This Moment

It has been a year since I put words to “paper”.  Life’s little disasters, loves little tornados, new jobs, friends moving away…they all somehow take precedent over reflection and mediation.  It’s easier to keep busy in the ebb-and-flow of daily life than to take ten minutes to examine ones circumstance and grow.  But now, now is the perfect time to revisit old practices and nearly forgotten passions.  Understanding and accepting reflection as a daily practice will produce profound life changes, it will breed happiness and perspective, it can help you learn from your mistakes and give you great ideas both in your personal life and in your professional career.  Regular reflection my friends is a practice we could all benefit from this year.

2014: A year to remember!  What a year we had, what a year I had.  So many chapters started and ended; many of great wins and victorious battles, a few with difficult losses of love and of family.  Each chapter filled with the potential for great growth and unforeseen opportunity.  Chapters I wish I had outlined here, but…here we are, and here are moments that make me honored to be in this time.

Now is our time.  2014 was a year of great triumph for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities in Houston and around this country.  We saw unprecedented amounts of support in nonprofit, legislative, and allied communities.

At the Grammy’s Queen Latifah officiated a massive wedding during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s performance of “Same Love” (video here), Laverne Cox became the first trans person to land the cover of Time Magazine, Honey Maid showed us that LGBT parents can be traditional too (video here) with their “This Is Wholesome” ad campaign, and the countless number of legislative same-sex marriage victories outlined HERE in a MIc.com article written by Jarred Keller.  PrEP became the next great tool in get to a zero new transmissions in the fight against HIV and Aids.  Here locally Houston City Council adopted the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) – which bans discrimination based not just on sexual orientation and gender identity, but also echoes federal discrimination laws - with the help of hundreds of unsung hero’s who call Houston home.   Our rainbow is as vibrant as ever, and 2015 can only be that much better. The state of LGBT America and the fight for equality continues to stay in the headlines of our media and on the lips of Americans gay and allied.

Change can be good.  On November 14^th my life and my professional career changed forever.  At 10:15am I received the call from Human Resources at Legacy Community Health informing me that Legacy wanted me to join their family.  After some mediation and serious thought I accepted and became Legacy’s newest Manger for Community Relations.  Now…almost two months into my job I’m confident in my decision.

I wont lie, I was weary of leaving everything I knew; my work family, the job that I came to love, the familiarity of an organization that I connected with and who’s mission I had tattooed on my heart.  But I knew Legacy and I knew what I could be capable of doing with the backing of an organization that wasn’t afraid to take a chance on an idea, or a mission, or on a commitment to a cause.  Legacy was a first responder in the fight against HIV and Aids.  Before there was a movement, there was Legacy…or what would be known as such.  And it is that commitment to the LGBT community that guided my decision.  Now…what great things await me every day when I step into that clinic in the heart of Montrose.

With unfortunate challenges and life’s lows, come great rewards.  Finding opportunity in the struggles, seeing inspiration in the mundane, opening oneself to the possibility of navigating the unknown…that is what strengthens our soul and readies us for the next battle. I am so honored to be in this moment.  2014 was a year of unexpected change.  2015 will be a year of determined growth and prosperity.  Here I come.

Houston We Have An Opportunity!

The 2013 municipal general election and subsequent runoff election was a stark reminder that voting isn’t a priority for a majority of Houstonians. The general election garnered an appalling 13.2% voter turnout and the runoff an abysmal 3.7%.  Put that into perspective of the 1.9 million registered and eligible voters only 260k voted in the general election and of the 980k registered and eligible only, 36.5k voted in the runoff. 

The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at UT Austin this past year released the “Texas Civic Health Index Report” which is a comprehensive look at civic and political engagement across the state of Texas.  In that report 63% of eligible Texans reported as having been registered to vote, but in the 2010 statewide election only 36% said that they had voted.  According to a study done by Nonprofit Vote, a national nonprofit organization that focuses its work on engaging nonprofits in civic and voter engagement, Texas ranked last in voter participation and turnout in the 2012 presidential election.  For whatever reason - be it lack of time or voter apathy – Houstonians aren’t getting to the polls.

Where we go from here is critical.  I, along with my colleagues are working to build a culture of civic engagement in our most disenchanted and often forgotten neighborhoods.  We believe that if we want to see a real and continued increase in the number of Houstonians participating in elections the nonprofit and social service agencies, NOT our political campaigns and candidates running for public office, that will drive that change. 

Looking back there are plenty of examples in “social change” history of our country where nonprofit and social service agencies played a significant role in moving legislation, building movements, and mobilizing voters.  In the 1920’s it was the National American Women Suffrage Association who worked successfully in securing women’s right to vote, in the 1930’s the Townsend Clubs got Congress to pass the Social Security Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were efforts lead by Americas nonprofit and faith based community.

We can’t rely on campaigns.  Campaigns have limited funds and “turning out” low propensity voters is expensive and time consuming.  Dollars, time after time, are used to ensure candidate or party-voting bases makes it to the polls.  This focus leaves low propensity voters out of the equation, and often campaigns and candidates get negative turning off already disconnected populations.

Answering the call.  It is a common misconception that nonprofits and 501(c)(3) organizations can’t participate in voter engagement and advocacy work on behalf of their clients.  Nonprofit organizations can in fact partake in civic voter engagement activities like anyone else; from registering voters, to following up with Election Day reminders, to driving voters to the polls.  Nonprofit VOTE, and the 90+ organizations they partnered with, was immensely successful in increasing voter participation - on average between 15 and 18 points higher - in seven states during the 2012 general election.  Nonprofits deliver a nonpartisan, positive message about the importance of voting that resonates with would be voters.  You take out the negativity and the fear mongering and suddenly people begin to listen.   Coupled with basic voter education and tools provided by larger organizations and you have a relationship that produces positive results.

We as nonprofits and social service agencies need to work on fostering a spirit - within our clients and communities – that is empowered and civically active.  By integrating civic and voter engagement activities in a meaningful way into day-to-day services helps build familiarity.  You and your organization are the best entity to build this familiarity because you have a trust with your clients that non campaign or candidate could ever have.  The best place for this integration work is in your community outreach programs and events, client case management, and organization intake avenues.

Houston needs a renewed collective and effective response to the paralyzing low voter participation rate in this city.  We can no longer tolerate mediocre voter turnout that leaves individuals, neighborhoods, and whole communities out of the policy and decision making process.

Understand that when our clients, our families, and the people we work with every day – when they are engaged and empowered to act, to vote, to participate our jobs become so much easier.  The conversation changes.  The PTA at school becomes more active.  The dedicated volunteer list grows.  Suddenly decisions makers take notice of what we have known all along.  We then will witness that hope that we each have for our clients unfold before our eyes.  Advocacy is giving people, who’re not normally included, a seat at the table during decision-making for change.