lisastienster-blog

[lisastienster-blog]

To My Wife

Happy 12th Anniversary Wilma,

Tus Pies (Your Feet)

(By Nahko)

“I'll be the Earth that grounds you from the chaos all around.

I'll be the home you return to.

I can be your middle ground.

I can serve as a reminder,

If you jump you will not fall.

Go on and spread those wings of reason,

We are water after all.

And if you call on me

I'll come running like a coyote.

'Cause we're pillars indeed,

A lighthouse when you're out to sea,

A beacon when direction's all I need.

A compass if you know what I mean.

Drunk on that nectar of all that you are to me.

You can trust me in my instincts

'Cause they are like that of a bird

I am loyal, I will feed you,

Sing you songs you've never heard.

Who wants to wear the hat this morning?

I reckon neither of us cares.

'Cause there is more to life than leading.

I would follow you, I swear.

And if you call on me

I'll come runnin' like a coyote

'Cause we're pillars indeed

A lighthouse when you're out to sea

A beacon when direction's all I need

A compass if you know what I mean

Drunk on that nectar of all that you are to me

And I will always share my fire

Proper way to pay respects

Lay tobacco down in gratitude

One thing I cannot neglect.

And there are eyes that watch us closely.

And there's a story they will tell

There's a war 'tween fact and fiction

we have no time to dispel.

So familiar, yet so foreign.

Polaroids say so much

Bring me ceremony parallels

I'll bring vetiver and sage brush.

And if you call on me

I'll come runnin' like a coyote

'Cause we're pillars indeed

A lighthouse when you're out to sea

A beacon when direction's all I need

A compass if you know what I mean

Drunk on that nectar of all that you are to me

And I love your feet for how they found me

And how they walked upon four winds

Be my deer, I'll be your meadow

Come graze upon bear skin.

https://youtu.be/QdzBjEzTGPc

[lisastienster-blog]

“don’t waste your hate rather gather and create be of service, be a sensible person use your words and don’t be nervous you can do this, you’ve got purpose find your medicine and use it”

— Manifesto - Nahko and Medicine for the People

[lisastienster-blog]

Why you shouldn’t donate to Trans Lifeline

Ever since the Presidential Election results came in, there’s been post after post of people spreading around the phone number for a supposed suicide hotline for trans people, called Trans Lifeline.

What people don’t know is that this “hotline” is a huge scam meant to fund the founders’ personal lives, and that the hotline barely answers their calls, if ever.

A twitter was made a while back to cover the small, almost nonexistent amount of operators on the line, but it is now inoperable because the founders found out and shut down the source of the twitter bot’s information, because how dare someone provide the truth.

The founder, who is also trans, frequently posts pictures of her weapons, and even showed up at someone’s house because she didn’t agree with what they had to say about her hotline and her “friends”, then proceeded to make vague physical threats at them on FB. As a mentally ill person, she seems unfit to be handling such a lifeline that barely answers their calls in the first place.

She also spends the organization’s money frivolously, going from one state to the next for who knows what.

Here’s their 2015 annual report.

And here’s a claim that 6,000 hours of volunteer work equals up to $197,000. This is incredibly inflated.

THEY ARE ALSO NOT ACCREDITED BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SUICIDOLOGY AND REFUSE TO CALL MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN THE EVENT OF A SUICIDE IN PROGRESS. THIS MEANS THEY WILL NOT CALL 911 IF SOMEONE ON THE LINE IS FUCKING DYING.

Only about 19% of incoming calls were being answered. This is a suicide prevention non-profit where they are only answering less than 19% of calls as of December of last year. When someone does get through, according to this report, they are talking to someone who has only received TWO FUCKING HOURS OF TRAINING.

They train people for two hours, only answer 19% of calls and when that 19% do get through, the policy does not follow the AAS crisis standard with regard to emergency personnel.

Here is a link to their IRS exempt form.

The 2015 submission indicates income of $129,922 and total assets of $22,255 so their income was about 47% more than budgeted. The 2016 budget is far more interesting given they are expecting $200,000 worth of grants. The travel bill is also surprising for a non profit, I realise there is a need to engage potential donors but there comes a point where the figure is just ridiculous and it would appear that that point is about a third of that budgeted total. I see the director of operations “in kind” contributions have been reduced from $80,000 to receiving an actual salary of $28,800 and she is bringing in a personal assistant for herself.

