Schenectady Safe Space is a group of LGBTQ+ people who reside in Schenectady County and the surrounding area.
Our Mission/Goals are as follows:
To provide a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender expression, or any socio-economic class, encouraging individuals to embrace and grow into their identity.
About Us:
We were founded in late 2019 to address the lack of safe spaces for transgender and queer individuals in Schenectady county and the surrounding area. All of our co-founders have non-traditional gender identities and felt the need for a local group that emphasizes the acceptance of transgender and non-binary or genderqueer people. Although the group formed largely to support the transgender community, we have the broader vision of providing services to people regardless of gender expression, race, ethnicity, religion, disability status, and sexual orientation. We strive to create unity within the county by working with local businesses and other community groups to provide services, support groups, and a safe, physical location for those seeking meaningful fellowship with others or help with a specific need. All people who agree to act within our community standards (“Ground Rules”) are welcome, and participation of allies (non-LGBTQ supporters) is encouraged.
Ground Rules:
1. Confidentiality is a cornerstone of our organization.
Some members are not comfortable with family, friends, coworkers, or others being involved in their social lives. Since experiences shared here can cause damage to a member’s personal life if told outside of our events, everything shared here must be treated with utmost discretion. Unless someone’s life or livelihood is at stake, do not discuss others’ stories outside this group, and in the event that someone may be harmed, bring the issue to an administrator immediately.
2. “Safe Spaces” must be a place of non-judgment and inclusion.
The goal here is to listen in order to understand others, and to approach people and situations with an open mind. To this end, we stress the importance of respecting others’ comfort zones, pronouns, and requests for ‘trigger warnings.’