Sanctuary Palm Springs First Quarterly News Letter

Volume 1| March2019

Sanctuary Palm Springs Newsletter

March 2019

From our Executive Director:

Having just completed my first six months as executive director of Sanctuary Palm Springs, I’ve been reflecting on our accomplishments, some of which I'd like to share with you in order to give you an idea of where we are, where we plan to go, and what makes Sanctuary Palm Springs such a unique and vital resource for LGBTQ youth in extended foster care. It’s been a thrilling six months and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with our board of directors, staff, volunteers, and donors in order to ensure the health and wellbeing of our residents.

First off, a bit about whom we serve: LGBTQ youth enter the foster care system for many of the same reasons as other children—they suffer extreme abuse and neglect, (usually not, but sometimes directly related to their sexual orientation or gender identity), most often inflicted by their families. Many of our youth entered foster care as very young children, some as young as two or three years old.

Once in the system, we know that LGBTQ foster youth, who research has shown represent 1 in 5 of all foster children, often experience a dearth of love and acceptance, compounding the traumas they’ve already suffered. They experience more disruptions in their placements, more group homes rather than family placements, and remain in foster care longer than non-LGBTQ youth.

When I worked as the national director of LGBTQ services with the Child Welfare League of America I toured the country holding listening sessions with LGBTQ foster youth in order to hear their stories directly from them. Among the many sentiments expressed during these forums were statements like, “I got jumped by a bunch of guys in my group home and when I told the director he said, ‘Well, if you weren’t a faggot they wouldn’t beat you up’,” “All my foster mom would do is taunt me,” and “My foster family took away my clothes, called me a ‘dyke,’ and tried to remake me” among many others. (More about the experiences of LGBTQ foster youth can be found in Out of the Margins: A Report Highlighting the Experiences of LGBTQ Youth in Care , CWLA Press, 2006.)

Sanctuary Palm Springs was created to provide LGBTQ foster youth a safe place to live and the support they need in order to transition to a happy, healthy, and productive adulthood.

In our first year of operations in our beautiful new house we have moved into new administrative offices occupied by myself, our incredible Office Manager Charles and part-time database administrator Rick; held some very fun fundraising and donor-appreciation events; increased the number of residents we serve, and begun a Federally funded training program around the state to educate child welfare social workers and juvenile justice probation officers about the needs of LGBTQ youth who are preparing to age out of the foster care system.

I want to tell you a story about one of our newest residents, Melissa. (Her name has been changed to protect her privacy.) As Melissa prepared to age out of the foster care system she did not have anywhere safe to land. Although she might have been able to find housing, she did not have the support of caring adults who could help her transition to a productive adulthood. Within her first two weeks with us Melissa found a job working in a local fast food restaurant. She also let us know that she has a real interest in becoming a make-up artist, aesthetician, or plastic surgeon. We have connected her with a former beauty-school teacher who will help her figure out the best strategies to realize her professional goals. (Thanks Gage!) And the nice folks at the Eighteen/Eight salon have met with her and are helping her to pursue aesthetician training.

This is the kind of real difference your support is making in the lives of our youth!

See below for information on two recent initiatives we have put in place to help us better support our residents:

In addition to our direct work with our residents, we have expanded and diversified our staff and board of directors (now led by our new Board Chair, Barry McCabe), and are in the process of revamping our website. And we’re thrilled to announce that Ellen Wolf, who played a key role in helping to create and launch Sanctuary Palm Springs, has rejoined the agency in the capacity of Development Consultant in order to help us maintain and expand our ever-growing roster of generous supporters.

We look forward to keeping you informed about our work with our amazing residents through these quarterly newsletters, our website, and through social media. I know I speak for the board of directors and staff of Sanctuary Palm Springs when I say how very humbled and grateful we are to enjoy such strong support from our Palm Springs friends, neighbors, and communities.

All the best,

Rob Woronoff, MS

Executive Director

Sanctuary Palm Springs

Sanctuary Residents Meet Author and Activist Janet Mock

In January in cooperation with Palm Springs Speaks, the Palm Springs Public Library and the Palm Springs Cultural Center our residents had a chance to meet Janet Mock and read her new book "Redefining Realness".

Our amazing program manger Tammy Nelson with 15 years experience in criminal justice and psychology working with adults and at risk youth.

With a Master's degree in Forensic Psychology with an emphasis in assessment and treatment, Tammy finds it important to give back by sharing her story to help others

Ken Shaffer

An avid hiker takes our residents on a hike out to Whitewater Preserve.

Photo was taken by one of our residents.

