Last week at Industry Bar, Equality New York, NYC’s LGBT Community Center (The Center), and the NEW Pride Agenda announced their partnership and formally unveil their collective policy and budgetary priorities to advance LGBTQ equity and justice in New York State.
Together, the three groups will work to support the following bills and budget priorities in 2022:
1. The Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety Act
2. Decriminalization of Sex Work
3. Creation of a Transgender & Gender Nonconforming (TGNC) Wellness and Equity Fund to support organizations led by TGNC individuals and to help foster new leadership through capacity building.
4. Funding for the LGBT Health & Human Services Network, which would support 70 organizations that provide free and low-cost, affirming health care services to LGBTQ people statewide.
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“New York State has made remarkable progress on LGBTQ rights, but our community continues to face high rates of poverty, poor health, criminalization, and discrimination,” said Trevon Mayers, The Center’s Senior Director of Advocacy & Community Engagement. “These are steep challenges, but with a unified effort, we can overcome them. The Center is proud to represent more than 50 statewide partners and community leaders through our RiseOut advocacy initiative, who are all lending their support to this vital work.”
“New York is often viewed as one of the most progressive states in our country. However, there is still a significant absence of policies in New York that protect and programs that support LGBTQI individuals. In 2022, we have an opportunity to build new leadership, strengthen communities, and advance the rights of all LGBTQI New Yorkers. EQNY is looking forward to our new collaboration with The LGBT Community Center and NEW Pride Agenda,” said Amanda Babine, Equality New York’s Executive Director. Equality New York, established in 2017, is a statewide advocacy organization working to advance equality and justice for LGBTQI New Yorkers and their families. They are comprised of 5,500 members and 90+ coalition partners.
“We are no longer fighting for equality, but equity. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in what is a largely ignored and deeply marginalized community—and by that I mean the Transgender, Gender Non Conforming, and Intersex community. The NEW Pride Agenda is clear in our mission and we will advocate for those who have been overlooked and forgotten. NPA looks forward to working with our partners to advance equity and justice,” said Elisa Crespo, the NEW Pride Agenda’s Executive Director. The NEW Pride Agenda, established in 2019, advocates for the economic, health, racial, and gender identity justice needs of marginalized LGBTQIA+ individuals in the state of New York.
This year marks the first time that Equality New York, The Center, and the NEW Pride Agenda are joining forces on a collective policy platform. They have previously collaborated on an ad hoc basis to pass LGBTQ-affirming laws in New York State, including the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, the Gender Recognition Act, and the successful repeal of the “Walking While Trans” ban.