How victims of LGBTQ hate crimes can get help in DC

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How victims of LGBTQ hate crimes can get help in DC

This is part of 草莓传媒鈥檚 continuing coverage of people making a difference in our community, reported by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant.聽Read more of that coverage.

“Continue to be brave, continue to be smart and continue to be safe,” is the advice shared with LGBTQ people trying to navigate through life鈥檚 challenges by Monroe Poston, a D.C. native and transgender woman.

Poston is the workforce development and outreach specialist for the . She’s also been the victim of a hate crime.

“It’s something that you don鈥檛 foresee coming, something you don鈥檛 expect,” Poston said. “It’s something that you don鈥檛 easily recover from.”

Poston said programs like the District’s make the path easier for people in their community who have been through the trauma of a hate crime.

While growing up in the D.C. area, Poston recalled a lot of crimes taking place against the LGBTQ community. But she added that times are changing with the help of programs like VPART, which provides resources, including trauma-informed therapy, legal assistance, mental health services, shelter assistance and other essential support services.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE: Monroe Poston (left) is the workforce development and outreach specialist for the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, and Japer Bowles (right) is office’s director. (Courtesy Monroe Poston, Japer Bowles)

Programs like VPART did not exist for Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor鈥檚 Office of LGBTQ Affairs, when he was growing up in southwest Missouri. Bowles said there were not a lot of openly gay people in his area, nor access to resources for LGBTQ people.

Bowles said his interest in advocacy and community work brought him to D.C. after he completed his education and had a few campaigns under his belt.

Bowles told 草莓传媒 that the program brings together community organizations and government agencies, such as D.C. police’s LGBTQ Liaison Unit and the Office of Human Rights to address, reduce and prevent crime 鈥� particularly hate-bias incidents within the LGBTQ+ community.

They meet regularly to review hate bias report data and also to make sure that their community members are directly connected to the services they need, Bowles said.

Their dedicated service providers include the , and .

鈥淚鈥檓 just glad that we have a mayor and a D.C. Council that hears us and wants to address these causes and concerns for our community,鈥� Bowles said.

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Stephanie Gaines-Bryant

Stephanie Gaines-Bryant is an Anchor and Reporter for 草莓传媒. Over the past 20 years, Stephanie has worked in several markets, including Baltimore, Washington, Houston and Charleston, holding positions ranging from newscaster to morning show co-host.