April 4, 2022 Newsletter

Connect with the LGBTQ Commission!

Pride Events Calendar – Let Us Know About Your Pride Events!

Interested in participating of an LGBTQ Pride Event in your area? Check out the Commission’s Calendar here to find out more information on your local Pride event.

Pride season is just around the corner! The WA State LGBTQ Commission wants to keep an updated calendar of Pride events throughout the state. We have created this form (https://forms.gle/XriJeud9DURibmZY9 ) which you can use to let us know about any event your agency or community group is planning for this year. Feel free to share this link with agencies around your area who are planning events to celebrate and honor our community. The LGBTQ Commission reserves the right to publish the information of the event, and here are some guidelines we will follow in making our decision on what events will be published: Events that go against the mission, vision, and values of the LGBTQ Commission will not be publish on the calendar. Only community events will be accepted for publication. No commercial events at bars, clubs, restaurants, or paid venues will be accepted for publication. (It’s OK if a community event has an entrance fee.) Political, partisan, and religious events will not be accepted for publication. Acceptance for publication of an event on the Commission’s calendar does not constitute endorsement, support, or sponsorship of such event on the part of the Commission, its staff, Commissioners, or affiliated agencies. Commission staff would be delighted to share with our community at Pride events throughout the season. If you want to extend an invitation to the staff or Commissioners to attend your event in an official capacity, please submit your invitation through the Commission’s “Contact Us” page here.

Bills that we are watching that made it through the legislature.

HB 1015 - Creating the Washington equitable access to credit act – Signed by Governor Inslee!

HB 1851 - Preserving a pregnant individual's ability to access abortion care – Signed by Governor Inslee!

HB 1956 - Exempting from public disclosure sensitive records pertaining to current and formerly incarcerated individuals' dignity and safety – Signed by Governor Inslee!

HB 1961 - Concerning the authority of the courts to waive auditor's fees for filing and recording name change orders – Signed by Governor Inslee!

HB 2057 - Strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion in the state patrol workforce – Signed by Governor Inslee!

SB 5376 - Promoting awareness of the governor's office of the education ombuds – Signed by Governor Inslee!

SB 5532 - Establishing a prescription drug affordability board – Signed by Governor Inslee!

SB 5693 - Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations

SB 5793 - Concerning stipends for low-income or underrepresented community members of state boards, commissions, councils, committees, and other similar groups.– Signed by Governor Inslee!

Go to the Governor's webpage to see what other bills have been signed so far.

Opportunities for the Community

From the Department of Health – COVID-19 Collaborative Partnership

Upcoming 04.06 Collaborative Session – Racism is a Public Health Crisis  

• We hope you can join us for our upcoming Collaborative session! We will hear from the Washington State Public Health Association on their Racism is a PH Crisis Resolution. The Resolution includes an action plan that contains strategies and actions including advocacy, education, allyship, and accountability. Session will provide an opportunity to discuss and share your perspective, insights, feedback and recommendations on the plan (in small groups via breakout rooms). To join the session, please register here. If you need captioning, Spanish, ASL interpretation and/or additional language access please let us know via email or through your zoom registration as soon as possible so that we can ensure the proper support in desired breakout room!

Upcoming 04.14 LatinX Community Partner Space (*workgroup name may change based on partner input)

• Thank you to those who had a chance to drop by an informational session and learn more about the workgroup. As a reminder this space is intended to center and prioritize community members, leaders, and/or advocates identifying and/or directly serving LatinX population. The space will serve as an opportunity for partners to share concerns, needs, leverage efforts, resources and collaborate on community informed strategies. The workgroup is set to launch on April 14^th 11:00am-12:00pm. If you are interested in joining, please register here.
• *If you have not already, please fill out an interest form in Spanish or English to ensure you receive all on-going workgroup communication including meeting details.

Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant – Feedback Opportunity

The Department of Health (DOH) receives funding each year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including a grant called the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant. The purpose of the grant is to address public health needs through innovative and locally defined programs. We invite you to join us for a community conversation to share your feedback on the following:

• Our planned program activities for the next grant cycle
• How we can better inform our work through local solutions and with a wider range of community partners

• Feedback will be utilized to
  • To guide the programs that DOH funds with this block grant

• Identify ways to better improve engagement

• Meeting Details: To better accommodate scheduling needs, we are offering two meeting times. Please choose the one meeting time that works best for you. Both meetings will have the same content. Please RSVP to Emma Wolf at wolf@doh.wa.gov or 564.999.3217 and specify which date you will be attending

• Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PDT) via Zoom
• Wednesday, May 18, 2022, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM (PDT) via Zoom
• Language interpretation is available! Please contact Emma Wolf with your access needs at least 10 business days before the meeting date. We may not be able to honor requests that we receive with less than 72 hours’ notice before the event.  Compensation is available! Attendees to receive a $30 gift card in appreciation of your time and expertise..

 Can’t make it to a meeting? No worries, you can still provide feedback! Copies of the draft grant application are available from the Department of Health by phone: 564-999-3217, or email: emma.wolf@doh.wa.gov. We will accept written comments until 5:00 p.m.  on May 18, 2022. If you prefer, we can also arrange time for you to provide feedback over the phone.

 More about the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant:

The grant currently funds three programs:

• Birth Equity Project: This project seeks to improve maternal and birth outcomes in communities that have inequalities in these outcomes: American Indian and Alaska Native, Black and African American, and Pacific Islander communities. The birth equity project invests in community-rooted services and expertise. Currently the project funds three local birth equity programs across the state.
• Health Literacy: It is the responsibility of the organization delivering the health services to provide information that is easy to understand and accessible. The goal of this program is to improve the health literacy of the population. Program activities are focused on developing the skills and abilities of the public health workforce, such as teaching DOH staff to plan, implement, and evaluate health interventions that promote health literacy.
• Sexual Violence Prevention: The objective of this program is to reduce sexual violence. Primary prevention activities include skill-building and changing social norms to foster environments where sexual violence is unacceptable. This program includes a social marketing campaign that has been implemented in 13 middle schools in six counties to date.

Healthy Youth Survey – Partners Feedback

Lavender March 2022

The Board of Directors of Renton LGBTQIA+ Community, a local resource group for LGBTQ people, is planning a statewide demonstration in support of LGBTQ people being targeted by the over 140 anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender bills introduced in state legislatures throughout the nation.  If you or your organization want to join this effort, you can fill out this form (https://tinyurl.com/4r9vbfwm) and a member of the leadership team will reach out to you or your organization with more information and details.

Interested in serving on Commissions and Boards?

Monthly Upcoming Appointment Opportunities

Washington is home to vibrant communities and diverse Washingtonians who all have unique talents, skills and experiences. Governor Inslee places a high priority on boards, commissions, and agencies that are reflective of the diverse make-up of Washington and that utilize the impressive talent of Washingtonians. We are always seeking skilled and experienced individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds to participate in boards and commissions ensuring an effective and representative government. We are excited to share the highlighted Current and Upcoming Gubernatorial Appointment Opportunities. As someone with deep roots in your respective communities and organizations, we hope that you will share these opportunities.  Anyone interested in being appointed will need to fill out this Application.  Please explore the Boards and Commissions Profiles if you are interested in learning more about the many opportunities to get involved! Thank you for your assistance in helping Governor Inslee find well-rounded candidates with significant talent and diverse experiences. Please feel free to reach out to Boards and Commissions staff with any questions you might have.  Thank you for your time.

Say It Out Loud Conference

We ARE Family

Honoring and recognizing the many structures and diverse expressions of families, biological and chosen.

The 2022 Annual SIOL Conference will be Virtual

Thursday, May 26

The Saying It Out Loud (SIOL) Conference focuses on information sharing and networking to improve behavioral health services and decrease disparities faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals. The conference strives to provide space to educate and share knowledge with attendees to better serve and support LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Find out more about the SIOL conference by visiting this link.

Jobs Opportunities for LGBTQ Washingtonians

Check out the list of job opportunities for the community on our Careers Opportunities page by visiting this link.

We are excited to share job postings sent to the LGBTQ Commission. There are three requirements to be included on our page:

• The job needs to be able to be done in Washington State (virtual works)
• The business must have an inclusivity and/or equal opportunity statement
• The job posting must include a salary range.

 Please send any job opportunity to share with the community to our Program Manager, Tracey Carlos (she/her) to tracey.carlos@lgbtq.wa.gov