What Should Folx Know About LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers & Intersectional Community Needs? with Al Green
Happy Pride! This month, we’re centering queer voices in our community and the challenges, joys, opportunities, and hopes we face in our cities and our world. This week, Al Green, the Ministry Director for the LGBT Asylum Task Force, talks with Josh about the hurdles in seeking asylum, accessing community-based and social services, and the intersectional challenges that being queer add to finding resources and support in Worcester and the United States.
Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.co
Transcript for this episode
Joshua Croke (00:04):
Hello Worcester and the world. This is your host, Joshua Croke. And this is Public Hearing, our podcast and radio show about cities, communities and designing equitable and just futures. Today, we're talking with Al Green. Al is the Ministry Director of the LGBT Asylum Task Force at Hadwen Park Congregational Church. In this role, he spent the past four years working with LGBTQ asylum seekers, as they try to navigate the complexities of the asylum process in the U.S. Al partners with local and national entities to remove additional barriers to housing, employment, health care, and legal support that LGBTQ asylum seekers face. He is also an avid swimmer and a lover of all things food, as am I, not as a swimmer lover of food. This is the Public Hearing podcast and radio show. Public Hearing is available wherever you listen to podcasts and on WICN 90.5 FM on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM.
Joshua Croke (00:57):
Worcester’s only NPR affiliate station. Al thank you so much for coming on the show. We always kick off the show, asking our guests to share some background about themselves, any affiliations or experiences you want to bring into this space, as well as any part of your social location. Things that describe parts of one's identity that have been determined to be important by society in some way, which may include gender identity, race and ethnicity, geography, social class, and more, please share whatever you'd like to bring into this space. And thank you for joining me on Public Hearing today.
Alford Green (01:30):
Thank you so much, Josh. It certainly is a pleasure to be here with you today. So yeah,I mean, you pretty much covered the majority of who it is that I am. I'm a gay asylum seeker from Jamaica. I've been a resident of Worcester since 2008. When I came to go to undergrad at WPI, graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, worked there for two years and then made the transition into my current role as the Ministry Director of the LGBT Asylum Task Force. I also co own where the CN, which is a local agency that is trying to bring greater voice and create more space for queer people of color in the city of Worcester. So I do that with a few of my friends and love it, right. Just love creating spaces where people can feel to be their authentic selves. And it's been a love and hate relationship with the city of Worcester. I've seen a lot of changes over the past, what is it now? 13 years that I've been here? Some are good. Some not so good. Some are bad. I’d certainly love to delve into all of that with you today.
Joshua Croke (02:56):
Yeah. I'm looking forward to chatting. And so we're both WPI alumni, which is cool. I don't know if I've had other WPI folx on the show yet this season, but great to have a fellow alum doing awesome work in the city. And I appreciate you being here and it's also Pride Month in June and we're celebrating queer voices in the city. This show is always pretty queer. I host it and we always have regular guests who are in the LGBTQ plus community, but we're adding additional light to those voices this month in June. So you mentioned that you yourself are an asylum seeker, so there's a lot of similarities or a lot of shared experience that you bring into the work that you now do with folx who are coming into the U.S. into Worcester. Could you share a little bit for our listeners who may not be super familiar about like the asylum process what people need to know about seeking asylum in the U.S. and here in our city of Worcester
Alford Green (04:04):
It is complex, right? I mean, it's more than just the sound bites that you might hear on CNN or MSNBC or Fox or whatever news source you listen to and watch. It involves a lot of waiting. Yes, there are certain things that are standardized, but two people can start the process at the same time and have vastly different outcomes. Right. And it almost seems random how it is that things turn out for folx. It is a system in which most often times folx have to wait up to two years or more before they can actually legally work to support themselves. And so what people don't realize is that the asylum process is such a lengthy one. It's not just that people are coming here and able to just work and have to take your jobs or whatever it is that you might think, right.
