COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Mindful Queer Collective's work is made possible through our positive relationships with our partner organizations. Below are some of the organizations we work with and refer to. We are constantly seeking out new relationships. If you work with an organization and you'd like to see it listed here/us collaborating more actively, please contact us--we look forward to making new friends and allies in our shared liberation!
For MQC, some of our partnerships are so important to the work we do and our missions are so clearly aligned that we invite another organization to become a stakeholder in the Collective. As a stakeholder, these partners have a representative spot on our board, meeting along with our core team of organizers. We do joint programming, outreach, and leadership development. Our strengths as community organizations are incredibly increased by our togetherness.
STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS
HEALTH EQUITY ALLIANCE
Down East AIDS Network and the Health Equity Alliance create a world in which all people are valued and celebrated, and health disparities such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and AIDS-related deaths are nonexistent. By facilitating education, advocacy, and action, DEAN and the Health Equity Alliance empower those communities most affected by HIV to improve their health and well-being while affecting social and cultural change.
PINE TREE YOUTH ORGANIZING
Pine Tree Youth Organizing (PTYO) is a youth led and run organization that is building a unified youth movement that can make measurable, intersectional social, political, and personal change. We believe that most youth already are effective organizers and politically conscious, so we strive to remove barriers young adults face when engaging in social justice work and replace them with connections that prioritize self-care, organizing across difference, and fun.
SKIDOMPHA PUBLIC LIBRARY
Skidompha library supports and enriches our community by fostering literacy, providing ready access to information resources, encouraging lifelong learning, and promoting cultural and social interactions.
LGBTQIAP+ ORGANIZATIONS
MAINE TRANSGENDER NETWORK
MaineTransNet facilitates peer support groups for trans people and allies, as well as providing avenues for social networking and public dialogue. We direct people to available resources and provide training and education opportunities that utilize our expertise and experiences. For inquiries about our services, email us at mtn@mainetransnet.org.
OUT & ALLIED YOUTH THEATRE
In Waterville, Out & Allied Youth Theatre is a group where youth can come together to celebrate gender and orientation differences while exploring a common love: drama.
https://www.facebook.com/OAYouthTheatre/?fref=ts
SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
THE MAINE COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT
Statewide Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Line: 1-800-871-7741
The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault is organized to end sexual violence in Maine and to support high quality sexual violence prevention and response within Maine communities.
For over 35 years, MECASA has represented and served Maine’s sexual assault service providers. MECASA works toward ending sexual violence through the following efforts:
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Initiating and advocating for victim-centered public policy;
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Providing expert training, technical assistance, and resources for providers and partners;
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Funding sexual assault service providers; and
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Informing conversations about sexual violence.
SEXUAL ASSAULT SUPPORT SERVICES OF MIDCOAST MAINE
SASSMM organizes to provide support and advocacy to survivors of sexual assault; to provide community response; and to provide prevention education regarding sexual violence.
SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE SERVICES OF SOUTHERN MAINE
Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine in its philosophy and through its services will strive to contribute to a world where human relations will be egalitarian and without sexual violence. We will be both proactive and reactive providing education and promoting healing, empowerment and renewal. We will be known for our partnerships with all others committed to this vision. We will be an organization that celebrates and advocates for the human potential for change and growth through adversity.
SOCIAL JUSTICE, ACTIVIST, AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
RESOURCES FOR ORGANIZING AND SOCIAL CHANGE
ROSC (formerly INVERT) was founded in 1977 by people who wanted an organization to promote nonviolence and social change through mechanisms of education, training, and organizing. ROSC's mission is "to build and support a movement for nonviolent social change that will educate, activate, and empower all Maine people through grassroots community organizing." We believe the most effective way we can make change is by enlisting people with the most experience in tough situations to help us find and create solutions to the root causes of those struggles.
MAINE STUDENTS FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
Maine Students for Climate Justice (MSCJ), is a student-run coalition dedicated to confronting the systems and institutions fueling the climate crisis. We bring youth voices to the climate struggle in Maine, and provide resources and support for one another as we work towards ecological sustainability and social justice.
ABILITY MAINE
Ability Maine was founded in 2000 by Norman Meldrum and Russ Anderson, both board members of ROSC. Norm and Russ envisioned a web site that would provide news, information, and empowerment for people with disabilities in Maine. The mission on the website read: "Ability Maine is a place for collecting and sharing information and opinions about living with disabilities. Our intent is to provide a place on the web for people to get information that will help them create better lives for themselves and others. We want to educate and provide resources that will contribute toward people achieving a better quality of life."
BREATH & SHADOW
Breath & Shadow is a literary journal that promotes disability writing and culture, thereby promoting cross-disability pride and community. The journal's goal is to empower and create opportunities for people with disabilities in the literary field. Chris Kuell, editor, says, "We want to showcase the richness and significance of disability literature, promote a greater understanding of the disability experience, and convey the importance of disability culture for all people."
MAINE INSIDE OUT
Maine Inside Out was founded in 2007 by three Maine women with backgrounds in radical social work, anti-racist community organizing, and theater, with the intention of bringing creative workshops into correctional facilities and sharing original work with the community as a force for social change.
http://www.maineinsideout.org/codirectors/
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/207/theater-helps-juvenile-inmates-find-a-place-in-their-community/368513845
PORTLAND CONFRONT
Community Network for Resistance Organizing aNd Training, CONFRONT, emerged in the wake of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election as a group of folx coming together to broadcast frontline asks to newly activated allies, coordinate local and regional efforts to train community members in non-violent direct action, and network together local organizers to support each other in existing efforts. CONFRONT is still forming as a group. Members meet weekly in Portland and provide support for actions, campaigns, and messaging from local grassroots.
Email tanuki@riseup.net to be added to our listserve.