Queers for Economic Justice

Queers for Economic Justice is a progressive non-profit organization committed to promoting economic justice in a context of sexual and gender liberation.
Our goal is to challenge and change the systems that create poverty and economic injustice in our communities, and to promote an economic system that embraces sexual and gender diversity.

We are committed to the principle that access to social and economic resources is a fundamental right, and we work to create social and economic equity through grassroots organizing, public education, advocacy and research.
We do this work because although poor queers have always been a part of both the gay rights and economic justice movements, they have been, and continue to be, largely invisible in both movements.

This work will always be informed by the lived experiences and expressed needs of queer people in poverty.
Values and Vision

We are a multi-racial, multi-classed, multi-cultural group of people of diverse marginalized sexual and gender identities, as well as diverse ages, skills, educational levels, backgrounds and abilities.

We seek to amend the conditions and policies of our economic system to prioritize the needs of the poor, and to embrace sexual, gender and family diversity.

We work to broaden the discourse, vision and agenda within both queer and economic justice organizations, as well as in society at large, toward greater integration of economic justice issues as they impact our communities.
We seek to promote a society where people of all classes, sexual orientations and gender identities can enjoy complete sexual and reproductive freedom and expression, as part of their full enjoyment of life, without fear of economic or legal penalty. We work to establish and/or protect the legal rights of poor and working-class queers, and to encourage and facilitate self-advocacy.

We advocate for radical, compassionate changes in systems such as housing and shelter, the workplace, courts, prisons, welfare and other public benefits, citizenship/immigration, healthcare and other social services.

We understand the interconnections between different oppressions that perpetuate economic injustice, and we work on multiple levels to eradicate them.
We work to affect these changes through grassroots organizing, public education, advocacy, research, legal action, leadership development and coalition building with gay rights and economic justice organizations.
We are committed to this work because, although we witness and experience financial hardship and need in our communities, we also have hope in the possibilities for change.