The time to prepare your legal documents is NOW.

My beautiful community,

It is time to ensure our families are safe despite what the government is or is not doing. We cannot wait until we NEED to produce these documents, we need to have them in place and copies secured in safe places and with trusted friends or allies. On Wednesday, February 26th we are hosting a “Power of Attorney” night and I encourage - no I PLEAD with you to come and take advantage of the legal instruction we will be receiving. This includes General Power of Attorneys, Medical Power of Attorneys, HIPPA, and Mental and Physical Health Directives. If you were to be involved in an accident or unable to communicate for yourself, who would the hospital call? Your next of kin? In many cases that may be a parent or sibling that may not be supportive of you authentic self or your relationship status. We cannot rely on people who merely tolerate us to make these decisions. We must ensure these things are in place and ready in case something arises. You should file the Medical/Physical/HIPPA forms with your primary care physician, it is important the medical community has this knowledge and reached out to the correct people. You should have copies secured in a safe place at your home as well as copies with friends that will guard them diligently. I do not mean to sound hyperbolic or to fearmonger in anyway, but the phrase “better safe than sorry” is well known and I would never want to see that impact our community. If you would like to attend our POA night, please RSVP HERE so we have enough legal packets.

Sam

President, Board of Directors

Update from HRC’s: “How We’ll Protect Our Progress”

Community,

We just got off the Human Rights Campaign’s call, “HRC and Trump’s First 100 Days: How We’ll Protect Our Progress” which contained a lot of great knowledge and advice.

First: the law hasn’t changed.

Executive Orders do not immediately undo law. These things will move through the court systems and will take a great deal of time during which the law of the land remains. Let this provide a bit of reassurance. Sarah Warbelow reminded the call that we all knew this adminstration would undo rights for our Community, and they have been preparing strategic litigation for this very reason. Stand firm and RESIST. It is incredibly important that we do not pre-comply. Again: the law has not changed. Do not allow them to gain progress by willingly giving it away. We must not self-censor.

Their goal is to terrify our Community and our Allies, making them take a step back to leave our most visible members more vulnerable. Allies, this part is for you: THIS is the sign to speak up. The time of silently standing by and supporting in private is over. If you have ever read a history book and wondered, “how could people just silently stand by without speaking out" - this is your chance to stand firm and use your voice to help us.

What can we do?

Take action. HRC is taking 100,000 actions in 100 days and they are already 40,000 actions in. That is proof we have allies, we have numbers, we have each other. Together we can make an impact. Stay plugged into action networks. Write your representatives, share your stories. You do not have to give your name or your address or your employment - simply say you are a “constituent in your district” or share simply your zip code. We must own our narrative, it is ours and no one gets to re-write our stories or experiences for us.

Get your legal documents drawn up, Wills, Power of Attorney, Adoption if non-birth giver, etc.

Support your LGBT+ friends and family. Check-in. Then check-in again. Support one another.

Advice from HRC (paraphrased):

Same-Sex Marriage - the law has not changed. Should it go through the court systems and revert back to state-law there would most likely be a legacy clause affording recognition for same-sex couples already married.

X Gender Marker Passports - no longer being issued. Be cautious traveling outside the United States with an X passport. HRC suggested reaching out to the Department of State and requesting a written letter stating that you would in fact be allowed back into the United States.

Transgender care/access - the majority of focus has been on youth under the age of 18. Access for adults to HRT will be highly dependent on the state in which you live and the specific legislation being proposed.

Resources from HRC:

• HRC.IM/Timeline - It is important to understand our history; progess is forward, backward, then forward again. This is why we must continue to fight back.

• Text ‘Action’ to 472472 to join their Action Network and stay plugged in.

• HRC.IM/EqualityHub

• WelcomingSchools.org

I left the call feeling empowered. We are not alone, we have one another and national leaders paving the way with lawsuits to block these Executive Orders until they go through a long court battle ahead. I encourage you to visit the Human Rights Campaign’s website, support Lambda Legal, and to stay plugged into actions we can take to make our voices heard. The Glass House is here to welcome LGBTQ+ individuals of all ages and provides a safe, inclusive space. We hold support meetings, movie nights, arts and crafts, D & D, food pantry, clothing closet, and so much more. Together we will get through the next four years and protect the progress we have made. Let’s fight like hell.

