Chris Stedman is a writer, podcaster, WE HELP US hotline founder, and professor who teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.
Did you know that Minnesota has an impressively rich history of LGBTQIA mutual aid?
Many of the organizations and groups that serve our local community today, from the Aliveness Project to Open Arms of Minnesota, began as small networks of LGBTQIA people who showed up for one another when no one else would.
For example, I serve on the board of PFund Foundation, a community foundation that raises and redistributes money to LGBTQIA individuals and organizations all across the Upper Midwest. While today they give out hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to support LGBTQIA midwesterners, what many people don’t know is that the organization actually began when a small handful of queer Minnesotans pooled what little money they had together during the AIDS crisis to create an emergency fund for those who needed it.
While many of our present-day organizations trace their histories back to that era, this tradition of LGBTQIA mutual aid is alive and well today in resources like Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid, which supports and amplifies the material needs of local trans folks; TIGERRS, a nonhierarchical collective dedicated to delivering programs and resources that build solidarity and safety among transgender, intersex, and gender-expansive Minnesotans; and Quatrefoil Library, the second-oldest circulating LGBTQIA library in the United States and a vibrant community space run entirely by volunteers.
In a time when the rights and freedoms of LGBTQIA Americans—transgender Americans in particular—are under frequent attack, mutual aid matters more than ever. Documenting and sharing our stories of mutual aid, past and present, is important to ensuring we can continue this work. We need to learn from and build on the history of this vital cultural practice in order to keep each other safe and fight together for our freedoms.
Earlier this month I teamed up with a number of community members and groups to launch a story hotline that aims to collect stories of LGBTQIA mutual aid. This collection of stories—which anyone can contribute to simply by calling 1-844-WE-HLP-US and leaving a message—will be archived at the University of Minnesota’s Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, the biggest LGBTQIA archive in the Upper Midwest and one of the largest in the country, so that future generations can learn from them.
Some of these recordings may also be incorporated into my next narrative podcast series. After making my first narrative series, Unread, which was prompted by the death of one of my closest friends by suicide and explored the impacts of minority stress on queer people, I wanted to collect and share stories of how we can and do help keep each other alive even in the face of monumental challenges. I would be immensely grateful for your help in doing so. Please visit wehelpusmn.com to learn more and get involved.
To celebrate Pride and help get the word out about this story hotline, I gathered a group of folks passionate about LGBTQIA community care. After posting flyers across the Loring Park neighborhood on a recent Saturday, they shared why they care about queer mutual aid and how it has impacted them directly.
Name: Ash Murray
Occupation: Firefighter
Neighborhood: North Minneapolis
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: There is a sense of comfort and relief when in the company of other queers. An unspoken understanding. A feeling of being known, even by a stranger.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: The trans community has shown up for me by providing insight and support on how to navigate the world during transition. We are the only ones who really understand what each other is going through, and how to give helpful advice.
Name: Ezra Bebop
Occupation: Volunteer manager and HIV policy organizer
Neighborhood: Lowery Hill East
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: LGBTQIA+ people exist outside of traditional systems and binaries, so our reliance on community is paramount to living a thriving life. We historically have been denied access to traditional support systems, so we’ve created our methods and systems to help each other, whether that be in the early days of carving out community spaces in bathhouses and gay bars, to supporting each other with political advocacy and resources during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, or to DIY HRT efforts in the 2020s. No matter the struggle, mutual aid is paramount in ensuring our survival.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: In 2020, while trying to complete summer school and navigating clashes with the MPD, my community showed up for me by providing me with a trip up north to a secluded cabin. My friends and partners knew how stressed and, frankly, terrified I was, and sought to give me a space where I could de-stress away from the chaos of the city. It was that kind of intuitive care that helped me push through that dark time.
Name: Neesh Seif
Occupation: Fitness Professional
Neighborhood: Elliot Park
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: I believe LGBTQIA people should show up for each other because the state of capitalism makes finding support and care almost impossible. We HAVE to lean on each other to get shit done. PERIODT.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: My chosen sister put out a GoFundMe for a gender affirming surgery I was having. My whole surgery was paid for by the people in the LGBTQIA community and our allies. I am grateful every day for the support I have here in Minneapolis.
