This past March, the Washington State LGBTQ Commission in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Veteran’s Affairs held a panel on 2SLGBTQIA+ Veterans to discuss some of the biggest challenges Veteran’s face and offer advice on how to navigate the resources that our state offers. The panel featured voices like Dontae Payne and Commissioner Best, along with Robin Lang, LGBTQ+ Veterans Outreach Coordinator and more. You can give it a watch here. We also invite you to explore the Library of Congress “Serving in Silence” project which features stories and pictures of 2SLGBTQIA+ veterans past and present. If you are an 2SLGBTQIA+ Veteran, there are various federal and state resources available to you, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VHA LGBTQ+ Health Program and the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs LGBTQ+ Veteran Outreach Coordinator. Thank you for your service.

The Washington State LGBTQ Commission will host its November public meeting on Friday, November 17^th from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. This meeting will take place at Whatcom Community College in the Syre Student Center, Rooms 107 and 108, located at 237 W. Kellogg Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226.  This will be an in-person public meeting with no live broadcast. The public can attend in person and public comments will be received both in person at the meeting or in writing prior to the meeting. If you want to submit public comments, please direct them to Sawyer Tuttle, Executive Assistant for the Commission at sawyer.tuttle@lgbtq.wa.gov.

The Washington State Legislature has one of the finest page programs in the country. Each year, hundreds of students from across Washington State have the opportunity to take part in the legislative process and observe the Legislature and other branches of state government in action.

Pages are sponsored by legislators and serve for one week during the legislative session, which runs January-April in odd numbered years and January-March in even numbered years. Pages spend their week learning about the legislative process while distributing materials throughout the Capitol Campus, assisting offices, delivering messages, working on the Senate or House Floor, and presenting the colors at the opening of the day's legislative session. Pages also spend time each day in Page School learning about all aspects of state government.

In order to serve as a Page, participants must:

• Have parent or guardian permission
• Receive a recommendation from a teacher and your principal
• Be at least 14 years of age and have not reached your 17th birthday
• Provide a Social Security card in order to receive the page stipend of $65 per day. If you do not have a Social Security card, you are still able to participate without receiving the daily stipend. *

To learn more, visit the Legislative Page Programs and Page School website here. Click here to learn more about the Gina Grant Bull Memorial Legislative Page Scholarship Program. To apply to be a page, click here.

The Washington State Department of Commerce is initiating a Request for Application (RFA) process to fund $500,000 in fiscal year 2024 for the physical security of nonprofit and religious nonprofit institutions. Grant recipients must have reasons to believe they have been subject to security threats and demonstrate a need for enhanced security. Grant funding must be used and limited to purchasing security hardware and equipment to enhance the security of the buildings and grounds of such organizations.

Responses to the RFA are due by 5 p.m. PST, Dec. 19^th, 2023.

Please click this link to learn more

We’ve been watching the leaves change color and recovering from our first colds of the school season, and that means it is finally time – the Pride Foundation 2024 scholarship application is now open.

The Pride Foundation’s scholarships fund LGBTQ+ students who are leaders – in their own lives, in their families, in their home communities, in their field of study, in their workplace, or in our movements for justice. The Pride Foundation’s program provides resources to students who need to most, regardless of school, major, or GPA.

Since awarding their first scholarship in 1992, Pride Foundation has awarded over $8.5 million to 2,452 students in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Through the incredible generosity of our community, Pride Foundation has more than 60 scholarship funds – but students only need to complete one application.

Applications are due Friday, January 5, 2024, and any LGBTQ+ student who is a resident of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington state is eligible to apply. You can find out more details about the basic requirements, process, and application here.

Help us make sure every student in our region knows about the opportunity for support – please help spread the word to students in your networks – or apply yourself!

Calling all queer poem writers of Washington State and adjacent tribal lands!

As part of my term as the Washington State Poet Laureate, I’m putting together an anthology of poems from queer writers of all stripes across the state. I want to hear from people trying out poetry for the first time, as well as regular writers and widely published poets. I want to include work by folks across spectrums of sexual orientation, gender, and sexuality in general (ace/aro family, I’m looking at you—send me work!), and from across the full breadth of our state.

Poems can be on any topic. This anthology takes the stance that all art made by queer artists is queer art, whether it draws explicit attention to an identity or not. Send me your love poems, the poem you wrote on the bus or in the park, poems where you wrestle with yourself, poems where you love existing, poems that take a metaphor and run with it, tribute poems, grief poems, ecstatic poems, sleepy poems, poems that barely know what they are or what they’re becoming, I want it all. Traditional and experimental work are both welcomed.

The final anthology will be published online and made available as a free resource. I’ll organize poems in a tagged and searchable format (like a database), making sure the tags are correct to the poem and its author. There is no payment available but chosen writers will appear in a publicized, widely available anthology and may get opportunities for readings and events following the anthology’s launch.

I hope to hear from you soon! And please pass this call around!

Best,

Arianne True

Submissions are due Friday, December 15^th, 2023. Click here for more info and to submit.

MultiCare Health Systems invite bisexual women of color in Washington state to consider joining their THRIVE Community Steering Committee.

Joining the THRIVE Community Steering Committee involves:

• Committing to a two-year term that includes participating in eight meetings per year. 
• Co-creating approaches to improve bisexual Women of Color’s representation in maternal health research, so no one gets left behind.
• Contributing to the development of an anti-racist, bisexual-affirming maternal health toolkit for maternal health providers and birth workers.

To make meeting attendance easiest for a wide group of people, MultiCare Health Systems will hold all meetings virtually. Our team can help identify community spaces with free computers and WIFI access as needed. Members will be provided $75 as compensation after every meeting attended.

Those interested in becoming THRIVE Community Steering Committee members and/or learning more can reach out to Deana Williams, the study lead, at deana.williams@multicare.org or complete the intake form at https://redcap.link/JoinThrive.

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.