We’re still here in Tijuana, soaking in the Baja California sun and working with yet another amazing LGBT refugee community, El Jardin De Las Mariposas!
Founded in 2011, El Jardin houses LGBT persons struggling with addiction, many of whom are also refugees. It was founded by a Mexican woman named Yolanda who herself struggled with addiction, and was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) by a transgender woman many years ago.
When the trans woman later died of AIDS, Yolanda dedicated her life to supporting the LGBT community struggling with addiction. She and her son, Jaime, don’t live at the house, but they do all they can to make sure it runs smoothly.
The organization first got a physical house in 2013, and has since moved locations to a nicer house in a quiet neighborhood. Even though they’ve been steadily improving the services and building increasingly strong community, there are still some things that their budget hasn’t allowed them to achieve.
We wanted to help where we could, and started by buying enough chairs and tables for the house to sit together – they had a few, but not enough for everyone.
It’s hard to cultivate community when you don’t have a spot for everyone to sit. Now, all the residents can have a place at the table for AA meetings, meals, and more.
Meet Steve! Steve is the Executive Director for ORAM, the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, and member of the Alight family of organizations. Before joining ORAM, Steve served as the Senior Director of Global Initiatives at Out & Equal, the biggest LGBT workplace inclusion non-profit. Steve also launched a non-profit, Alturi, which increases engagement by American donors to organizations improving the lives of LGBT people globally.
