Lavender Updates
As the Lavender Rights Project continues to develop and expand, our organization's staff has been able to grow so that we may better accommodate the community's needs. Please welcome the following new staff members to our organization:
Stephanie Mueller
Stephanie will be putting her focus on criminal law and representing legally-free youth in dependency cases and trans folks experiencing discrimination in King County, Pierce County, and Vashon Island.
Shanti Epp
Shanti is our paralegal extraordinaire for all dependency cases and will be assisting with all aspects of legal cases by reviewing evidence, drafting pleadings and reports, communicating with all relevant parties, and more!
Luke Savot
Luke will be utilizing his experience in communications, education, and community organizing to improve our organization's connections to and engagement with the greater community and potential collaborators.
Moving Forward
With our new staff, we will be able to exponentially increase our capacity to serve the community in various ways:
Legal Advocacy
The Lavender Rights Project is taking on more direct service lawsuits than ever before as our attorneys and support staff provide critical legal representation for trans and queer people experiencing discrimination from employers, medical providers, insurance companies, and public entities around Washington state.
Clinics
We have recognized a collective need for knowledge and skill development that our one-on-one legal services alone cannot provide; therefore, we are developing a series of clinics that address key areas of concern, such as:
- trans-exclusive insurance denials
- estate planning
- non-traditional tradesworkers
- discrimination
Clinics will allow for the sharing of experiences, networking and coalition-building with local organizations, and the reciprocal exchange of ideas, perspectives, and resources as we work alongside one another to create change.
Rural Organizing
Long-time staff member Dusty LaMay has accepted a fellowship with Equal Justice Works that will start in September 2018 and will focus on providing legal services and organizing in rural areas of Washington.
During his fellowship, Dusty will travel throughout the state to collaborate and organize with community partners and provide services for transgender and gender non-conforming people, focusing on hosting community clinics that will address legal needs such as name and gender marker changes, trans-exclusive healthcare denials, estate planning, and more.
And more!
Here's a sneak peak at some of the community engagement projects that the Lavender Rights Project has on our horizon:
- Creating safer spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care to connect with one another and learn about their legal rights
- Partnering with Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Employment for Women (ANEW) to provide sexual harassment trainings for women and LGBTQ tradesworkers
- Hosting town hall meetings to address barriers to employment and retention of LGBTQ tradespeople
- Facilitating creative and fun opportunities to get involved through volunteering, fundraising, and supporting the communities we serve
Stay updated on what the Lavender Rights Project is doing by reading our blog or connecting with us on Facebook!