Noah Krell (he/him), Dani Fazio (she/her), and Jacob Krueger (he/him) are three of the four queer-identifying providers, who along with two other allied therapists offer LGBTQIA+ affirming mental health, recovery, and spiritual care at Therapy For The People. “We opened our doors at 57 Exchange Street in Portland/occupied Wabanaki Confederacy territory just five weeks before the pandemic forced us to close them to in-person sessions. It felt devastating at first, but also created the space for us to be resourceful, flexible, and adaptive. We’ve been using telehealth exclusively since March, and are constantly in awe at the resilience shown by the folx we work with, as we all navigate these new realities. Our primary goal for creating Therapy For The People, was to center our work within the queer community and provide support to folx in their personal experiences of healing and self-understanding. In addition to being a place for clients, Therapy For The People is also a vibrant co-working space for therapists who want to work in private practice and have the experience of community, peer relationships, and business support. We’re hopeful that as we grow, more therapists and healers will come and join us.” . @therapyforthepeople_ TherapyForThePeople.org
Sierra (She/Her) and Ash (She/Her). . Ash is an editor who volunteers with prison writing programs and Sierra is a student midwife and full-spectrum doula serving oppressed communities. “Black birthing people die in birth at 3-6x that of their white counterparts and more than half of queer people who visit doctors report facing discrimination due to their sexuality. 1 in 100 American adults is behind bars, many without access to writing and educational materials even though books reduce recidivism rates. Here are some places you can go to learn, donate, or advocate: @penamerica @prisonbirthproject @sistersong_woc @blackmidwivesalliance @blackmamasmatter @queerdoulas @mainetransnet .” . @allbodiesbirth
Finn, They/Them. . “I moved to Portland for grad school. I'm working towards becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner with the goal of providing queer-affirming primary care and educating other health professionals. One of my dreams for the queer community is getting to a point where we all support and lift each other up and learn from each other. There is a lot of divisiveness and judgment and racism and classism and ableism in the queer community and I hope that more people start putting in the work to move past that. I'm a nonbinary, trans, poly, kinky, queer boi and I'm proud of every part of my identity. Part of my work fighting for the queer community is taking up space, letting my queerness, my work, and my queer body be visible, and showing others that it's ok to do so when society tries to shame our existence and push us into the shadows.” . @finngq
Flo (she/her) is a dentist at Great Falls in Auburn and Donna (she/her) is a librarian-turned-housewife. They live in the Rosemont neighborhood of Portland with their two labs, Maybellene and Montgomery. Flo: "Building and being part of my communities is important to me. I'm on the board of EqualityMaine to support my queer community. And for my people of color community, I started a monthly networking happy hour, Fourth Fridays (@fourthfridayme). When covid put a pause on that, I began a weekly podcast/talk show on WMPG, In the Pocket (@in_the_pocket_wmpg). It features artists and activists sharing their narrative on art, culture, activism, and living as people of color in Maine." Donna: "Sometimes it is hard for me to just straight up call myself a housewife. The connotations haven't always been great. But in the context of a queer relationship, we have already freed ourselves from some of the burdens of the patriarchy. Why not this one? My greatest loves include cooking, gardening, baking, dedicated volunteer work, and caring for my wife and our sweet dogs. If we can arrange our lives to make this my job, why not do it? It takes some trust and some sacrifice on both our parts, but in the end we both have a better life for it." . @the.flo.edwards, @maybelleneinmaine
Kit Costas Reyes McCann, They/Them . “Non-binary/agender Therapist for transgender and queer youth Appalachian Trail ‘13 thru-hiker Nerd alumnus of the Maine School of Science and Math Bicoastal coast guard kid Greek roots without any culinary skills Polyamorous houseplant person Laughter enthusiast A young person once told me I was probably made out of rainbows, and I’m pretty sure I’ve spent the entirety of my life trying to live up to that.” . @trailkit
Gabrielle (She/They) . “I’m leaving Greater Portland again at the end of the summer to manifest my caretaker dreams at Yale University. In a few years I’ll finally be a midwife & nurse practitioner. I spent about 10 years to make this happen, and what I have learned along the way is that the best way to take care of others is taking care of yourself first. . Greater Portland is forever one of my homes though. It’s not ever goodbye, it’s see ya later 🌱” . @unruly_awuor
Dylan, He/Him. . “I first moved to Maine in October of 2012, shortly after a break up. My best friend from college came with me and we temporarily hunkered down in my parent's beach house. This would turn out to be one of the first times I learned that relocating physically doesn't really solve your problems -- and maybe I wasn't ready to admit things weren't going so well within me. I only lasted here for six months. Four years and a lifetime later, I moved back to Maine circumstantially after a death in my immediate family. It's been a long journey, but I'm happy to report that things have never been better. And even though I'm not much of an "ocean person", I recognize how important it is that so much of me is water. I'm finally just thankful to be alive.” . @dna___89
Kari, She/Her . “My name is Kari (she/her) I am a person in recovery and a harm reduction advocate. I am the Executive Director of The Church of Safe Injection and a peer support specialist at Spurwink on the Opioid Home Health team. I enjoy fall in Maine and just living in the moment. I always enjoy a good protest for a good cause or encampments at city hall.” . @msgratefulforrecovery
