Max’s Giving Guide - LGBT Emergency Services

Objective:

1. Emergency services
2. Advocacy / Public Education / Research
3. Jewish and LGBTQ Intersections

• Funding for gender affirming care
• LGBTQ+ cultural programs and spaces
• Affinity groups within larger organizations
• Community advocacy in existing progressive communities

Emergency Services:

• 40% of NYCs homeless population is queer children.
• 80% of these children will be solicited for prostitution in their first 3 days of being homeless.
• 45% of LGBT children seriously consider killing themselves
• This is dramatically reduced in those who feel affirmed by their families, communities, or supporting organizations.

• Provide drop in centers for children to receive free meals, healthcare, and counseling
• Provide transitional housing paired with career and financial coaching
• Support emergency hotlines, websites, and resource providers to direct LGBT children towards appropriate spaces for support

• The Ali Forney Center provides emergency drop in centers
• Trevor Project provides emergency hotlines and resources for children to find safe help
• Jewish Queer Youth works to provide emergency services to LGBT children from the orthodox and sephardic communities, who are frequently kicked out of their homes

Advocacy and Public Education / Research:

• Serious plans of suicide are dramatically reduced among children whose families and communities are supportive
• There are laws being proposed across southern states attempting to criminalize healthcare for LGBTQ people, deny their ability to participate in school sports, and more. This directly increases risk of death.
• It is highly likely that the federal court protection for marriage equality is overturned in the next 2-5 years.
• Research done by organizations focused on LGBT children supports data-driven healthcare and motivates other organizations (such as the American Association of Pediatricians) to conduct studies.

• Provide education for families and communities to guide them towards supporting their children
• Advocate and financially support legislation which codifies LGBT protection
• Contribute to medical and historical research on LGBT people to protect future challenges

• HRC advocates for legislation on behalf of LGBTQ people
• ACLU litigates on behalf of LGBTQ rights
• Keshet works to educate the jewish community on LGBTQ identities
• Kesher Families provides counseling and resources to orthodox families struggling to accept their LGBT child.
• Trevor Project conducts leading research on LGBT identities and how to mitigate risk of harm

The Jewish Intersection

• Support LGBT & Jewish intersecting organizations to preserve jewish communities and marriages
• Work towards re-engaging LGBT identifying people who may have felt ostracized by their Jewish communities
• Support LGBT jewish study to defend jewish marriage equality

• Svara provides Traditional Talmud study (looking at a page of Gemara) for people who may feel ostracized by orthodox spaces - see rabbi. Their lead Rabbi is focused on protecting the future of traditional Judaism through a conventional beit midrash/chavruta setting with progressive interpretations.
• CBST was the world’s first LGBT synagogue and is instrumental in leading jewish education for LGBT identifying people. Their scholar in residence, Mike Moskowitz, is a chasidic jew who advocates and researches the Jewish argument for trans rights.
• UJAPride is focused on identifying LGBT/Jewish organizations within greater NYC and supporting them.