SQSH Stars

I can't think of a better place to give than SQSH! SQSH is changing our community and working to make the St. Louis area not just safer for LGBTQ+ folks, but a home where we can thrive. From education to peer support, intersectional representation to mutual aid to healing spaces both on the helpline and off, SQSH is all about creating radical liberation both for and by the community.

My hopes for the St. Louis queer community are simple: safety, joy, complete bodily autonomy, medical care and freedom. I want every LGBTQIA+ person to have what they need to thrive.

Through my own professional queer advocacy work, I’ve gotten to see not only SQSH’s many public accomplishments, but also many of the behind-the-scenes impacts SQSH has had in our community over the years. I decided to become a monthly donor because I wanted to support SQSH with the same consistency that SQSH supports me and my own St. Louis LGBTQ+ friends and family.

I used to volunteer with SQSH but have since moved away from St. Louis. I am still inspired by SQSH's mission and dedication to healing and wellbeing of queer and trans people in St. Louis. Now that I'm in a financial space to be able to become a monthly donor, I'm glad to continue support SQSH in a new way!

I have so much love for St. Louis and the St. Louis queer/LGBTQIA+ community. I hope that over the next few years, there will be more resources allocated to improving queer and trans health, wellbeing, joy and policies that protect rather than harm the LGBTQIA+ community in St. Louis and Missouri as a state. I hope that LGBTQIA+ youth find spaces to explore and feel cared for and that LGBTQIA+ elders are treated with respect, queer/trans affirmation through aging and end-of-life services.

SQSH is a vital community resource and I've seen first-hand how this organization changes lives. I am grateful for how SQSH has poured into my personal and professional life, and I want to make this monthly commitment to uplift not just the people that create change daily, but those that have or will benefit from that change, as well.

[I was motivated to donate because of] everything that is happening in MO right now. I am a queer lesbian therapist in STL and want to find other ways to support our community. I hope that we can find community and connection despite these violent emergency rules. So grateful for SQSH’s work.

I have attended SQSH events and meetings as a volunteer/collaborator and community member for several years. From my experiences, SQSH has consistently shown dedication to align its culture, programming, relationship-building, etc with its sincerest desire for the LGBTQIA+ community to be heard, understood, connected, and empowered.

Your mission is so unique and so needed in our community--I want to contribute however I can. Thanks for the work you are doing to improve St Louis for all of us!

I'm so glad you're out here. This is the most interesting and well-formed prevention project I've seen in many years!!

I hope that the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ community can have social spaces and support that aren't based on emotional pain or substance use. Robust protections in local businesses, workplaces, and eventually politics - transphobia can no longer be tolerated as an 'opinion' and individuals are not large enough on our own to enact that change, we need backing by organizations and people in power.

I wanted to lend regular financial support to SQSH because I feel that this organization serves such meaningful purpose. I myself am a queer human working in the mental health field, and I wanted to support this org through this gesture.

[I’m motivated to donate by] the cause... I do deeply believe in a deep, loving, liberating vision for our queer community. And on the other hand, I love SQSH for the community it creates. My extended family member, Cleo, is a shining example of someone who has a home in that community. So, I want to add strength.

The hug that SQSH brings to mind is a literal one: the organization uses a wholistic model to honor everyone's lived experiences and assume callers are the experts of their own lives… SQSH is an invaluable community resource with a unique model that centers on inclusivity, diversity, identity affirmation and dismantling oppression.

I want to support small, grassroot organizations that have inventive ideas that shake up the STL nonprofit scene. As a staff member at a nonprofit, I know firsthand how beneficial each and every donation is. I have been following SQSH for the last year and I can say with ease that they are doing some of the most important work for the LGBTQIA+ community.

I joined SQSH because I wanted the opportunity to help create a culture of support and outreach that I didn't have growing up. I've been watching SQSH build this program from the ground up. I am so humbled by the effort and passion of everyone involved in this project. You all saw a vision and pursued it, and I want to remember and be inspired by that every month!

I am a Wash U grad and I grew up in STL. I saw a presentation on SQSH, and I am so grateful for the work you all do.

I would’ve loved to have known about SQSH a few years ago when I was struggling with my identity. I’m hoping this organization continues to become more widely known and supported throughout the STL region!

As part of a group therapy practice that focuses on this community, I want to do what I can to help such an important organization.

I hope that the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ community reaches more individuals and helps to advocate for those in this community.

[I’m motivated to donate to] support not only the greater STL queer community, but the queer volunteers that make SQSH happen.