Battle Ground LGBTQ+ Community uses WA LGBTQ+ Survey findings to improve mental health, safety, and access to resources in region
No Kings; using WA LGBTQ+ survey findings in Battle Ground, WA; The Good Immigrant; Badass women; and leaning on each other
Musings…
Being in the fog of war brings up all the feelings. One that I have daily is the tension created by the horror of suffering, death, and destruction and, at the same time, feeling the simple joys of sun on my face, playing with the dog, relaxing with my family in a cozy home.
I also feel inspired by the courageous actions of everyday people who fight for the liberation of us all. So let's march in March!
A third No Kings protest will be held on Saturday, March 28. It is expected to be the largest nonviolent protest in American history. About 7,000,000 marchers were at the last march. Let’s help make it 10,000,000 on March 28, 2026!
You’ve gotta get out there for this! And remember protests are intense and strenuous. The info you need is here to help you prepare and keep safe.
Washington LGBTQ+ Survey: Using the Findings
What? The Data Walk & Roll is a free community gathering that is not your typical talk about data. It will feature data storytelling about the health and wellbeing of our LGBTQ+ community in Southwest Washington and around the state. Instead of boring 'researchy' talks, this is a chance to check out the data and summarize it for yourself using hashtags and slogans. And there will be music, food, and prizes! You will leave with ideas and actions for improving access to resources, LGBTQ+ mental health, and safety.
Why? Findings from the Washington LGBTQ+ Survey show that the LGBTQ+ folx living in the Southwest Washington region have the least access to resources for our community. And similar to other regions the region is dealing with mental health and safety challenges. The solutions to these problems are within our community. So we are coming together to make data-informed decisions to make our lives better right here at home.
When? Thursday, April 23, 2026, 6:00-8:00p. Doors open at 5:30p.
Where? Battleground Senior Center, 116 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Battleground, WA 98604
How? Invite your friends! The first 15 people who register will be entered in a raffle for a $75 gift card! We need you to create a better Battle Ground for LGBTQ+ folx! Tickets are free.
Here is Veronica’s calendar link if you would like to chat 1:1 or discuss hosting a data party or community conversation to make sense of the data and use it for good.
No matter that some are trying to erase us, we will continue to share our stories until we liberate all of us!
Book Spotlight
The Good Immigrant
"By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, troubling and uplifting, these essays, published in 2019, come together to create a provocative, conversation-sparking, multivocal portrait of modern America." (The Washington Post).
America is consumed by tensions over immigration and the question of which bodies are welcome. In this follow-up to the bestselling UK edition, editors Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman hand the microphone to an incredible range of writers whose humanity and right to be here is under attack.
Chigozie Obioma unpacks an Igbo proverb that helped him navigate his journey to America from Nigeria. Jenny Zhang analyzes cultural appropriation in 90s fashion. Fatimah Asghar describes the flood of memory and emotion triggered by an encounter with an Uber driver from Kashmir. These writers, and the many others in this collection, share powerful personal stories of living between cultures and languages while struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong.
#SelfCareCorner
Let’s Lean On Each Other
You know how things change when you feel exhausted and weighed down, then someone you love spending time with invites you to get together? That feeling of being a little lighter and brighter. A moment of ease…of human connection.
Team data2insight is holding space for our team and all our readers to find some ease and connection each day.
Life can be a beautiful struggle. This is how Jacqueline Novogratz describes it: "Within the struggle to rebuild the world lie seeds of meaning and the bittersweet promise of beauty ... When we connect with others through the struggle, it can bring the ease and support we need to continue, even when we feel we cannot go on."
Since this is Women’s History Month, we highlight two women who have rolled up their sleeves with love to be creative forces in their own lives and the lives of others. May knowing a little about their stories help provide inspiration to continue when you feel you cannot go on.
Cheryl Stumbo: Changemaker, Mass Shooting Survivor, and Gun Reform Activist
After Cheryl Stumbo survived the 2006 mass shooting at the Jewish Federation of Seattle, she stepped up as the Citizen Sponsor of Washington State’s Initiative 594, which made background checks mandatory for all gun purchases in Washington state in 2014. Before she retired, she worked as part of the Everytown Survivor Network, training other survivors to share their stories effectively to inspire action. Cheryl said “This has been a huge journey for me—triumphing over the daily physical pain and the emotional pain that comes and goes—to keep moving this important work forward.”
Cheryl died from bone cancer on February 14, 2026. She was 63 years old. For many, Cheryl Stumbo’s life is synonymous with the act of gun violence that catapulted her into the advocacy work she embraced. But Kelsey Burkum, Stumbo’s niece, would also like her aunt to be remembered for her appreciation of red shoes, a well-seasoned meal, and nail polish.
Her friends from University Unitarian Church (UUC), will always remember Cheryl’s power and persistence as part of their triathlon group. Roberta Ray, UUC member and triathlete summed it up beautifully, "Cheryl was shot just days before the triathlon. We carried her with us, wearing [temporary] tattoos on our calves, not knowing if she would survive, and telling other women why we were wearing her name… Cheryl did survive, and as others have said, was one of the most badass women I have ever known, as a citizen activist and as a person whose everyday life reflected the world that she knew was possible. Rest in power. May your memory be a blessing.”
Reverend Elder Cecilia Eggleston: Metropolitan Community Churches Leader
Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston inspires us to find and create positive experiences in our lives in the following message to the congregations of MCC Churches worldwide. Rev. Cecilia is the Moderator (head of the world-wide denomination) of Metropolitan Community Churches (a denomination created more than 50 years ago by Rev. Elder Troy Perry to serve the LGBT community).
In her message Rev. Elder Eggleston asks:
What is giving you joy at this time?
What has caused you to catch your breath with awe and delight in the past week or so?
What is bringing you a moment of peace or calm?
Her message continues:
Joy, creativity, beauty, music, dance, laughter are all spiritual gifts for us. It is important to lament and listen to our anger. It is also important to feed ourselves with what will nurture us.
Our bodies, minds and souls need respite and relief. It might be a time to try something new, if what you have done before is not working at this time.
In her book, “Return to the Root,” Joyce Rupp describes being at an interfaith gathering after a deadly terrorist attack in New Zealand. The atmosphere was subdued as the audience listened to many different speakers. Finally, a Rabbi stood up. He spoke very briefly and then started to sing the Bill Withers song “Lean on Me.” After the first line, everyone joined in, and by the end of the song, the atmosphere had shifted to a surge of compassion and hope. Rupp writes “No-one said it out loud, but I’m confident that we each felt we could be the arms of the Holy, welcoming who needed holding when they were hurting.”
We all need moments like this, on our own or collectively, where our hearts and our spirits are lifted and filled.
May it be so.