Alford Green (05:07):
It's a process in which people are actually leaving the persecution in their home countries, right? They aren't safe to be there. And in the case where the folx that we're supporting happen to be LGBTQ it's not safe in the 70 or so countries throughout the world where they're coming from, they get here. Oftentimes aren't aware of the asylum process and the different steps in it. And they get here and have to navigate that whole system by themselves. Let's say that they are native English speakers, right? Even then it's still a difficult process to navigate for folx. Then they have to, like I said, wait, so for up to two years or more after getting here before they can actually work to support themselves, these are all people who don't want to be reliant on the handouts
Alford Green (06:00):
Of strangers, right? I mean, they want to be constructive members of society. They want to support themselves, but they're not allowed to work unlike in some other countries where folx are going to seek asylum. And so that brings into the need for entities like us LGBT Asylum Task Force that provides the basic support services in terms of housing, food, and connection to pro bono attorneys, medical, mental health resources all of which we've shown to actually be helpful in getting folx to that point where they can legally work for themselves and also be constructive members of society.
Joshua Croke (06:47):
Right. Right. And yeah, two years is so insane to think that folx are not able to legally find employment or anything to even help to support themselves, especially fleeing persecution and harm from, you know, their home countries or, you know, places that they've been living. So do often asylum seekers, like have to try and like raise and save money to even get here in the first place and try and like hold themselves, like supported by what they're able to save before they even get here.
Alford Green (07:27):
Yeah. Yeah. It is such a complex issue. I mean, even just to get here has a number of barriers that most aren't able to overcome, or you're talking about folx not necessarily having as much earning power in their home countries. Right. So it'd be able to afford the hundreds of dollars application fee. And if they do happen to get the fees so that they can have their visa interview, right. They won't necessarily meet the requirements that might be to have enough sufficient ties to their home country. So in terms of savings or owning property or being employed in certain sectors or amended, let's say they do meet those requirements. They're able to get their U.S. visas to afford the thousands of hours to get to the U.S. and then when you get to the U.S. now to just start that whole process if you're going to be paying for an attorney, right, it can cost up to $10,000 to have an attorney help you navigate the complexities of this certain process. And so it’s a process that has unimaginable barriers for folx. And so the fact that anyone gets there is something to be applauded. I mean, it's a difficult process.
Joshua Croke (08:52):
And so let's talk about some of those barriers that folx, especially LGBTQ folx coming into the city, or coming into the U.S. looking to seek asylum, we've talked about, you know, in the past, you and I, a bit about like housing and transportation, and where are some of those barriers that we can dive in on to bring additional light to some of the challenges that folx face?
Alford Green (09:16):
So, I mean, so thankfully the task force has tried to provide like the basic support services up until the point at which an individual leaves our support and is able to legally work to support themselves. Right. We provide some, a few more months, to allow folx to be able to save enough to get their first and last security deposit. Most are able to come close to that with some help from us that we provide some additional assistance, but that's also a barrier, right. I mean, folx would have gotten their work permits and social security numbers, probably two, three months prior to needing to find a job. And then after finding that job saving up the thousands of dollars that will take to be able to afford first, last, and security and to get your own apartment, if let's say that they do end up having that money saved up or are able to crowdsource that then they have to also have sufficient housing history, right?
Alford Green (10:31):
Because a lot of landlords are asking for references from your prior landlords. We try to write references for a full suit. Landlords will accept those some don't. And so they have to kind of shop around for landlords that would be willing to accept a letter from an agency as opposed to from other landlords then landlords also oftentimes will run background checks and credit history, credit reports, folx who are just getting their social security numbers, right. Newcomers won't have enough data for there to be a background test. And they won't have enough data for there to be a credit score or credit report. Right. And so that's also another barrier for incoming folx just to try to get housing then when we're talking about transportation, right. I mean, folx won’t necessarily have the income first day after scraping together the funds, to find housing, to also be able to pay for a car, to get to a potential job.
Alford Green (11:36):
Right. As we all know the transit system in Worcester sucks, right. Quite frankly, I mean thankfully right now it's free, it's temporarily free, but at least there was zero fee right now, but systematically through the past several years, right. We've seen a reduction in the scope of the routes that are offered right. The times that they're offered. Right. And then even within those routes and times that are offered, they're not always on time. Right. And so that also affects the way in which people who are from low income households are able to actually get to work. And so there's a whole host of barriers that the average person might not necessarily think about as they're going about their day-to-day lives. But when you're talking about people who are oftentimes triply, marginalized, right. LGBTQ folx, people of color, immigrants, people of different minority faith groups, I mean, there are a lot of barriers to that they're facing and just trying to start their lives and to get ahead.
