Speak Out: Help is just a phone call away

By Sandhya Luther

Reaching out for help is not easy for many of us, especially when we have experienced violence.

Often times we feel shame, isolation, fear of blame or being re-victimized. And when our friends come to us for support we may not know what to say or what to do. That’s why the Colorado Anti-Violence Program’s 24-hour statewide hotline is here to p

rovide free, confidential and anonymous support to LGBT and queer individuals who have experienced any type of harm.

We are also here to support friends and family members of LGBT and queer people. Through our hotline, you can receive support, information on what services and options are available to you like referrals to therapists, shelters, and other services, as well as access to advocacy to receiver services oftentimes denied to us.

Your call will be answered by one of our volunteer advocates – a small group of dedicated people who volunteer their time to ensure all Coloradans are supported.

Each volunteer completes 40 hours of extensive advocate training. They do this while holding down full-time jobs, attending school and while managing other commitments, because, as one of our veteran advocates says, “Our communities need this.”

LGBT and queer people from across the state who call our hotline often experience hate violence (about half the number of calls), intimate partner violence (an issue many of us are not comfortable talking about, even though 25-33 percent of us experience it), sexual violence, dating violence, pick-up violence, discrimination (from roommates, landlords, coworkers, employers, service providers, shelters), harassment (in–person or through email and social media), stalking (by ex–partners or strangers), and last, but not least, police violence or brutality.

Our advocates get that our lives are multifaceted: the complexities that make up our identities, the walls of oppression that limit our choices, the webs of community resources and relationships that hold us together, the layers of experiences that make us both more vulnerable and more resilient, the families that sometimes support us, sometimes turn us away.

They get that yes, Colorado has ant–discrimination laws in place that offer protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, but our lived experiences may be more about the barriers we face when trying to get services, the subtle and not–so–subtle discrimination we deal with in public places, schools, workplaces or even our homes, and lack of access or lack of safety. Our advocates understand our hesitancy to report to law enforcement, because we fear re–victimization or mistreatment.

As our understanding of violence and community needs deepen, CAVP is evolving to address violence in all its forms across the state. We believe in order to break cycles of violence, we must develop creative and innovative strategies that go beyond providing services to addressing root causes. CAVP’s three main programs Advocacy, Training and Education and Youth Organizing address root causes of violence using unique and mutually supportive strategies.

We hope you will never need to use it, but if you do, you will know where to find it: 303-852-5094 and 888-852-5094.

Sandhya Luther is the director of advocacy for the Colorado Anti-Violence Program. CAVP is a grassroots, community–based organization working to end violence within and against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. CAVP started in 1986 as a volunteer organized effort to document hate crimes and police violence in Denver.