Name: Nia T. Ross
Occupation: Executive Assistant
Neighborhood: Whittier
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: We have to show up for each other because community and solidarity are necessary for survival and prosperity. We thrive as a collective.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: The most meaningful mutual aid I’ve received has come through interpersonal support—my found family here in the Cities showing up for one another however we can. Whether it’s offering a spare room, covering lunch, supporting personal growth, or trading skills and services, these small but powerful acts of care have helped me survive and truly thrive in a place where I had no home base and no family nearby.
Name: Shelby Lano
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Neighborhood: South Minneapolis
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: When institutional support systems fail us, we have us. Mutual aid and collective care have always been essential for our survival and mental well-being. With anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and attitudes escalating in the United States, pooling our resources within our own communities will build up the power we need to challenge these oppressive policies and rhetoric.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: LGBTQIA mutual aid touches every important part of my wellness. My trauma therapist, who I’ve been working with for years, is a LGBTQIA provider who I found through local queer resources. For my spine condition I have a bodywork practitioner who is also a community member, who specializes in working with queer, trans, and disabled bodies. It’s been transformative not fearing judgement, having to hide or explain core parts of my identity in spaces that are supposed to be for my healing. Growing up, I didn’t have access to these types of resources, which hindered my healing process and, in some cases, caused more harm.
Name: Coco Conteh
Occupation: Performing Artist and Non-Medical Case Manager
Neighborhood: North Minneapolis
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: During these scary times, we need to band together more than ever. We need to dust off our heels and capes and fight like hell for our rights. Like Lena Waithe said, “The things that make us different, those are our superpowers.” Together, we are unstoppable.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: Back in 2012, during the “Vote No” campaign, I witnessed firsthand the power and influence the queer community (plus our allies) have when we join in solidarity!
Name: Ollie Moltaji
Occupation: Drupal Developer
Neighborhood: Standish-Ericsson
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: In a time when our communities face growing challenges, it’s more important than ever for LGBTQIA people to support each other. Showing up reminds us we're not alone and helps build the strength we need to push back against renewed efforts to divide or erase us.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: When I attended my first PFund fundraising event, I was surprised to reconnect with old friends, former co-workers, and even a long-lost cousin who turned out to be a key organizer. That moment made me truly feel part of a vibrant community and inspired me to give back and stay involved.
Name: Em Cassel
Occupation: Racket Co-owner and Editor
Neighborhood: Central
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: There is nothing more powerful to me than supporting and standing up for each other in any way that doesn't rely on capitalist ideals or outside institutions. I will always give you a ride to the airport and watch your pets and cook you a meal and drive you to the doctor and donate to your GoFundMe—we're all we've got, babes.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: Volunteering with Community Aid Network MN! There are lots of ways to get involved and even giving a small amount of time once every week or every few weeks makes a difference.
Name: Ray Thomas-Fosaaen
Occupation: General Manager
Neighborhood: Northeast Minneapolis
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: Point blank? Because recent events have shown us that we can truly only trust each other.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: I volunteered my Saturday [June 14th] with Transforming Families, helping the kids make masks and decorate wagons for Pride. It was some much needed joy on a very dark day for Minnesota.
Name: Chris Stedman
Occupation: Writer, professor, and podcaster
Neighborhood: Longfellow
Why I care about LGBTQIA mutual aid: For all the reasons others shared and more. Being there for one another is fundamental to the queer experience.
A meaningful mutual aid experience: In 2023, I found myself reflecting on all the support I’ve been fortunate enough to receive from my community since coming out, and feeling an urgent need to stand up for my trans friends and neighbors in a material way, just as others had done for me. As a writer and adjunct professor, I didn’t have much I could personally give—I’ve had to rely on mutual aid to cover my own basic needs sometimes—but, with the help of PFund, I was able to organize a series of fundraisers in support of their emergency response fund for trans midwesterners. Over the course of a year, these fundraisers raised over $25,000 that went to support travel costs for people seeking gender-affirming care in Minnesota, scholarships for trans students, and organizations fighting for trans rights in our neighboring states. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and community, and it both challenged and inspired me to keep looking for ways to show up for my community.