Alford Green (12:52):
I mean, folx aren't necessarily able to rely on the help and support of people from their home countries. Right. So, I mean, a lot of times, I mean, I've heard stories about people from Ireland or from Scotland or from wherever, right. They immigrate to the U.S., And then they're able to get a job with someone from their own country or get to stay with someone from their home country for a little while, while they're able to get on their feet. Right. Oftentimes LGBTQ people don't have that luxury because their country folx or kinfolk here in the U.S. still are homophobic, right. And still will put people on the streets and still will try to abuse or harm them. And so they don't have that traditional support that a lot of their heterosexual counterparts might have.
Joshua Croke (13:45):
Yeah. And I was having a conversation with someone the other day, who was in an older generation than myself, and was saying, oh, you guys have it so easy. Now everything is, you know, gotten so much better for LGBTQ folx. And in certain areas in certain geographies, amongst certain identities, there is some truth in that. But that as a response is too dismissive of the challenges that queer folx still face every day. And it is better in the U.S. and a lot of places, which is horrible, because it's still not very great in this country either. And especially for folx, as you say, who are triple marginalized or have these additional intersections of their identity, which face adversity every day. And it is, you know, not uncommon for folx to be facing these challenges here in Worcester.
Joshua Croke (14:42):
And so I hope listeners, as you think about this, the work is far from over and, you know, Al some of the other things that you're you're sharing have some similarities with some other, you know, folx facing housing insecurity who may have lost their jobs and now became homeless, or are struggling with addiction and are out and homeless on the street. And then they're ready as they're looking to seek services and support all of these systemic barriers that they face. I do work with an organization Living In Freedom Together, which is working with women who are sexually exploited and oftentimes are struggling with substance use as well as mental health disorders and are frequently unhoused. And we're looking at the challenge of, oh, how do you get into a shelter if you need identification, but you don't have a license because you're homeless and it was either taken or lost or stolen, and then you can't get into a place to sleep.
Joshua Croke (15:50):
And then you have to go to the social security office, but you can't get your social security card if you don't have some form of identification and literally physically walking around or being, you know having to get on public transit to get into other spaces, to move through these different pathways, to try and get the supports that should be accessible, that people say, oh, why don't people just do this question mark. Right. And it's like, well, here's why, right. Like, think about the time it takes in your day to do X, Y, and Z number of, you know, number of things. So it's, there are similarities and differences, obviously in the things that folx face, but whether you're someone who is seeking asylum, whether you're someone who is born here and facing, you know, homelessness, and some of these hurdles and challenges OUR systems that have not been constructed in ways to be truly supportive to people as, and when they need those supports,
Alford Green (16:52):
That is so true.I mean, I see every day in terms of just the way in which folx are struggling to navigate services within the city of Worcester they would talk to, I mean, housing is a huge topic, right? I mean, it's a business that I'm in. And it is something that I've just been banking attention. So over the years being in Worcester and I've had friends who've had to leave the city of Worcester because they can no longer afford to live here. Right. We're talking about people who used to live here for generations, right. Living in the main streets downtown area of Worcester. And over the past 12, 13 years, almost doubled their house rent costs there. Right. And when there isn't a corresponding increase in terms of wages or job availability. And so what ends up happening is people who historically have lived in an area can no longer afford to live there. And they're being moved out for the sake of bringing in other people. And to me, that's just not right. Right. And it's a serious issue within our city.
Joshua Croke (18:15):
Oh, absolutely. And that's one of the things that we talk about a lot on the show is thinking about, okay, what does growth look like when we say development? What do we actually mean? Right. Because there's a lot of these terms that are used by folx with power, privilege and wealth who use those terms as a way to say, we're doing this thing, and it's getting rid of these people and bringing in these other people. And it's not saying growth and development are when everyone who exists and lives in our city has access to resources, access to opportunity, equal access to and rights to housing, healthcare and food security. And we see development as much easier when you're focused on folx who are able to just, you know, pay for all of that development, right. It's not truly homegrown. I like to talk about economic gardening as opposed to economic development, because it's like, how do we really address the challenges that we're facing instead of displacing the challenges, because certain forms of development and things that we're seeing here in Worcester play out relative to gentrification are, you know, it's, we're displacing issues.
