Building Rural LGBTQ Community & POWER!

Our strength is in our connections.

Out in the Open connects rural LGBTQ people to build community, visibility, knowledge, and power. Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, working regionally and locally throughout Northern New England and beyond.

Together we are building a resilient community of communities that works toward the transformation of our economic, social, and political relationships. 

Join us in Supporting These Values!

Who says rural isn’t queer? 

Rural places are and should be welcoming homes to people of all genders, identities, and orientations. We live here. LGBTQ people have roots in rural and small-town places everywhere. 

Yes, there are challenges like isolation, access to resources, and socio-economic oppression, but we are here, working to overcome them together. Our roots are strong.

Our communities are strong.

We are a rural trans-led organization, serving the wider rural LGBTQ community. 100% of us at Out in the Open are rural LGBTQ folks. Two-thirds of our staff and board are rural trans folks. 

We Celebrate Resistance. 

We inherit a tradition of radical people making radical change in their communities and the wider world. We strive to honor them through our work as part of that tradition.

We Celebrate Queer Joy!  

Out in the Open creates space for our community to share our passions and seek joy and fun together. Many of us have experienced trauma, rejection, and oppression-- both on a personal and a systematic level-- and we honor that pain. At the same time, this is not our entire story. LGBTQ folks are leaders, facilitators, teachers, and keepers-of-wisdom. We celebrate these gifts and share them with each other. 

We Embrace Connections, Intersections, & Anti-Racism 

All people and the environment have needs that must be met, and actively seek solidarity and collaborations with other organizations and individuals working toward justice. LGBTQ people bring multiple identities to all they do, and honors all aspects of people’s whole selves. We also keep in mind our anti-racist values as we work together toward our collective liberation.

We may be small, and we may live out in the woods or in isolated towns, but together we are powerful! 

Will you join with our rural LGBTQ movement by making a gift today?