Thursday, August 11, 2011

Ami's Safe Space Project

Ami Angelwings is a Toronto feminist blogger best known to readers of this blog as the creator of Magyc: The Gendering, on which my recent Second Gender War stories are based. In real life, she's a consultant for various Toronto social service agencies, and in the course of her consulting work, she's noticed that many domestic violence and rape crisis centers that were originally created for cis women and their children have now expanded their services to include cis men, trans men & women, and genderqueer people.

Unfortunately, due to bureaucratic inertia, many of these centers have documentation or websites, or even names, that still indicate that their services are directed solely at women. Ami has therefore decided to launch a project she calls Ami's Safe Space Project, which will gather together information on agencies in the US and Canada that support cis and trans men, trans women, and genderqueer people, and create a comprehensive list of such agencies.

Ami's blog does not have an extensive audience, so she is calling on her friends and readers to spread the word, and learn what they can about agencies in their own areas. Hence, this post, and the below list of member organizations of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center
Serving: Northeast RI -- Albion, Central Falls, Cumberland, Greenville, Harmony, Lincoln, Manville, Mapleville, North Providence, and Pawtucket.

Only open to cis women and children.

Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center
Serving: Central RI -- Coventry, Cranston, Garden City, Greene, Hope, Johnston, North Providence, Warwick, West Warwick.

Does not accept men. Only accepts trans and genderqueer on a case-by-case basis.

Sojourner House
Serving: Northwestern RI -- Burriville, Centerdale, Chepatchet, Clayville, Fiskeville, Fortsdale, Foster, Glendale, Greenville, Harmony, Harrisville, North Scituate, North Smithfield, Pascoag, Scituate, Woonsocket.

Does not accept men, trans, or genderqueer.

Women's Center of Rhode Island
Serving: Greater Providence, RI -- Barrington, Centerdale, East Providence, Greenville, Harmony, North Providence, Providence, Riverside, and Rumford.

Only cis women and children.

Women's Resource Center
Serving: Eastern RI -- Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, and Jamestown.

Does not accept cis men or trans men, but will put them up in a hotel and provide services. Accepts trans women and genderqueer on a case-by-case basis, depending on comfort level of other clients.

If you would also like to help increase the reach of Ami's Safe Space Project (and I encourage you to do so), please call around your area, and post the results on your blog (if you've got one), and/or in the comments section of Ami's blog, and/or email Ami at ami_angelwings at hotmail dot com.

This has been a public service post of the Johnny Pez blog.

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