In recent months, discourse about queer people has dominated many state legislatures and school board meetings. Since the passage of bills in Missouri , many conversations in mainstream media have been about queer people and don鈥檛 center queer people themselves.
Founded in 2019, the St. Louis Queer Support Helpline serves as a resource for LGBTQIA+ people. The is to facilitate healing spaces and provide holistic support for queer St. Louisans to thrive.
Since its inception, the helpline has seen a rise in operating revenue, staff, volunteers and calls for help, but the goals go beyond receiving a certain number of calls. 鈥淭he depth of the relationships we form with the community can鈥檛 always be captured by the number of calls we get,鈥� explained Luka Cai, SQSH鈥檚 executive director.
Cai said that the 鈥楬鈥� in SQSH is for helpline, not hotline, and that the calls greatly differ from what crisis lines receive. 鈥淸SQSH callers] often just want another LGBTQ queer person to talk to. But I think we've also grown in terms of the kinds of programs we offer and how we think about and strategize towards queer liberation,鈥� they said.
SQSH鈥檚 services have been built in direct response to the needs of the community it serves. Programs include the helpline as well as a resource guide and annual community healing event.
For more of Luka Cai鈥檚 reflections and lessons learned while leading St. Louis Queer Support Helpline, including how queer liberation works in tandem with different social justice efforts, listen to St. Louis on the Air on , or by clicking the play button below.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . is our production intern. The audio engineer is . Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