Spotlight on Health and Wellness

The health and wellness of our residents is a big priority for us. So we encourage our young people to eat well and exercise. We help them learn to shop for and prepare healthy food. Easy enough. Our staff and a volunteer (you rock, Ken!) take them on hikes. Very fun! Several local gyms have offered memberships to our residents so they can work out. Seems like a simple enough idea for which we are deeply grateful. But what makes Sanctuary Palm Springs so unique is that we are keenly attuned to the particular needs of our residents, many of whom are transgender young men, meaning they were born with female bodies even though their gender is male. Like most trans men, our trans male residents use binders to bind their breasts. It’s not possible (or healthy) for them to work out while wearing their binders. But they do not feel comfortable going out into the community unbound. So how are these young men supposed to work out given this Catch 22?

Our solution was to put together a small home gym. Through the generous support of our invaluable donors, we have been able to purchase weightlifting equipment, yoga mats, jump ropes, and other workout equipment. A wonderful volunteer is set to begin to offer yoga classes (thanks Misha!) and we plan to reach out to local fitness trainers to help our youth learn how to maintain their physical fitness. Our residents carry the heavy load of stress and anxiety owing to the abuse, neglect, and rejection they have experienced in their young lives. So having access to a safe and comfortable place to workout means much more to them than physical fitness. It is a healthy way for them to relieve their stress and anxiety so they are better able to function in the world.

Spotlight on Our Speakers Bureau

Another new and very exciting initiative is the establishment of a Speakers Bureau, supported by the generosity of the Western Wind Foundation. Many LGBTQ foster youth do not have access to positive adult role models, particularly adults who were once where our residents are now, who have gone on to live productive, healthy, and happy lives. So we are convening a pool of speakers, comprised of former foster youth as well as other LGBT adults, who meet with the residents to share their experiences and offer insights into the strategies, people, organizations and/or resources that were most helpful to them in their transition to adulthood. Recent speakers include Nia Clark, an African American transgender woman who was raised in foster care and who has gone on to work for the LA LGBT Center as the LifeWorks Mentoring coordinator, train social workers throughout the country for organizations such as HRC and the national Big Brothers Big Sisters Association, and who currently attends college on a full Point Foundation scholarship; and Justin Reed Early, author of the memoir Street Child who spoke about his experiences as a gay youth who became homeless at age 10 when he ran away from a hostile foster care system and who lived on the streets until he was in his mid-twenties, eventually learning to parlay his experiences on the streets into gainful employment which has allowed him to own a home and support his aging mother.

Our residents love to hear stories of those who have walked in their shoes and who have gone on to do what our youth hope to do—lead happy adult lives. We encourage anyone interested in speaking with the Sanctuary residents through our Speakers Bureau to contact us and we’ll be happy to schedule a time for you to share your story with them.

These are but two of the exciting ways we strive to ensure that our young people are offered the care, support, life skills, and most importantly, the love that every child deserves.

Upcoming Events

[ March 20th 2019

6:00 p.m. COCKTAIL PARTY

8:00 Movie begins.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW INTERACTIVE & CHARITY EVENT.

The fun starts at 6pm with the Rocky Cocktail party& charity event along with a costume contest.

Representatives from Sanctuary Palm Springs will be there to provide you with props (toast, cards, popcorn-instead of rice, and newspaper) all for donations.

Buy tickets here

APRIL 21st, 2019

11:00 a.m.

Join the 4th Annual Easter Bonnet Brunch at Tropicale.

Have a delicious Easter Brunch at The Tropicale Restaurant & Lounge then Parade Down Palm Canyon to Hunters Night Club (302 E. Arenas) for their Easter Bonnet contest starting at 3:00 p.m.

Make your reservations because this event will sell out fast.

10% of all Brunch proceeds will Benefit Sanctuary (must be wearing a bonnet to qualify) and we will be on hand at Hunter's accepting donations.

Fabulous prizes for best bonnet.

May 18th, 2019

8:00-1:00

Are you up for the challenge?

From the organizers of the LiveWell Festival:

Saturday May 18th 8:00-1:00 p.m. at Palm Desert Civic Center Park

5K Run-Walk registration is $25 until May 10th. Walk-up registration is available for $35.

Registration: Run-walk participants should register online and select Sanctuary Palm Springs.

Did You Know You Can Support Sanctuary with Every Purchase You Make

Simply sign up with Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-2867323

Participate in the Ralphs Community Rewards program. Visit https://www.ralphs.com. Once logged into your Ralphs account search for THE LGBT SANCTUARY PALM SPRINGS either by name or LN599 and then click Enroll.

Donate Here