Safer Space Policy

The Green House is a nonviolent community committed to raising awareness about social issues, deconstructing oppression, and inciting action while building a diverse and collaborative community. In the effort to create a safe, constructive, and collaborative community any behavior that demeans, marginalizes, or threatens people will not be tolerated. Examples of this are offensive remarks related to a person’s gender, age, sexual orientation, race, culture, physical ability, mental health, general appearance, political association, income status, health, etc. The Green House is a safe space where people of all ages, shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and identifications can come together to engage in an empowering community environment that recognizes our differences as well as our shared experiences as historically disenfranchised communities. We continuously work to be welcoming, engaging, and supportive, and in doing so work to create a space where people can be support for each other while being themselves. As a safe space, there is no tolerance for violence, sexual, physical, and/or mental abuse, domination, coercion, discrimination, or oppressive language and/or behavior. The Green House is a Hate Free Zone! Those unable to maintain respect for diversity and who engage in oppressive behavior will be asked to leave in order to ensure the safety of everyone in the space. In the event that you feel unsafe, please talk to one of the Green House core members, Jake, Ryan, Rhea, Jon, or Leah, in whatever way you feel comfortable...we want to ensure the green house is a safe space...no questions asked.

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Indentation

After our meeting today I can not help but reflect on the growth of the green house and the wonderful community that continues to cultivate through each encounter, each movie night, each gathering, each vision of a workshop (yes they are really truly coming full force soon!) It is beautiful to think about all of the incredible people who have been involved in our vision, a vision of peace and social justice- a vision where doing internal work and ending oppression continues to fuel our fire to be visionary and revolutionary lights of hope and seeds of change on this earth. This month brings more change to the green house, as Ryan will be leaving us to embark on a journey in Oaxaca and then on to other parts of Latin America, taking with him the love and support of many people here, and leaving behind a great impression and inspiration for all of us to continue the struggle for justice and equality, to know whats happening in our neighborhoods, in our country, on our globe. Yes, we will surely miss Ryan!! And in just a couple of months miss Courtney and wonderful Jeffrey will again grace us with their presence and all of the wisdom they have inherited on their journies in South America. Yes, the times they are a changin'.

We also have finally written up our safer space policy...something ya'll should know about! It will be posted throughout the house, here on our lovely new blog, and you will surely see it on the listserve too.

Looking onward to the next encounter....keep on making your magic!

xoxo

Rhea