There could be a fucking body count and nobody would know.

I have a friend who called them once, had her call dropped 4 times, only to get a really bored-sounding operator on the other end, then she was yelled at BY THE OPERATOR for using the term ‘dude’. SHE WAS SUICIDAL AT THE TIME. YOU DO NOT YELL AT SUICIDAL PEOPLE:

On a final note, they are perpetuating the lie that 8 trans people died on the night of the election results.

At the Trans Lifeline we were devastated to hear that eight people — many of whom were teens — died by suicide last night after election results announced that Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. We are reaching out to the families to offer support and condolences. Trans people are among many people who are mourning today. We know that communities of color, muslims, immigrants, and many other groups are feeling the betrayal, sadness, and fear that comes with living in a country where a majority of people voted for a leader who hates you. It is personal. It is tragic. But it is not the end. Trans Lifeline has received over 350 calls from trans people in crisis, including many suicidal people. Our trans-identified operators are working hard to offer support, guidance, and hope through this difficult time. We’ve answered a staggering 115 calls in 24 hours, demonstrating that we are here for each other. It may feel right now as though hate won out, but we know that love is more powerful. Even though many in the trans community are giving everything they have to support each other, we have a long way to go to meet the need of trans people in crisis. We need to hire additional staff to train, support, and lead our volunteers. If we can raise 100K this month, then we can hire three full-time staff people to do this life-saving work. Please give now if you can. If you are trans, we say to you — Keep fighting. We love you. If you are not trans, we say to you — Stand with us. We love you too, and we need you to show up for us. We need staunch allies, real confidants, supportive lovers, close friends, affirming faith leaders, and compassionate strangers. We need to support one another now more than ever. Remember, together we save lives!

Save your time (and your life) and call the national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

You can also call the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386, and their donation information is here.

Protect trans lives. Don’t fall for a scam that exploits potentially suicidal trans teenagers and young adults. Give to actual charities and hotlines.

[lisastienster-blog]

I think we really need to reaffirm now that no amount of homophobia can be acceptable in our culture. There is no such this as harmless or victimless homophobia. All homophobia contributes to violence against us. You can not “disagree” with lgbt people’s “lifestyles” without supporting the rhetoric and legislation that puts us in very real danger.

[lisastienster-blog]

my girl. buenos aires, argentina

oh-its-kismet.tumblr.com

[lisastienster-blog]

[lisastienster-blog]

“Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” ‭‭ - Ephesians‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭(ERV‬‬)

[lisastienster-blog]

Bi/married-to-a-lesbian 🙋🏻💕

Lesbian

[lisastienster-blog]

[lisastienster-blog]

Listen up. There is literally an app that can help you avoid self harm and I don’t know why we aren’t talking about it.

Calm Harm can be tailored to your needs and will provide strategies to help you get past those crucial moments of wanting to harm.

It’s also totally FREE.

once again, it’s called CALM HARM

[lisastienster-blog]

Christ picks up the broken. He picks up the bruised: The very kind of people that the Pharisees and the scribes totally ignored.

John MacArthur (via alistairradley)

[lisastienster-blog]

Our community of queer christians may be small and hurting, but I believe in it, and so does God. We’re gonna make things better for the next ones.

[lisastienster-blog]

lgbt+ christians are so loved by God

[lisastienster-blog]

A reminder for all of my fellow Christian LGBTQA people out there:

If you are questioning your gender, romantic or sexual orientation, God loves you

If you are gay or lesbian, God loves you

If you are bi, poly, or pan, God loves you

If you are on the asexual spectrum, God loves you

If you are on the aromantic spectrum, God loves you

If your romantic and sexual orientation don’t match, God loves you

If you are trans, demi-boy or girl, genderfluid or otherwise not cis, God loves you

You are not broken, you are not a failure, God knows you and He loves you. Don’t you ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

[lisastienster-blog]

[lisastienster-blog]

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 (via womanintheword)

[lisastienster-blog]

Hi all!  S Word director Lisa Klein and Live Through This creator Dese’Rae Stage are looking forward to not being silent about suicide.  Join us for Answer Time on Monday, December 18th at 12:00 noon PST,  3:00 PM EST.  We look forward to chatting!

Ask a question!