BREAKING: Lavender Rights Project and Chief Seattle Club opening permanent housing for QT2BIPOC in Fall 2023
Lavender Rights Project (LRP) and Chief Seattle Club announced Monday, April 24, 2023, that they have been selected as joint operators of King County Health Through Housing’s newest program: a 35-unit building providing permanent supportive housing for QT2BIPOC (queer, trans, Two-Spirit, Black, indigenous, and people of color) in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Informally known as “The House” (its official name to be voted on by the residents), this new initiative is a direct result of years of BIPOC community organizing advocating for the diversion of funds from carceral systems into investments that protect the most vulnerable across the Puget Sound. LRP’s Black trans-led housing program will offer a unique array of services and support for its residents, including gender-affirming care, by-and-for community programming, fresh food, a safe space for rest, and community care grounded in a Black trans praxis.
“We are grateful to the mayor and the city council for their decision to invest these funds into housing for the queer and trans BIPOC community,” spoke Jaelynn Scott (she/her), executive director of Lavender Rights Project. “Many years of grassroots movement building have made this historic moment possible. There is much more work to be done by both King County and the City of Seattle in order to truly protect QT2BIPOC communities. However, for right now, this is a major win that will have lasting ramifications for families, friends, and loved ones both locally and throughout the nation.’’
For Lavender Rights Project, the housing crisis is critical for Black and Indigenous gender diverse residents of King County—who are collectively facing unprecedented waves of violence because of increasing anti-Black racism and transphobia sweeping across the United States. LRP believes that it is important for local and state government agencies to trust solutions created by-and-for communities that are most impacted by systemic violence. Capacity building support through King County’s Health through Housing, and the ability for by-and-for organizations to partner with more experienced housing operators, is an innovative model that LRP says will empower the wisdom of vulnerable communities with the funding necessary to build a safer world for their constituents.
“We are deeply honored that Chief Seattle Club will be partnering with us as operator, mentors, and caretakers,” continued Ms. Scott about LRP’s upcoming housing program. “For years, they have been a loving and wide partner for our organization in our housing advocacy work. The leadership of Chief Seattle Club has shown a deep commitment to Black, Trans, and Two-Spirit liberation, and we are proud of our ongoing collaboration with them.”
“This property and its designation are first steps in providing our communities with safety,” spoke Ebo Barton (they/he), Director of Housing Services at Lavender Rights Project. “Unfortunately, housing insecurity comes with being a gender diverse person of color, and properties like ours can interrupt these violent cycles of discrimination, erasure, and vulnerability. It is critical that gender diverse specific housing breaks ground now more than ever before. This is exciting to be given an opportunity to collaborate with our communities to strengthen our foundations of care and safety.”
ABOUT LAVENDER RIGHTS PROJECT
Lavender Rights Project elevates the power, autonomy, and leadership of the Black intersex & gender diverse community by developing the resources and advocacy necessary to unilaterally protect Black and trans life in Washington State. Their work offers innovative, informed solutions that celebrate the joy and dreams of their respective communities through specialized by-and-for legal and social services. Following in the footsteps of acclaimed grassroots organizers such as Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, LRP’s first permanent supportive housing program will build upon decades of informal housing services that have been created by-and-for the QTBIPOC community. Their staff plan to base all support for residents in long-standing traditions of care that have been passed down for generations by trans and queer people of color alike. Chief Seattle Club will be LRP's key partner on this innovative housing program, and they both look forward to inviting residents and community alike for years to come.
Learn more about Lavender Rights Project at https://www.lavrights.org.
ABOUT CHIEF SEATTLE CLUB
Chief Seattle Club is a Native-led housing and human services agency in Seattle, Washington. They provide sacred spaces to nurture, affirm, and strengthen the spirit of urban Native people, and believe that a world without homelessness is possible by leading with Native values. Chief Seattle Club envisions a future where their Native community is safe, healthy, housed, and connected to a community that respects and celebrates Native cultures.
Learn more about Chief Seattle Club at https://www.chiefseattleclub.org/