The Coalition for Family Harmony, in partnership with Ventura County Youth Equity Initiative, held their 3rd annual Bridging LGBTQ+ Familias event this weekend at Roger Jones Community Center in Oxnard. It was a two-hour event put on for Latinx LGBTQ+ community members and their families, as well as local allies interested in learning how to better support LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones in the Latinx community. An intergenerational panel of Latinx LGBTQ speakers discussed the struggles facing this community and best practices to support them. VC Defensa attended to table the event, provide resources, and continue learning about how to best support our LGBTQ+ community members.

Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ young people say their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ+ policies and legislation. Mental illness is one of the main vulnerabilities these communities face, often manifesting as depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies. These are the all too common consequences of homophobia, transphobia, bullying, feeling invisible, and in some cases being denied by family. Even basic dignities like bathroom safety and identity recognition are often not respected.

Along with these vulnerabilities, we learned about best practices when it comes to providing support and safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people. These were shared with a reminder that we don’t have to wait for the law—we as allies are the ones that need to create a safe space, be respectful, and protect LGBTQ+ people. This is called proactive allyship—we must push back and speak up when we see anti-LGBTQ+ hate. Allyship doesn’t have to come at the expense of our personal safety, but it’s important to support queer community members however we can! Introducing ourselves with our pronouns and asking for other’s pronouns, respecting chosen names, using visibility markers like LGTBQ+ flags can help LGBTQ+ people identify safe environments.

A key theme that shone during the panel discussion was the impact that even ONE person’s support can have. Whether it be a sibling, a partner, or a member of their chosen family, knowing that someone is there to support you, love you and advocate for you is a huge part of one’s journey and makes a difference.

Another key theme was the intersectionality between being Queer and Latinx, along with the damaging assumptions that come with this. For example, if one is part of both of these communities, it’s often assumed that they must be distant from the church, or that their family dislikes them. Although these assumptions can be true, it’s important to remember that everyone has a distinct experience with many layers. It is crucial to approach conversations with curiosity, listen, and understand lived experiences of Queer Latinx community members in order to offer the appropriate support each individual needs.

As the event was coming to an end, the following question was posed:

“How do we continue to build safe spaces?”

One of the panelists answered short and succinctly:

“See something, say something, and ORGANIZE.”

This statement serves as a powerful reminder that creating lasting safety and inclusion for Latinx LGBTQ+ people in our community isn’t just a passive intention, but an active, ongoing commitment we must all carry forward into our daily lives and communities.

VC Defensa attended to table the event, provide resources, and continue learning about how to best support our LGBTQ+ community members. Because LGBTQ+ Latinx individuals often face unique, intersecting challenges, our presence allows us to ensure our community resources are directly accessible to them. While speaking to community members, we learned that many are already familiar with VC Defensa’s work and are enrolled in our neighborhood WhatsApp hubs, sharing how much they rely on these groups for real-time updates and trusted support. Our mission is to support our entire community, which means ensuring our LGBTQ+ members are explicitly included, protected, and advocated for. Being present at this event reinforces our commitment to active allyship and helps us build truly safe, welcoming spaces across all VC Defensa programs.

The Sheriff’s Department performs 2.5 million scans of our community every month using Flock cameras. In 2025, the department’s Flock data was accessed over 350,000 times a month by agencies outside CA, violating state law. They share Flack data with ICE via a state/federal partnership program called the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center.

Many cities have stopped using Flock due to ethical and privacy concerns. Why hasn’t Fryhoff?

Reunión pública con el sheriff del condado de Ventura, Jim Fryhoff ‼️‼️- Miércoles 8/26 a las 6 PM

El Departamento del Sheriff realiza 2,5 millones de escaneos en nuestra comunidad cada mes utilizando cámaras Flock. En 2025, agencias de fuera de California accedieron a los datos de Flock del departamento más de 350.000 veces al mes, infringiendo la ley estatal. Comparten los datos de Flock con el ICE a través de un programa de colaboración estatal y federal llamado Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (Centro
Regional de Inteligencia del Norte de California).

Muchas ciudades han dejado de utilizar Flock debido a preocupaciones éticas y de privacidad. ¿Por qué Fryhoff no lo ha hecho?

🕠 5:30 PM on Tuesday, August 25th (meeting begins at 6).
📍 255 W Stanley Ave, Ventura (on the Board of Education Meeting side, closest door facing Stanley Ave.)
🍎 Please wear red in support of Education Workers!

Thank you for your time in advance! ❤️

There’s a role for everybody! Spread the word, we need to defend our city!

