Diversity Thrift (1407 Sherwood Avenue, Richmond, VA 23220), the thrift store which supports the Gay Community Center of Richmond, is having a clothing sale. All clothing items are only $1 each, with possible exceptions for winter coats and gowns.
The sale runs until this Friday, May 10th. Call 804-353-8890 for more information.
The first Monday of every month, from 7-8:30pm, at the Gay Community Center of Richmond (1407 Sherwood Avenue, Richmond VA), there is a support group for LGBTQ women. From the description:
“The group is a forum for open discussion about the coming out process for women. Whether you are newly out, still coming out, have been out for a while or are questioning… all are welcomed! The group is sponsored by Metropolitan Community Church of Richmond, (MCC), www.mccrichmond.org and The Gay Community Center of Richmond (GCCR), www.gayrichmond.com”
For more information, contact facilitators Loretta Mountcastle, rollinroletta@aol.com, or Martha Ann Spruill, maspruill@me.com.
From GayRVA :
“A local LGBTQ group has received a federal grant to investigate violence affecting sexual minorities in the Richmond Area. The federal grant was given to the Virginia Anti-Violence Program by the Office of Violence Against Women. Southerners on New Ground (SONG), has partnered with The Virginia Anti-Violence Program (VAVP) to identify and engage LGBTQ youth (age 14-20) in conversations about violence and healthy relationships in the hope of understanding and fighting the problem.
The numbers behind violence affecting sexual minority youth reflect a dire need for further investigation. In a community study conducted by the Equality Virginia Education Fund and the Virginia Anti-Violence Project (VAVP), 26% of those asked experienced sexual violence as an adult while 36% experienced sexual violence as a young person. 41% of the respondents had been in an abusive relationship at some time in their life. Salem Acuña, Field organizer for SONG, believes that the lack of discourse on the issue within the community has led to misconceptions about the problem. “the LGBT Movement and community has a difficult time acknowledging and confronting the reality that LGBTQ people are also targets and survivors of intimate-partner violence,” said Acuña. The VAVP, along with SONG, is working towards “breaking down this myth”.
While traditional different-sex relationships have often been the subject of study, this look into same-sex relationships and the violence experiences by partners, is a new and important field. The study hopes to go through several steps to gain a broader understanding of the issues faced, and then use the results to develop narrow questions and topics for focus groups.
According to Jackie Rene, community advocate of VAVP, the survey is the first step to forming the questions for the focus groups. Once this information is gathered, Rene and VAVP hope to understand “where, how, and what kind of information people are receiving about sexual violence and what kinds of information people need.”
In the same study mentioned above, less than 5 out of 59 sexual and/or domestic violence agencies had “knowingly served any LGBTQ people in the twelve months preceding the interviews.” The researchers concluded that “nearly everyone interviewed requested educational materials and training opportunities on addressing violence in LGBTQ communities and expressed interest in participating in a statewide effort to improve and increase services to LGBTQ survivors of violence.”
LGBTQ youth is only one of three groups that the organizations are working on through the grant. LGBTQ people of color, and LGBTQ elders will also be addressed. SONG will be conducting the focus groups for LGBTQ people of color in addressing issues of violence, relationships, sexuality, and race. As far as the scope of the project, “right now it’s only regional”, says Maria Altonen, VAVP Program Coordinator, but “our intention is to, with further funding, spread it statewide.”
“Overall, I think this project is really critical in helping us build healthy, vibrant, and strong LGBTQ communities in the Richmond area”, said Acuña. The VAVP and SONG have begun outreach into the LGBTQ community by bringing their survey to ROSMY, Godfrey’s college night, Virginia Commonwealth University, and putting it online.
Today is the 4th annual Transgender Day of Visibility. Founded in 2009 by Rachel Crandall of Transgender Michigan, it was created as a response to Transgender Day of Remembrance’s memorial and antiviolence purposes being diluted by parties or purely educational efforts. It is highly important that we have a day that remains a memorial for our dead!
Transgender Day of Remembrance is for our fallen.
Transgender Day of Visibility provides a day for us to focus on the living, .
More: TransGriot’s pag on TDOV
(via anarcho-queer)
Tuesday, April 2nd, at 5pm, at the University of Richmond Tyler Hanes Commons, Room 346, the Black Alliance for Sexual Minority Equality, the South Asian Student Alliance, and the Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity are co-hosting a screening. “I Am” is a documentary about being LGBTQ in India by Sonali Gulati, a professor and award-winning filmmaker at VCU.
Professor Gulati will also be engaging with the audience and fielding questions after the showing. Free and open to the public, RSVP through the title link.
Friday, March 22nd, from 5-8pm, at the New York Deli (2920 West Cary Street, Richmond VA), GAYRVA is holding a social mixer.
This is not a sober event. The venue is wheelchair accessible, with accessible bathrooms.
William and Mary will hold their annual LGBTQIA* Pride Festival Saturday, April 6th, from 3-6pm.
For more information and to RSVP, see the title link.
Trans* folks exist and are valued members of our communities. Here is a day to acknowledge and celebrate our trans* siblings that is not centered around discussions of violence. Virginia events honoring this day will be listed on Active-RVA as they become public.
Next Sunday, March 17th, 7pm, at the Ballroom of the VCU Monroe Park Campus Student Commons (907 Floyd Avenue, Richmond VA), VCU Queer Action is hosting its yearly drag ball, to benefit the Fan Free Clinic.
There will be refreshments, drag performers, door prizes, and more, for a ticket price of $5. This event is open to non-students. Tickets can be purchased at Break Point, in the basement of the Student Commons (address above). They do not accept cash. Break Point will be open during the event, but tickets will not be sold at the door.
The venue is wheelchair accessible and friendly to service animals. The building usually does not have non-sex-specific bathroom facilities, but Queer Action will be furnishing those in the bathrooms across from the ballroom.