Krista, She/Her . “For almost two decades I have had the honor of serving not only our local queer community, but also humans from all over the world through consciousness and relationship design. We all experience barriers to our pleasure and energetic flow and when queerness is a part of our identity and evolution it takes courageous action to embody our wholeness. As a sexologist, I invite clients to intuitively transmute those barriers into power and bliss. I’m so grateful to serve every day by guiding humans to their highest consciousness for passionate, pleasure-led lives and loves. Living and breathing this path in my daily life informs my every connection and creation. May we all find our peace through openhearted pleasure.” . @krista.writes
Hannah, She/Her . “My passion as a Full Spectrum doula is to support clients through pregnancy termination and abortion. I am on the forefront of seeing how families and babies are being failed in our country, so of course I understand why abortion should always be an option to pregnant people. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 59% of people who get an abortion are already parents doing the best they can to raise their children. Even though a lot of my clients are extremely thankful for their abortion, over the years their feelings around the experience can ebb and flow. Healing truly is not linear in abortion care so I often have clients who come to me for support years after their experience. For me abortion care doesn’t always look like supporting someone through an abortion they are currently going through but some time after the procedure. I hold space for my birth and postpartum clients who may have emotions around their past abortion that resurface as they transition into parenthood. When we doulas block out abortion to only focus on birth and newborn babies we are doing a disservice to our clients. By not honoring abortion as a reproductive experience we are not providing client centered care around their emotional well-being and the full spectrum of their experiences. Clients deserve better than just care centered around babies. If someone you love is going through an abortion, the best thing you can do is just follow their lead in what they need in that moment. I often hear clients say the people in their life invalidated their very real, valid emotions or even made them feel guilty for the feelings that came up for them. I find that it’s less about what you say to try to make them feel better and more about listening and creating space for them to feel comfortable sharing their story.” . @peonydoulaco
Nina, She/They . “To me being a Queer African is to reconnect to my roots. I laugh every now and then when I repeat this mantra: ‘’How amazing that the universe knew people of kinds would be here now’’. There’s a joy in knowing that I am who I am and that is a part of my identity as a person. No one is ever just one thing, let’s rejoice in the multitude of all that we are!” . @nina_afrika
CJ, They/He . “I started lifting weights at the beginning of my medical transition in 2017 to feel safer and more at home in my body. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety and I soon found that lifting helped my mood and helped to regulate my nervous system. This is the main reason why I’ve stuck with it and have a passion for sharing it with others! I wanted to start the Authentic Strength Project with the purpose of uplifting those who have never felt comfortable, safe, or accepted in gym spaces and allow them the opportunity to explore their bodies through strength training. Free from the unwanted messages of toxic fitness culture and diet culture. I want to make fitness more supportive of diverse bodies and to see the immense beauty they provide. My wish is for those diverse bodies to experience joyful movement, embodiment, and the satisfaction of strength. You are the expert on You; your body, experiences, and feelings. I want to hold a shame free space which encourages that intuition and is focused on honesty and on honoring where we are in each specific moment. Where people can find fulfillment in their movement journey and not exercise out of fear, guilt, or compensation. I’ve been working for some time to become a Certified Strength Coach and recently received my certification. I am in the beginning stages of exploring how I can put this to use in our community! If strength or resistance training is something you’ve wanted to explore and didn’t know where to start, or just if any of my message resonates with you feel free to reach out 🙂” . @notyourcisfriend
Shannon, She/Her Little Fish Doula . “I came out in 1993 on Christmas morning; 0/10 do not recommend. The early 90s were a great time to be a queer kid. We still had gay bars, drag culture was thriving, and because our elders fought and fought and fought, we were starting to see a societal shift around queer inclusion and equality. I began working in an abortion clinic in 1997, in Bangor, Maine. The director of the center was a force of nature and she saw something in me, something that she felt was worth her time and effort. That changed my life. I'll never forget the elders who mentored me, believed in me, and cheered me on. Because of them I've been able to be a mentor, a friend, a champion, and a force of nature. Working in abortion care is the best. A lot of patients would say, "How can you do this job every day? Isn't it so sad?" The answer is no. It's not sad to me to provide someone with bodily autonomy, it's joyful. Of course, there were patients whose stories were heartbreaking or terrible...but that's not because of abortion. People suffer because of misogyny, white supremacy and racism, poverty, and Queer-phobia. They don't suffer because they were given the highest quality health care they will ever receive. Abortion is liberation and I will always, always, always do what it takes to support folks who need it. I see my doula and birth work as an extension of my abortion work. Supporting folks on the spectrum of pregnancy is my calling. I heard someone in a birthing space say, "There's no trophy for an unmedicated birth." I disagree. The trophy is autonomy. The blue ribbon, the first-prize trophy is being able to make decisions based on evidence-based information. The fall of Roe isn't just about abortion. It's about who gets to make choices for us. It's about autonomy and without it, people who can get pregnant are less than full citizens in this country. That is unacceptable to me. Keep fighting. Keep loving. Keep being a force of nature.” . @sugar.to.you
