTBIPoC) communities to create grassroots QT/QTPoC/QTBIPoC-led resources and services for survivors statewide. We recognize the systemic challenges and institutional biases that small QT/QTPoC/QTBIPoC-led organizations face and will work diligently to support the emergence of grassroots, community-based programs.
We enter this transition period with humility, transparency and accountability. We recognize that many in the QT/QTPoC/QTBIPoC communities, particularly those who had lost trust in SOL over the years, will have concerns about SPAN’s role in this transition. We are committed to openly addressing and responding to these concerns. SPAN has been meeting with QT/QTBIPoC community organizers during this transition period to identify on-going training and accountability measures. Recent guidance from Dr. Tara Jae and Sequoya Hayes from YouthSeen, and Sorin Thomas and Chris Aguilar Garcia from Queer Asterisk, has been invaluable in directing SPAN’s next steps. In the coming weeks we will be establishing an “accountability/advisory council” and hosting a series of forums/gatherings to hear from QT/QTPoC/QTBIPoC community members. More information about these efforts is forthcoming.
During this transition period, we encourage community members to contact us with your questions, concerns, and ideas. Additionally, if you are aware of QT/QTPoC/QTBIPoC resources across Colorado that should be included on a resource/referral list, please consider sharing those with us. Comments, concerns, questions, and suggested resources can be sent directly to me at anne@safehousealliance.org or 303-449-8623 x105.
The closure of SOL/BSeedz unquestionably leaves a gap in services for LGBTQ survivors of violence. As a former SOL staff member noted, from the ashes of SOL something new and healthy can grow and thrive. SPAN will do all that we can to ensure that whatever emerges from the ashes is grassroots, responsive and accountable to survivors, and QTPoC and QTBIPoC-led.
Respectfully,
Anne Tapp, SPAN Executive Director