Joshua Croke (19:27):
We're not connecting people to additional resources or additional wages or additional, you know, access. We're putting those people in situations where they have to leave their homes. They have to move to other places that are quote unquote, more affordable, but the same process repeats itself. You know? And when we think about the future, I always like to think like, oh, well, what's a hundred years from now going to look like, and if we keep doing the same formula for development, the whole, you know, we're going to have to face this challenge eventually. Right. And so like, why, why don't we start really looking at addressing it now here in Worcester?
Alford Green (20:05):
Yeah. I mean, it can only sweep so much under the rug or put up pretty curtains to hide certain things that you don't want to, think about all of the time, but eventually it will come to the fore. And what I love about this past year, right, as bad as it has been for a lot of entities and for society as a whole, right, It's been a very traumatic time. It has brought about a sense of urgency, a collective call for more, right, for city officials for those who do all certain seats of power to actually step up a hand, hopefully with elections coming up, if folx who haven't stepped up will be forced to step down. Right? I mean, you can't have entities that are catering to a certain demographic within the city and not to the majority of our residents. And that's just something that in my mind is untenable and thankfully folx that are doing the groundwork there will be an upswell and hopefully folx will turn up to the ballot and vote.
Joshua Croke (21:29):
Yeah. And I think we're also folx are realizing that there are resources in the face of challenges, like a pandemic that can distribute stimuluses to folx that are in need, right. And it's not this impossible task, like if it was necessary for a large enough amount of people, it was possible. And that's the other thing that the pandemic has exposed, which I think in the long run is a good thing. And it's also a frustrating thing because it's exposed things that have already been longstanding in our communities, right? Like I do a lot of work in education and the amount of inequity in our education system, based on the access to resources for young folx who, you know, students who are, are going to school, who don't have access to the internet at home, or they don't have a laptop or an iPad or devices or Chromebooks that were in that they were able to do their schoolwork.
Joshua Croke (22:28):
So their ability to engage in learning and the curriculum is much more difficult than that of their more privileged peers. And now we're because of the pandemic, every student, and I'll put an asterisk there because I don't know that it's truly every single student because, you know, there's a lot of complexity and a lot of obscure kind of cloudiness in the data that we get sometimes in the community. But the majority of students in the Worcester public schools now have a Chromebook that they get to take home. And we've been finding that not only are students using this for school, they're using it for job applications, they're really using it for access to healthcare information. They're using it in ways that you know, people who have access to the internet and these resources use the internet for right. And that's another huge access conversation relative to folx seeking asylum, folx looking at accessing support services is even finding where to start or where to look is much easier having a computer and sitting on the internet, as opposed to having to walk around the city and ask strangers oftentimes for access to those resources.
Alford Green (23:48):
No, certainly. And that's just been a component even more throughout the pandemic. I mean, thankfully the Worcester Public Library is reopening if they haven’t already reopened. But just, yeah, that specific issue, right, just trying to find services, trying to gain employment has been even more difficult during the pandemic, because there hasn't been access to public spaces like the library and just having those resources.
Joshua Croke (24:16):
So as some of the challenges and things that we've talked about, we always love to explore what are some possible solutions or what are some of the things that people who are listening can keep an eye out for, or become engaged in to really support the work that folx are doing, you know, like yourself and like the Asylum Task Force, what are some of the things that you've seen based on your experiences in your work that should be more of a priority in our community and what are some things that folx listening might become more involved with, or at least keep an ear to listen on how they can be supportive to this type of work.
Alford Green (24:56):
So, I mean, it’s something as simple as just talking to folx to see what their individual needs might be, right? So the task force, we've adopted this model where we will provide certain core services in terms of housing and the small, monthly stipend to take care of transportation and food cost and such, but there are a vast array of more needs that that folx might have. And we invite folx every second, Monday of the month to come and meet with asylum seekers, sit with them, have a meal, and talk to folx and see what their individual needs might be and come to it with an open mind, right? Because I mean, some folx have varied backgrounds, right. And folx have certain degree that they have completed for their education. They had a certain job experiences or not, someone needs to be retrained.