Since the recent state review, another immigration detention facility has opened in California. This brings the total number to eight ‼️

All of these detention centers are operated by private prison companies under federal contracts, with GEO Group running five of the eight facilities.

Inspectors have documented troubling conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center as well as the Desert View Annex in California’s Mojave Desert, both operated by GEO Group.

We invite community members to learn more, take action, and help amplify the demands of the hunger strikers:

• Bond reform
• Improved conditions
• Adequate medical and mental health care
• Nutritious food
• Accountability for deaths in detention
• The right to organize and communicate
• SHUT DOWN ADELANTO

WE ARE HERE BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE
The children of the global south who make up VC Defensa recognize the recent threats on Cuba for what they are: Acts of war designed to create the exact same type of destabilization that forced our families to flee their homelands.

ICE & US IMPERIALISM: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
The United States attempts to destroy the very way of life in Latin America by kidnapping sovereign presidents, dropping bombs, imposing blockades, stealing resources, and massacring striking workers, and then they turn around and create ICE to terrorize the communities who flee the conditions those acts of war create in Latin America. This is the same playbook we have seen time and time again.

LATIN AMERICA IS NOT THE BACKYARD FOR DONALD TRUMP AND HIS BILLIONAIRE FRIENDS!
Ever since the Cuban Revolution, the US has tried to crush the Cuban people via a genocidal blockade, which makes the trade in necessary items like fuel, food, and medicine impossible. The Cuban people pay the price in incalculable huuman suffering and death. The US has decided that the Cuban people must be punished for the crime of standing in opposition to their aggression.

¡ABAJO EL BLOQUEO!
We will always oppose militarized aggression against working people, whether it be in Cuba, Venezuela, Oxnard, Los Angeles, or Minneapolis. Stop the military aggression against Cuba! Break the blockade! ICE off our streets!

Support The Hatuey Project’s campaign to provide medicines for Cuban children with leukemia and lymphoma:
DONATE HERE: www.hatueyproject.org/donate

¡JUNTOS CON EL PUEBLO CUBANO, ABAJO EL BLOQUEO! 🇨🇺

Estados Unidos ha estado asfixiando a Cuba mediante un bloqueo económico durante más de seis décadas. Esta semana, Estados Unidos —en un vergonzoso acto de guerra contra el pueblo cubano— imputó al expresidente Raúl Castro. ¿Su crimen? Defender la integridad territorial de Cuba frente a una organización terrorista con sede en Estados Unidos. ¡Qué vergüenza para el gobierno de Estados Unidos por sus continuos ataques a la soberanía de los pueblos latinoamericanos!

Los hijos del Sur Global que conforman VC Defensa reconocen las recientes amenazas contra Cuba por lo que realmente son: Actos de guerra diseñados para crear exactamente el mismo tipo de campaña de desestabilización que generó las condiciones que obligaron a nuestras familias a huir de sus tierras de origen.

Estados Unidos intenta destruir el propio modo de vida en América Latina secuestrando presidentes soberanos, lanzando bombas, imponiendo bloqueos, robando recursos y masacrando a trabajadores en huelga; y luego, da media vuelta y crea el ICE para aterrorizar precisamente a las comunidades que huyen de las condiciones que estos actos de guerra generan en América Latina. Este es el mismo manual de operaciones que hemos visto una y otra vez.

Desde el triunfo de la Revolución Cubana, Estados Unidos ha intentado aplastar al pueblo cubano mediante un bloqueo genocida, que hace imposible el comercio de artículos de primera necesidad, tales como combustible, alimentos y medicinas. El pueblo cubano paga el precio con un sufrimiento humano incalculable y la pérdida de vidas. Estados Unidos ha decidido que el pueblo cubano debe ser castigado por el crimen de resistir su agresión.

Siempre nos opondremos a la agresión militarizada dirigida contra la clase trabajadora, ya sea en Cuba, Venezuela, Oxnard, Los Ángeles o Minneapolis. ¡Detengan la agresión militar contra Cuba! ¡Levanten el bloqueo! ¡Fuera el ICE de nuestras calles!

Apoye la campaña del Proyecto Hatuey para proporcionar medicinas a los niños cubanos que padecen leucemia y linfoma:
DONE AQUÍ: www.hatueyproject.org/donate

📣 Did that random hobby you wanted to try never take off? Maybe you had to buy a whole pack of supplies to get the one thing you needed? Or have you ever way overestimated how much you would need for a project?

Regardless of how it got there, those art supplies on your shelf are gathering dust and cluttering your space. So bring them to us and take home something you’ll use! Anything left at the end of the night will be stored by VC Artists Against ICE for use in future events and workshops.

Come build community with us and remember to bring some boxes or bags to take home your new supplies!