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Stories From the Field: NEAT Blog

Explore volunteer profiles, advocacy updates, and coalition actions from the National Equality Action Team as we work toward LGBTQ+ justice across the country.

Volunteer Spotlight: Victor (CA)

Posted 7/29/2020

Volunteer Victor Sanchez — Victor Sanchez, volunteer phone banker

Victor volunteering with NEAT — Victor supporting NEAT's outreach

Our Volunteer Spotlight series celebrates the NEAT volunteers who power our daily work for LGBTQ+ justice.

Name, pronouns, age, and location

Victor Sanchez, He/His/Him, 29, California.

Tell us about yourself outside of NEAT volunteering

I enjoy public radio while supporting my family in this rural community, and I make time for reading the newspaper and backing political campaigns across the country.

What is your connection to LGBTQ+ justice work?

I want to help fellow human beings love who they love consensually. My sister is also dating a transgender person, which deepens that connection for me.

What is your volunteer role at NEAT, and what inspired you to join?

I am a phone banker who wanted to make a difference and help steer human rights in a better direction for people who need to feel loved and accepted.

Share a memory from volunteering that sticks out

I told the team about my sister sharing with my parents that she was dating a transgender person, and the difficult fallout that followed when my family reacted angrily. The team consoled me as best they could. I am alright, but I worry about the future my sister and her partner may face in terms of family acceptance.

What would you say to anyone considering volunteering with NEAT?

You will receive excellent coaching and build courage for confronting possible homophobia and xenophobia on calls. When you spend minutes and hours making a difference in a community that may or may not be your own, you will find it remarkably worthwhile. There is always value in your life and in your efforts to help someone you do not know, whether large or small.

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Intersections: Student Debt Relief

Posted 7/23/2020

LGBTQ+ individuals carry more student debt than the average person, and a higher share regret borrowing to fund their education. As the Advocate reported in 2018, research by Student Loan Hero found that LGBTQ+ Americans carry over $16,000 more in student debt on average than other borrowers, and 60% regret taking on that debt compared with a 45% national average.

With that in mind, NEAT was honored to join Americans for Financial Reform and more than 100 other organizations in urging Congress to address student loan debt relief in the next legislative package responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint statement notes in part:

We further urge you to provide student debt cancellation at a level that meets the scale of the problem. We applaud the 31 Members of Congress, led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Alma Adams, who have pushed for at least $30,000 in student debt cancellation, and the 15 Members of Congress who have cosponsored Rep. Omar's legislation for full student debt cancellation. This is a time to be bold. Sixty-three percent of Americans support permanently reducing student loan debt by at least $20,000. In the context of this pandemic, more student debt cancellation means more economic stimulus.

Canceling student debt would deliver economic stimulus nationwide at a moment of urgent need, and it would help level the financial playing field for the LGBTQ+ community in the United States.

Read the Advocate report · See the Student Loan Hero survey · View the joint statement

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Successful Day of Action for the Equality Act!

Posted 7/13/2020 by Jeff B White

Day of Action for the Equality Act graphic — Day of Action for the Equality Act

UPDATE: Thank you to our team of more than two dozen volunteers across the country who made the Day of Action for the Equality Act a success. These volunteers called voters in two key states about the importance of the Equality Act and transferred dozens of voters who left over 60 messages of support with their U.S. Senators. Thank you!

Despite a major win at the Supreme Court last month, there have also been negative rulings on LGBTQ+ issues this year. That is why the National Equality Action Team (NEAT) and our partners hosted a Day of Action for the Equality Act.

On June 14th, NEAT hosted on-demand phone banks throughout the day to help voters leave messages for their senators urging passage of the Equality Act. NEAT's partners also held virtual meetings with senate staff to discuss the importance of this legislation. We know there is only one way to win equality and justice: by having real conversations with local people about our issues. You can sign up to join us here!

The Equality Act is a proposed national law that would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.

The Equality Act also amends existing law to prohibit discrimination in public spaces and services and in federally funded programs on the basis of sex. It would update the public spaces and services covered under current law to include retail stores, services such as banks and legal services, and transportation services. These important updates would strengthen existing protections for everyone. We can do it, but only with your help. Sign up today!

Join the conversation · Share this story · Read about the Supreme Court victory · Learn about the Equality Act

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