Alford Green (26:01):
And so certainly having individual discussions with folx to see how best it is that they can be helped is certainly key as opposed to just surmising what a certain demographic or certain individual might need and trying to push that on onto them. Certainly communicating with folx we've found to be the most helpful. Definitely once it is that you're aware of what these issues might be like we've mentioned before in terms of access to transit or access to housing, right. Stepping up and advocating and enjoining certain movements that are in alignment with those. Right. And so right now we have a group that's zero fare that is trying to make these cuts in, or the zero fare policy become permanent. Right now it's just up until the end of this year, but there certainly is a benefit in having that be something that is more permanent.
Alford Green (27:12):
So certainly talking to members of the board of WRTA, and then also talking to their city councilors writing letters to the city manager applying as much pressure as possible on folx to get them to basically know that that this is a priority for you, or is it something that you see is a priority as a need within the city and that they really have no option, but to do. Then there is also in terms of housing, right? And so if it is that they are landlords or they have relationships with landlords, or are aware of them certainly advocating for changes in their requirements or for people being housed within their units. Right. And so is it really a requirement? Do you really need to have certain things, whether it be three references, or do you need all of these things, because we know that people can have three stellar references, but still be horrible tenants, right. There isn't necessarily a correlation between those. And so certainly all those barriers, right. Having talks with folx that you do have personal relationships with, or if you're aware of certainly is helpful. Cause those tend to be the ones that people will be most receptive to. Right? As opposed to a stranger saying something to that, if you build a relationship where you have a relationship with someone they are more likely to listen to you.
Joshua Croke (28:58):
Are there any, like I jumped into kind of brainstorm mode, oftentimes when I'm having these conversations and are there any like tenant assistance programs in the city? Like I know that there's, you know, affordable housing, but affordable housing is also challenging because it's like, you can't make so little money, but you can't make too much money. And there's like a challenging threshold within that space. But even like any city programs or grant opportunities that support folx paying first, security and last, cause that that's a heavy haul to have to, you know, assemble for an amount of money, just to find some housing security or, you know, stability there. And, you make a great point with, like, you can have a handful of great, I'm using air quotes for listeners, a bunch of great references, but still be a horrible tenant. And so what are like more equitable as well as just accurate ways for folx to know that there's some level of like protection or security for someone moving into you know, their home or to their space. So are there any like tenant assistant programs or things like that that exist?
Alford Green (30:20):
There are, but not everyone would necessarily meet the the requirements to be able to access those resources, but there are initiatives such as Worcester and there is the CMHA. Central Mass Housing Alliance, or yeah, that does administer grant supports. So people who are unhoused or trying to access affordable housing, and they've been especially helpful during the pandemic in getting some folks into housing, which is great. Is there need for more funding to do more of that? Certainly. But yes, there are a couple of entities that I'm aware of that are doing that important work.
Joshua Croke (31:08):
And that's the other thing that I get, you know, and listeners of the show know I get frustrated about is looking at having conversations with people who kind of complain about some of these like socialized systems and like having accessible, free transit and rights to housing and healthcare, things like that. It's like, we know that the cost burden of an individual in society is lessened when they have access to housing, food, and healthcare, right? Like the cost, if people are simply looking at the inhumane, simple numbers right of these challenges that we face in society, it costs a lot less to the taxpayer when people have these rights to basic human services. And that's what so many people push against, but you don't hear people complaining about a socialized system like the fire department. Cause what if my house burns down right. Then you have that resource available and accessible. So yeah.
Alford Green (32:12):
Yeah. And then another entity is, I mean, you mentioned healthcare, right? So if you look at why it is that health insurance companies will pay for you to go to the dentist twice a year, or to see the doctor twice a year, right. For preventative care, because they know at the end of the day, right. That ends up costing them far less than if they were to have to be treating some later condition and doing surgery and going through chemo and doing all that stuff. And so they're willing to invest up front in people and then being able to access certain services because they care about their bottom line. Right. And their profits, and it just makes sense to do that.
