How can we help
Our community is large, diverse, and geographically spread out, with a wide variety of needs.
↓
We need to put life-giving solutions
within easy reach of every LGBTQIA+ Austinite.
↓
An LGBTQIA+ Community-Building Center
in Every Austin City Council District
Austin Original
CONVENIENCE IS KEY
(NOBODY WANTS TO SPEND ANY MORE TIME IN TRAFFIC OR ON PUBLIC TRANSIT)
CONNECTION - Provide opportunities for LGBTQIA+ people to grow their chosen family and find affirming neighborhood resources.
INTERSECTION - Celebrate the diversity of LGBTQIA+ cultures, ethnicities, genders, and experiences.
PRESENCE - Be a visible, integral part of each Austin City Council District.
CONTRIBUTION - Act as an innovative force for good in civic and neighborhood life that cultivates a healthy living environment for all.
GROWTH - Thrive as actualized LGBTQIA+ individuals in community with each other.
COOPERATION - Partner with other organizations to deliver services rather than duplicating work.
The consensus from QWELL’s community engagement reveals that:
1. Austin needs multiple LGBTQIA+ community centers.
2. Existing organizations need funds so they can grow to provide services in Outposts all over town.
THAT MEANS THAT, FOR THE OUTPOSTS TO SUCCEED:
♦ We need to know where LGBTQIA+ people live.
♦ We need to know what kind of services are most needed in which neighborhood.
♦ And we need new sources of funding to pay for the Outposts
and for services provided by QWELL’s partner organizations.
Here are our current and proposed tactics to generate the necessary data and revenue to fund this ambitious plan to improve the wellbeing of every LGBTQIA+ person in Greater Austin.
2018
⇓
More than 2,200 people participated in our Austin-area
LGBTQIA+ community needs assessment
conducted in collaboration with Dell Medical School.
The survey launched at Austin Pride in August 2018
and measured LGBTQIA+ adult wellbeing in these dimensions:
Physical Health
Mental Health
Community Connections
Living Environment
Learning Experiences
Economic Situation
⇓
Visit CityPride.org to help crowdsource our effort to
map LGBTQIA+ community assets, making it easy for members
of our community to navigate LGBTQIA+ life in Central Texas.
⇓
2019
⇓
In June 2019, a public competition to design a
portable “Austin Outpost” LGBTQIA+ community center
began. Designs were displayed for public input
during Austin Pride Week.
⇓
Help us register businesses interested in advertising to
our LGBTQIA+ community (the nation’s third largest).
QWELL is creating a new publication in collaboration with
The Austin Chronicle as part of our effort to
engage every LGBTQIA+ resident of Greater Austin.
We hope to begin publishing in Early 2020.
⇓
Volunteer to help produce a SAGE Table intergenerational
LGBTQIA+ dinner in every Austin City Council District!
Intergenerational community connections – like a family –
are a predictor of resilience and happiness.
⇓
QWELL is working with Texas Health Institute
and other partners to increase LGBTQIA+ residents’
access to affirming, competent physical and mental health care.
⇓
2020-25
⇓
The portable “Austin Outpost” LGBTQIA+ community center
will move through each Austin City Council District
to engage residents, build deep community, and
test this decentralized model. The Outpost will function as
a staging point for research, asset mapping, and program
expansion for our nonprofit partners.
⇓
Over time, we’ll establish more permanent Austin Outposts
all over Greater Austin.
YOU CAN HELP!
BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR
Make a difference with your donation of $25 or $100/month:
