*Reclaim Safety with ALP and CUAV on December 8^th !*

/LGBTSTGNC People from the Bay to Brooklyn Create Community Solutions to Violence/

*We are mourning the tragic deaths of 15-year-old African American
Jaysen Mattison in Baltimore and 19-year-old Puerto Rican Jorge Steven López Mercado in Puerto Rico, and the countless others we have lost to hate violence.* Our sorrow and outrage go out to their families and communities: we know Jaysen and Jorge were taken from you too soon. We recognize that there is a war against low-income, immigrant, and LGBTSTGNC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two- Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming) People of Color, and that our people are meeting early deaths at the hands of hatred, abuse, neglect, and oppression.

*Unfortunately, the recent passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the nation’s first ever federal LGBTSTGNC-inclusive hate crimes bill, will not stop the violence we face.* The bill:

*Provides no funding or resources to actually prevent
violence*, but instead gives $5 million to expand the powers of local
police and the FBI to investigate and prosecute incidences of hate violence.

*Strengthens a criminal “justice” system* that funnels
more and more poor people and people of color into prisons and away from our families.

*Supports the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan* as part
of the larger Defense Authorization Act, which allocated $130 billion to military efforts instead of to education, jobs, housing, and healthcare.

*Reaffirms the idea that safety comes through more police and more people in prison*, instead of by addressing the real
needs of survivors of violence, people who have been violent, and the communities affected.

*We believe that we can create our own safety.* We desire and demand solutions that challenge the real causes of violence: homophobia, transphobia, and economic injustice. As we demand the basic necessities that we need to survive—jobs, housing, healthcare, and education—we know that we must create real ways for communities to respond to and prevent violence without relying on violent institutions. *We refuse to have
our pain used to support violence of any kind.*

*JOIN US ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8^TH FOR A DAY OF RECLAIMING SAFETY.

*LGBTSTGNC communities from the Bay to Brooklyn will be strategizing and discussing community based solutions to violence. If you are in the Bay Area or the NYC area, attend the events listed below. If you are not, we encourage you to plan a conversation or some other type of event and let
us know how it went.

*Together, we can turn the tides of violence! *

*EVENTS ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8^TH :*

*Bay Area: Join CUAV for our first Safety Lab!*

*WHEN:* 7:00pm-9:00pm (food at 6:30pm)

*WHERE:* CUAV – 170 A Capp Street, San Francisco (take BART to 16th
Street Mission)

* *

*WHAT:* Let’s practice what we want to see in the world! Using scenarios
of violence in our communities, we will work together to create and act
out new ways of responding to anti-LGBTSTGNC hate violence that can
create true safety, accountability, and healing. CUAV will host regular
Safety Labs to offer a space to practice community responses to
different forms of violence. This first Safety Lab is co-sponsored by
the El/La Program Para TransLatinas in San Francisco.

*HOW:* RSVP to stacy@cuav.org or call (415)
777-5500 x316. Interpretation available.

Ø *NYC: Join the Audre Lorde Project’s S.O.S. Collective for a
forum…Stopping Violence Through Waging War? Part II*

*WHEN:* 7:00-9:00pm

*WHERE:* 85 S. Oxford St. (between Lafayette and Fulton), Brooklyn. (Bus
take the B38 Lafayette/ S. Oxford or take the B52, B26, B25 to Fulton
and Greene Ave. By Train take the C train to Lafayette, the G train to
Fulton or the 2,3,4,5,B,N,R, or Q train to Atlantic/ Pacific)

*WHAT:* For the past several years anti-violence organizations have
debated whether or not hate crimes laws actually increase or decrease
violence against LGBTSTGNC communities of color. After the recent
passing of the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Act join the Audre Lorde
Project as we get organizations who’ve opposed and supported the Matthew
Shepard/James Byrd Act in the same room for a provocative discussion on
hate crimes legislation, community based anti-violence strategies, and
hate violence prevention.

For more info contact cjohnsonlong@alp.org

*ABOUT THE AUDRE LORDE PROJECT: *The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of
Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City
area. Through mobilization, education and capacity-building, we work for
community wellness and progressive social and economic justice.
Committed to struggling across differences, we seek to responsibly
reflect, represent and serve our various communities.**

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*ABOUT CUAV:* Founded in 1979, Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
works to build the power of LGBTQQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer, and questioning) communities to transform violence and
oppression. We support the healing and leadership of those impacted by abuse and mobilize our broader communities to replace cycles of trauma with cycles of safety and liberation. As part of the larger social justice movement, CUAV works to create truly safe communities where everyone can thrive. For more visit www.cuav.org

*/Check out this event on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190155511767!/*