10/26/2012
Hey Everyone,
Are you Q***r? Have you ever been drunk? Have you ever been downtown and had to deal with a particularly nasty incident and just really wished you could call someone to talk? Have you ever just wanted someone to come provide you with a safe ride home? Have you ever had to deal with police, not had your full facilities, and wished someone was there to help?
My thought is that we have all been in one of these situations. With the recent bashings/anti-q***r occurrences downtown, and the ever-present need for sober rides for q***r folks, Yatzel Sabat and I have been brainstorming to start an org focused on Q***r Community Safety, particularly in Nightlife/Bar Culture situations. Some priorities:
Providing Q***r folks with a free or small donation based way to get a sober ride home when they've had too much and shouldn't drive
Being available to accompany people in situations where they feel their safety is at risk, or to assist when Q***rs have been harmed or threatened
Being able to provide rights info to Q***rs/ physically present to document incidents for Q***rs, esp in their late-night dealings with the police
Being an on-call source of safety info or problem solving options for any Q***r facing issues in their nights out
How do we intend to provide these services? We want to set up a phone number for people to call and get assistance in any of the above situations. We will also need gas for personal vehicles so we can provide speedy transportation to downtown areas. Most importantly, we need people: folks who would be willing to spend one night a week being on call to help out and provide assistance to members of their community. Also folks who can give training and input on communication, drunkfolx 101, police interaction, mediation, etc to volunteers.
Our plan is to recruit volunteers, provide training, create promotional materials, get the word out, and hopefully have this up and running by mid January 2013. Our goal to start is to have a team of at least 2 people per night, 9pm-3am, Thurs-Sunday.
We understand this is an ambitious idea, but its one we think is fully achievable with community involvement. We also see a strong need for this, and we dont see existing institutions meeting the need. We are lucky to have a tight knit and involved community, with a plethora of resources and skills, and we intend to tap those as much as possible.
So give us your opinions/ support/ ideas and esp encouragement. We also need a name- something indicative of the Q***r focus as well as resource, safety, etc. Witty acronyms encouraged (IE Q***r Austin Community Safety, pronounced cahks)
Look out for a Kickstarter or something like it, as well as a lot of questions for you, in the coming weeks. Feel free to tag or pass this on to anyone you think would like to be involved, esp those w/out steady internet or fb access.
We Love You, and want ya'll safe.