Our Community has always known struggle.

Hi there.

The Glass House Board of Directors President here, Sam. How are you feeling? Have you been hydrating? Are you eating? Sometimes, things as simple as feeding our bodies can be hard when the burden upon our shoulders is so great. This is my second blog post since coming on as President of the Board and since creating the website, and in this one I’m going to be vulnerable. So skip it if you want!

I’m struggling; I bet you are as well, and that’s okay. It’s okay to not be okay, to mourn, to have fear, and to cry - that I’ve been doing a lot of. But mostly, I’m struggling with anger. It seems to be the only thing I do have an abundance of right now, at the administration steadfast on harming marginalized Americans across the country, at the people we thought cared about us but would rather see the price of eggs lower than for us to live a safe, authentic life, and at the feeling of our autonomy being stripped away with each anti-human rights Executive Order that is signed. But I am reminded that this is no new experience for our world, for our country, or for our community. Xenophobia has reared its head throughout history and devoured those it aimed to alienate. That is where I find myself now, unable to wallow any longer and unwilling to let the anger inside me or the hate we face daily consume me.

I woke to a great post from one of my closest friends yesterday, reminding us of the way Marsha P. Johnson lived. I hope they don’t mind that I steal the post,

“If you want to actually *be* like Marsha P. Johnson, you have to BE like Marsha P. Johnson.

You need to be kind.

You need to care about housing for queer people.

You need to care about queer youth.

You need to care about sex workers.

You need to care about food access.

You need to practice joy and gratitude.

You need to learn to give people their flowers.

You need to learn to share.

You need to learn how to raise your voice and fight.

You need to have pride in yourself.

But always, you need to be kind.”

Do you know what the “P” in Marsha P. Johnson stands for? “Pay It No Mind.” She used this to deter questions she didn’t want to answer and to assert her autonomy - she wasn’t going to share anything she didn’t want to. Today, I decided I’m not going quietly. Marsha, Sylvia, our Mothers of the Resistance, didn’t go quietly. They raised hell. They fought hard. They organized together. They created STAR, which Ms. Rivera said was “for the street gay people, the street homeless people, and anybody that needed help at that time." Our community has known struggle, we were BORN of struggle, and we will not go quietly in this one either. We have strength in our community, we know how to organize underground. We have strength in our allies, they are willing to put their bodies between the Black, Brown, and Queer community that may need it. We have strength in our history, humans are not kind but both give us a roadmap to utilize and remind us that when a pendulum swings extremely far one way there is a reaction with equal force or greater - its physics. So while we wait for the next 1,379 days (you better believe I’m counting it down) to pass, be kind. Be kind to yourself, your body is getting you through these hard times. Be kind to our community; this is NOT the time to alienate each other. They are working hard to divide us already, we need the shared strength and resources of our community more than ever. So I leave you with what I’m working toward this week: Being kind and fighting like hell.

You are Valid. You are Worthy. You are NEVER alone.

To our Beautiful Community:

We see you, we hear you, and we mourn with you. It is important to take the necessary time to grieve, to hold space for yourself, and to gather together in support. Yes, uncertain times may lay ahead of us but you are not alone. As the results began rolling in last night so did the calls from activists and allies, emboldened and ready to be on the front lines to protect you. A favorite quote from Ms. Sylvia Riveria comes to mind:

“We also have to remember one thing: that it was just not the gay community and the street queens that really escalated this riot — it was also the help of the many radical straight men and women that lived in the Village at that time, that knew the struggle of the gay community and the trans community. So the crowds did swell.”

— Sylvia Rivera

You are not alone. We standby ready to take action along with our growing numbers of straight allies and neighbors. So friends, hold space for yourselves and each other in coming days and weeks. When you’re ready, we are here to fight alongside you for the next four years. You are not alone.

-The Glass House Tyler

If you are in need of support, please reach out to these available resources:

Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860

Trans Lifeline is a trans-led organization that connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive.

The Trevor Project: (866) 488-7386 - or via chat or text at: thetrevorproject.org/get-help/

The LGBT National Hotline: (888) 843-4564

The LGBT National Youth Talkline (youth serving youth through age 25): (800) 246-7743

Both provide telephone, online private one-to-one chat and email peer-support, as well as factual information and local resources for cities and towns across the United States.