Joshua Croke (32:57):
Right. Right. And yeah, that's the hard conversation to have with some folx who are on kind of the more conservative side of the issue. It's like, oh, like, I don't want to be paying for X, Y, and Z, but it's like, you're paying for that in different ways. So like, actually let's look at the numbers and figure out how we can help people save lives. And the cost burden to you as an individual will probably not look that much different. Yeah. So one of the things that I also wanted to chat with you about, because I know that the LGBT Asylum Task Force is under a church and a faith group. And I, you know, from my own like personal background and lived experience have had very negative experiences with churches. And so I'm wondering how you know, you and the church community, that you're a part of really approach this work, recognizing the harms that religious institutions have and continue in certain respects to cause for LGBTQ folx and especially LGBTQ folx of other like marginalized faith identities, and things like that. So how do you balance that? Or maybe there isn't a balance, it's just like you do this, but I'm interested in that piece. Cause it's, I think, you know, a relevant point to talk about the work that churches and nonprofits and things like have to do to really help support folx to exist, which is an unfortunate reality that we have. But how do you kind of approach that, considering that you're part of a faith community that's doing this work.
Alford Green (34:36):
Yeah. I mean, so you're right in that churches traditionally have done a lot of harm to the LGBTQ community, right. Whether it be Christianity, whether it be Islam, there has been a lot of hurt that has been done, but there are churches out there, there are synagogues out there, a lot of faith based institutions out there who view their texts in a different light who view it as their requirement that is their duty to first see human beings, right. To celebrate all of that was created to see everyone as flawed, but still flawless, so to speak. Right and just accepting everyone, but to celebrate everyone because I mean, you can say you accept somebody and you turn a blind eye to stuff. No, there isn't anything wrong with LGBTQ individuals.
Alford Green (36:04):
And there is a safe space with us and we celebrate to be full members of our congregation and that's the oath that our church, Hadwen Park Congregational Church, that is a member of the UC denomination has taken. Right. That's okay. And so some of that, we reaffirm every single Sunday, at the beginning of our services that we accept everyone regardless of where they're from, what their sexual identity or orientation is. Regardless of their race, their religion, age. We accept that every is a fully functioning, welcomed, member of the fabric of society. And so that's the basic principle. So we saw right with the first established CP that came to us in 2008, there was a need, right. There was a need for just one individual, right. He was unhoused and he didn't have access to food as certain resources.
Alford Green (37:14):
And he also had a lot of self hatred because of what religion had done to him in the past. And so we saw an opportunity to provide assistance in all of those areas. And just by doing that for one person, right. He felt welcomed here. For the most part, didn't have thoughts that he had before about self-harm. And in return went ahead and spread the word that here is this welcoming place where I can practice my faith. I can be fully open and not have to live in fear. And so through word of mouth basically we talking about the tune of 400 people from over 20 different countries have walked through our doors and have been directly assisted by us. And that's not taking into account the hundreds of others who haven't been able to get to the U.S. to get to our housing, or were able to access to our housing based on where there were, but were helped in other ways to find the resources that they needed locally.
Alford Green (38:23):
And so it's a ministry that is rooted in love and comfort, compassion. And we think it's weird that other people see it differently. Other people see human beings and their needs differently that other people of faith, right. Can see a stranger and not welcome them into their homes and not offer them bread. That goes against the roots of what it is that Christ came here for right. To offer a lot of our compassion and support for our neighbors.
Joshua Croke (39:11):
Yeah, no, I appreciate that. And I remember, and again, reflecting on my own experiences, just so much how that can be done so wrong because of people's like perception of like, oh, I'm doing this to simply like spread the word of my faith and my charter or path in life as, you know, a Christian or whatever religious affiliation is to convert people, to thinking similarly to me. And so there's this power, differential and dynamic when someone with resources comes to someone else without resources and says, I have resources if you join this thing. And so it sounds like you approach this a bit differently.
Alford Green (40:03):
I mean, we have, over the years, we've had people who are atheists people who are Muslim. It doesn't matter what their faith tradition is. There's no requirement to come to church services or anything like that, books they practice, whatever it is that their faith traditions might be. We're just here to provide for the basic needs for human beings.
Joshua Croke (40:25):
Great. Well, and thank you for doing this work. It's really important and it's saving lives and helping to propel folx forward. And another thing that we talk about on the show a lot is building wealth and like generating wealth you know, as folx who are marginalized and again, there's layers of, and compounding of intersectional elements of other marginalized identities that we've addressed. And historically have not been given as much access to opportunity to build, grow, develop, maintain wealth, and whether that's, you know, again, access to food, housing, owning land, whatever it might be. So one of the things that you're involved in, which is part of, kind of both celebrating this while also looking to support like the queer dollars is Queer The Scene. So shifting a little bit to that for a minute, talk to me a little bit about Queer The Scene and your vision for that work.
