by Hannah Saunders
The Kawaguchi O’Connor Initiative (KOI) and Stone Soup Crew (SCC) are kicking-off its first “Welcome to the Table,” event on September 12 from 6-9 p.m. at the Cal Anderson Park Shelterhouse. These gatherings are set to take place each month to bring Transgender refugees together for an evening of connection, learning, resource sharing, and relationship building.
“KOI and Stone Soup Crew wanted to create another reliable space where Transgender refugees could come together, eat, breathe for a minute, make connections, and find resources without having to figure everything out alone,” a SCC member told TtS.
The partnership came together naturally, and both KOI and SCC are BIPOC-led organizations that have shared experiences of how to approach this work. KOI assists Trans people with relocating from red and purple states to Washington. SCC provides mutual aid and holds the firm belief that people are deserving of dignity, community, and practical support, rather than judgement.
Last year, SCC created a meal program, which these “Welcome to the Table,” gatherings are a continuation of.
“KOI and Stone Soup Crew came together around these monthly gatherings because we saw a need for something simple, consistent, and deeply human: a place where transgender refugees and other members of our community can sit down, share a good meal, meet one another, and know that someone is there,” the source said.
“So many people in our community are carrying the weight of political rhetoric, uncertainty, displacement, isolation, and the constant feeling that they have to fight just to exist. We want these gatherings to be a small counterweight to that.”
The SCC member said that these dinners will be a source of fun, and be a place where people cannot only engage in conversation and share laughs, but also connect with different resources and learn about available support. They added that no one is required to arrive with a problem that needs a solution, and that it’s crucial these events belong to the community. That means listening to and incorporating feedback in order to grow and adapt.
“For us, this work is about much more than putting food on a table. Stone Soup Crew is a mutual-aid organization rooted in the belief that people deserve dignity, community, and practical support- not judgement or charity,” the source said. “At the end of the night, our hope is pretty simple: that people leave with a full stomach, a lighter heart, a few more connections, and the feeling that they are not alone.”
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