Berkshire Trans Group Awarded Trans Justice Funding Project Grant

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Trans Group has been awarded $6,267.40 by the Trans Justice Funding Project to go toward programming, captioning, guest speakers, and mutual aid for and about transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming members of the community. 
 
The Trans Justice Funding Project is a community-led funding initiative founded in 2012 to support grassroots trans justice groups run for and by trans people in the United States (including U.S. territories). 
 
Berkshire Trans Group is a peer support group and a project of Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition, Berkshire County's longest standing LGBTQ+ organization. It has helped launch of organizations like Berkshire Pride, Rainbow Seniors, Queer Men of the Berkshires, and other groups focused on LGBTQ+ wellbeing. Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition has since shifted its focus to its Berkshire Queer History Project, which often partners with projects and organizations to expand access to queer history in the Berkshires - including trans history. 
 
Berkshire Trans Group has served since 2017 as a peer support group and information resource for, by, and about the local transgender community. In addition to presenting opportunities to meet the local trans community in Great Barrington, Pittsfield, North Adams, and online, it is also a place where people can exchange resources, opportunities, and information on trans-friendly establishments.
 
This funding brings the opportunity to Berkshire Trans Group to extend the availability of cross-county meetings, which were slated to be reduced due to volunteer burnout. The Trans Justice Funding Project has also awarded enough to allow for Berkshire Trans Group to begin hiring captioners for trans-specific Berkshire Queer History Project interviews.
 
In addition to its regular annual Friendsgiving and Trans Day of Remembrance in November, Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition held its second Queer History Month Screening on October 24th. This year plans to address activists who have been lost to or impacted by LGBTQ+-specific marginalization, including the AIDS crisis and escalated violence against transgender individuals. If you know someone or of someone who has been lost to or impacted by LGBTQ+-specific marginalization, please reach out to queerhistory@berkshirestonewall.org.
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Letter: Berkshire Community Action Council Rumors Hurt Fundraising Efforts

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Most of you are familiar with BCAC. We are the federally designated anti-poverty agency for Berkshire County, serving nearly 12,000 families each year. We work hard to maintain the trust and respect of the communities we serve.

Overseen by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, we are required to comply each year with a rigorous 78 performance standards which govern all aspects of our organization. Proudly, we can boast that we are consistently 100 percent compliant with these standards which range from our community involvement, our transparency in reporting, our administration of programs, our financial accountability and much more. This positions us as one of the best run agencies in the commonwealth. Furthermore, as part of these standards, we are required to survey the community each year to assess satisfaction with our services.

This year, as in years past, we received an overwhelmingly positive response from our community. We just closed our online survey. With 436 individuals responding, 96.7 percent of those surveyed reported that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the services they received and for how families were treated. We pride ourselves on our accountability using less than 10 percent of our revenues each year to pay for administration.

Given this, we were shocked to hear that there are members of our community who are spreading untruthful accusations about our programs. We pride ourselves on the collaborative way we work with our partners in the community. We have always recognized that we can accomplish more when we work together. We have shared our resources with the community, not looking for recognition but for the sheer satisfaction of knowing that we are able to help close service gaps and serve more families in need of help. So, these rumors are not only hurtful but very damaging to our programming and reputation.

This year, donors have reported that they have heard these damaging rumors, and it is impacting our ability to raise funds to purchase the coats and boots for our Children's Warm Clothing program. I want to assure you that we administer our programs under the highest standards and always with the utmost respect for our families and their well-being. I am asking if anyone is concerned about rumors you have heard, to please contact me directly so that I can address these issues personally.

I can be reached at dleonczyk@bcacinc.org or call the office at 413-445-4503.

Deborah Leonczyk
Pittsfield, Mass. 

 

 

 

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