Alford Green (41:29):
Sure. So let me start off by just talking about our history and how it is that we came to be, right. So, friends who have lived in the city of Worcester collectively for probably 50 plus years. And we kinda got frustrated not seeing enough open spaces for queer people within the city, right. Places where folx can go and relax that are catering specifically to them. We also found that the little, a few spaces that do exist weren't necessarily the most inviting to where people are. So they got frustrated and tired of complaining about it and decided to just do something though that we formed in 2019 an entity that at the root of it is focused on creating safe spaces where folx can express themselves whether it be through arts and music or just in terms of discussion, right. Just having a safe space where folx can be themselves and though we've been operating since 2019 last year we had to, because the pandemic put a pause on a lot of the times that we had. But we're certainly working towards kick-starting a lot of them this summer. And so folx should definitely stay tuned for those.
Joshua Croke (43:09):
Great. Yeah. I'm always happy to see and celebrate more queer things going on in Worcester. And you know, you brought up like the notion that there are histories of harm even within our own community, which I think this is another really important thing to bring voice to an address, especially talking about Pride Month and looking at the unfortunate, but in some ways necessary, fall and change over of Worcester Pride as an organization in our community, really looking at some of the folx who have done organizing or, you know, been involved in various parts of the queer community, not also advocating for celebrating, including, and recognizing that the fight is not over for queer folx generally, but also especially our queer siblings in other marginalized communities, you know, looking at everything that has been happening, I mean, for obvious decades, centuries plus, et cetera for you know, people of color in this country.
Joshua Croke (44:28):
And we have all of those people are also part of the LGBTQ plus identity and the letters and all of that, and to ignore and to diminish and to not place a first priority on that piece has caused a lot of fracturing, I think within Worcester and within, you know, the queer community here. And I wonder, and this is in no way being apologist, because there are places that we know in the city that have not been welcoming or accepting to queer folx of color to trans folx. There's been issues, you know, within our community that 100% need to be acknowledged and called out. And then I also wonder, what our paths forward for healing. And again, kind of like unifying as community. Like what are the things that, and I think this is for the broader conversation as well for listeners who are thinking about their workplaces and their organizations that have caused repeated harms by not acknowledging and doing the work to be implement anti-racist policies, anti homophobic, and transphobic policies in their workplaces. What are some of the things that we can do as folx in spaces, whether it's our workplace, whether it's in queer spaces in our community to address the harms cause and like work towards healing and really building unity and community again.
Alford Green (46:13):
So, I mean, it has to be a multi-pronged approach, right. It's going to require folx listening, right. To listen to people who are marginalized and within communities listen to their stories. Right. And that's not just about hearing them, listening, talking to them and asking questions. It also involves folx doing their research. Right. So take whatever stories you might hear, do your own research to find out okay, well how it is that other people have addressed these issues, delve deeper into the issues and see, okay, what's at the root cause of them and how it is that we might necessarily address them. And then go further than just making statements. Right. And so we've seen after that unfortunate incidents with Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade and George Floyd and all the folx this past year, right after each occurrence, right.
Alford Green (47:16):
We saw our inboxes be flooded with emails from various entities reaffirming their support for people of color and for LGBTQ individuals which is great, right. Statements do have a place in it, but then there's also the implementation of that project of policy behind the scenes. Right. And so folx certainly need to be hawks to the keen attention to how it is that individuals are being treated within their particular organizations and then step up right. Step up and say something or approach who it is that is responsible for implementing change. Volunteering to be a part of that said change because it's the only way in which you're going to actually create a safe space. Right. And so putting out statements and changing your Facebook status, and all that and tweeting stuff, right. Again, they are very helpful, right? But you need to do more, right? So reach out to various entities that are doing the work within your community. Reach out to folx and ask how it is that I can get involved, how it is that action and help to bring about this change that we're all advocating for.
Joshua Croke (48:39):
And I think a lot of folx also overlook the power of like supporting this work through dollars, if that's the capacity that folx have in certain instances as well, if you know how many times you see like a fundraiser or something going on and not even throwing like five or 10 or $50 whatever's within your capacity and how much that can really be impactful, you know, Worcester is 186,000 people, right, in the city. If even 10,000 gave $5. Every time an organization asked for support, that's $50,000 is a pretty sizeable amount of money to support a lot of the work that's going on in the community. And I'm totally here and advocate for folx to volunteer and get involved and donate their time and that energy to doing this work as well as, you know, contributing financially when it's possible for you or, you know people in your community and also just encouraging, you know, encouraging that.
