Our History

By combining direct service with advocacy to build power for and with the St. Louis queer community, our programs address the root causes of oppression to create systemic change in St. Louis.

We founded SQSH to address the disparities caused by gender- and sexuality-based oppression, which limits our human potential and unfairly targets LGBTQIA+ individuals for harm. Gender- and sexuality-based oppression affects all humans, but especially LGBTQIA+ individuals in under-resourced regions with hostile socio-political climates.

Why was SQSH founded?

One in seven LGBT Missourians experience workplace discrimination (Missouri Foundation for Health, 2012), and 61.6% of LGBT St. Louisans have experienced homophobic violence/victimization over their lifetime (Greater St. Louis LGBT Health and Human Services Needs Assessment, 2010). As a result, queer St. Louisans:

Disproportionately face negative mental health outcomes, including higher risks for depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal thoughts/attempts. At least two-thirds of trans St. Louisans don’t have their mental health needs fully met (Trans Education Service, 2018).
Lack access to identity-affirming healthcare and risk medical providers’ harassment/ignorance. In Missouri, queer-affirming healthcare services are limited and medical staff are barely trained in LGBTQIA+ health issues.
Are disproportionately poor, unemployed/underemployed, and unhoused. Queer adolescents in St. Louis face higher risks of homelessness, sexual victimization, and substance abuse. Yet many St. Louis shelters are unequipped to work with queer youth, operating with cis-/hetero-normative policies.

SQSH’s work addresses these disparities by empowering queer St. Louisans to:

Offer each other a safe, identity-affirming outlet to process our daily barriers to wellbeing, heal from everyday injustices, and improve our mental health. Unlike traditional hotlines, SQSH offers a range of emotional support services, empowering callers to reach out beyond crisis.
Strengthen our community’s connection to vetted resources trusted by local queer-led groups, thus improving LGBTQIA+ individuals’ access to health/well-being. Unlike national hotlines, our local helpline is familiar with LGBTQIA-competent, St. Louis-specific services.
Amplify our voice in local social/political systems by using aggregated call data to identify community needs and advocate for LGBTQIA-centered changes in culture/policy/services.

How was SQSH founded?

Before SQSH, no queer-specific helpline (or healing justice organization) had existed in St. Louis since the 1980s. We – a group of dedicated queer St. Louisans – founded SQSH on June 1, 2019, after a community needs assessment demonstrated that the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ community faces increased rates of violence, discrimination, substance use, and insecurity in employment and housing; disparities in medical, mental, and sexual health; and barriers to accessing the identity-affirming resources needed to meet those needs.

Co-founders Luka and Riott at SQSH's 2019 Launch Party — SQSH Launch Party

August 2019

Drawing on identity-based peer support models, we developed a 50-hour peer counseling training curriculum using survivor support experience and an LGBTQIA-focused lens. We recruited volunteers from all over St. Louis and graduated our first training class in August 2019. We held a Launch Party to celebrate with our community; over 100 attended.

On September 20, 2019, we started operating a peer support helpline that provides free, confidential, and identity-affirming emotional support and resource referrals, by and for the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ community. We received a call the first hour our Helpline opened.

Since then, SQSH grew our local presence and built deep relationships with the local community. Our peer counselors have supported community members in many ways, including de-escalating shelter residents experiencing panic attacks, providing space for queer activists to feel heard, facilitating healing for victims of sexual abuse, and more.

In 2020, we filmed a Community Video highlighting queer St. Louisans’ daily struggles. Amidst the pandemic, we expanded our hours and offered peer counseling appointments. With STL Mutual Aid, we started the Mutual Aid hotline, providing assistance to St. Louisans hard-hit by COVID-19. In our 2020 Winter Campaign, we raised $9760.59 – an 840% increase from our previous fundraiser in 2019.

In 2021, we partnered with the St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Agency to advocate for LGBTQIA+ needs among local shelters using data from our housing-related calls.

Since founding, SQSH has taken 330+ calls (200+ hours of support), trained 65 peer counselors, and provided 90+ hours of training on LGBTQIA+ mental health.