Here at Beyond These Walls we work to support LGBTQ folks who are incarcerated. We have been hearing stories of police brutality and systemic violence for years, especially from our black members. Violence against black people extends far beyond police- it runs deep into the criminal “justice” system. The system is not broken – it was never intended to work for black people. Police and prisons are not the answer. They never will be. They cannot be fixed. We must rethink the ways in which we achieve justice. We have to rethink the idea of justice and what that means for our society.

Beyond These Walls was founded in 2011 as a project of the National LGBTQ Task Force. We started as a project to send cards to LGBTQ prisoners during the holidays. We decided to try to extend community to our LGBTQ family living behind bars. We did not expect the overwhelming response from prisoners. We received hundreds of letters of thanks and cries for help. As our project grew, our understanding of what prisoners need and were asking for also grew. Over the years we have evolved into a robust community of people offering a number of programs to support LGBTQ prisoners.

We are a Trans led organization with an exclusively LGBTQ staff and advisory committee. We believe in an LGBTQ community without conditions, where we welcome and embrace people trying to be a part of our community, even if they’ve made mistakes. We believe the criminal justice system is inherently flawed and should be completely torn down. We also believe that if people who are locked up are asking us for help right now, we have to answer their calls.

Check out our programs to find out more about what we do.

Beyond These Walls
PO Box 13006
Portland, OR 97213

biff@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
trystan@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
carlee@beyondthesewallslgbt.org

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