Alford Green (49:48):
Yeah. I mean, there are two currencies that are important, right. Human power, but also cold hard cash, right. I mean, that's what’s needed to be able to purchase food or to purchase stuff or supplies or to pay for rent or assistance for goals or for transportation cards. Money makes the world go around. And certainly when folx do have the potential to be able to assist like you said, whether it be a thousand bucks or just five dollars, right. It all adds up, and folx need to and should be encouraged to pay whatever their part is and donate, whatever it is they are able to do. I mean, for the taskforce, we have to fundraise $40,000 each month in order to keep this ministry going at any given time, we're supporting up to 28 individuals, right?
Alford Green (50:45):
So these are people who literally can't work, or aren’t supposed to work unless they're going to put their cases in jeopardy if they do right. And so you'll have these folx who need to survive somehow. Right. And the only way they can do so is through the kindness of strangers or through the task force. And, so people should definitely be encouraged to donate to that and focusing more on our website, LGBT asylum.org to make a donation and to also learn more about what it is that we're doing and how it is that they can get involved.
Joshua Croke (51:24):
Great. And you have an exciting project coming up that's opening soon. If you want to share a little bit about that with our listeners.
Alford Green (51:31):
Sure. So for the past three years or so we've been on this effort to purchase a triple decker in Worcester to house folx, right. As it is right now, we're paying rent in a bunch of different locations throughout the city. And as folx might imagine, that is very costly. And so we embarked on this process. We had two fundraiser galas we've written to foundations. We've done front funding drives to get individual donors, to donate from $5 to several thousands, to be able to do it. We went ahead and made offers on, I can't tell you how many different properties within the city, but because of how hot the market is, right now with Boston developers coming in and bidding cash and driving up the cost of houses in Worcester we kept being open, but finally last fall, we were able to secure a home and it's currently being renovated and we are hopeful that we will be able to move in there within the next month and a half, two months. So by early summer and house about half the folx who are currently in need of more housing. And so that's definitely a huge, huge addition to the resources that we have, right? So we're not spending as much on a monthly basis to pay for rent. And they're able to in turn, house more people that we have so far
Joshua Croke (53:17):
Great. Well, congratulations. And that's really exciting. And look forward to continuing to follow the task force work encourage folx to check that out and be supportive as you can. In our last minute or two here. One of the questions that I like to ask as we're a show about building inclusive, equitable, and prosperous futures, what do you feel is the most, the next most elegant step to move Worcester forward in a transformative way,
Alford Green (53:52):
Going back to the basics, right? The basics of what the community needs, right. So we've talked about it a lot throughout the course of this podcast, where we talk about the basic human needs, right. Access to housing, access to food, and being able to access public transit. When those three have been issues that have been plaguing the city for as long as I have been in the city of Worcester, so the past 13 years or so and it is something that we need to go back to, right, in order for us to move forward and to develop into this vibrant city that we all want it to be.
Joshua Croke (54:40):
Great. Well, thank you so much Al. It’s always great to chat and look forward to seeing you out in the community now that we are able to leave our homes.
Alford Green (54:52):
Yes, anytime and folks go and get vaccinated. It's what we all need to be able to be free so to speak.
Joshua Croke (55:06):
Thanks for listening to the Public Hearing podcast. Our show that airs Wednesdays at 6:00 PM on WICN 90.5 FM Worcester's only NPR affiliate station. Thank you to Al Green for joining us today. My name is Joshua Croke, and this has been the Public Hearing podcast. Public Hearing is created and produced by Action! by Design. We're a design studio that facilitates community engagement and social change innovation and provides equity centered design branding and storytelling services. Learn more at actionbydesign.co. Our audio producer is Giuliano D'Orazio. Thank you to Eric Gratton, Molly Gammon, and Shaun Chung, who also support the production of Public Hearing. We'd love to hear from you about what you might want to hear on the show, or what resonated with you from a past episode, get in touch with us on our website at publichearing.co and as always, thanks for listening.
