Monthly Milwaukee Meeting: Speak-Out — Stories of Hope and Resiliency

Orlando. HB2. Westboro Baptist Church. People who have never met a trans person telling us who we are. It’s easy to see those who oppose, hate, or simply don’t know who we are but feel free to offer a negative opinion anyway.
On Saturday June 25^th , 2016 we are going to create a counter-wave of hope and resiliency. The whole night will be devoted to sharing our stories of when someone came through for us in a wonderful way we weren’t expecting. We welcome all types of stories. It could be the stranger at the diner counter who was delighted to hear you are trans. It could be the elected official who publicly stated he has changed his mind about LGBT people. It could be the family member who surprised you with words of support that you never expected to get from them. It could be the health care provider who went out of their way to make sure you were comfortable and respected.
We encourage you to prepare/rehearse your story in advance so it can have more impact on the rest of us. If you have photos or videos you’d like to share on Saturday, please send them ahead of time to tgwarrior@forge-forward.org so that we can set them up to project them so everyone can see them when it is your time to share.
Need some help thinking through/preparing your story? Email LoreeCD@aol.com so we can talk it through.
[Note: Sharing is not required. Please come if you “just” want to soak up some goodness others have experienced.]
 
 

What’s the purpose of FORGE’s Milwaukee Monthly Meetings?

1. Share information on pre-selected subjects.
   [Ideas for discussions, speakers, books, films, and panels are initiated by group recommendations and facilitator suggestions. With only 12 monthly meetings per year, these topics only touch a small number of areas with plenty of room for post-meeting discussion and other groups to take on other topics.]
2. Provide support for people who attend.
   [All people who are interested in trans and gender non-binary issues are welcome.
   We encourage people to participate at their level of comfort.
3. [Note: Milwaukee Monthly Meetings are not political action or social justice-focused events. Our purpose is support and information-sharing. There is ample community space for political organizing, confronting injustice, and creating action agendas.
   FORGE monthly meetings are not that space.]

WORKING AGREEMENTS
Creating a space where people can feel free to participate is important. These are some working agreements and principles that FORGE meetings operate under. We will review and add to this list at tonight’s meeting.

1. Confidentiality / Privacy
2. Use “I” statements
3. One person / one mic
4. Move up / move back
5. Oops and ouch (and snap)
6. People can choose to be quiet / Participation is voluntary
7. We are more than our gender (or any one identity/component)
8. Speak about own experiences – please do not talk about others not in the room
9. Criticism-free zone – no hurtful or negative comments about individuals or agencies
10. In this support-centered space, everyone has an equal voice
11. Respect different backgrounds, experiences, and identities
12. Remember we all have trauma