Annual Appeal Waves Ahead - Dona a Waves Ahead Puerto Rico

“Thank you for providing me and all others like me a safe space to come together. Before I felt alone and now I enjoy the support group, while learning mindfulness techniques that I can apply every day, plus all of the other social activities for the members.”

— Josuelo, a 62 year old gay man and Waves Ahead client

Since our founding in 2017, Waves Ahead PR has been integral in transforming the lives of LGBTQ+ Puerto Ricans through programs including:

• Descúbrete, a micro-enterprise program, which has helped 63 LGBTQ+ Puerto Ricans start their own business or their community-based organizations.
• Reconstruye Q has rebuilt 21 residences and three businesses following the destruction of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
• Expresate!: The Resiliency Mental Health Program has delivered thousands of counseling hours to LGBTQ+ people and their allies to attend to the mental health crisis of our communities.
• Empoderate: advocacy and training program on LGBT+ elder issues plus twice per year academies empowering allies and members of the community.
• Community building with the opening of five LGBTQ+ centers in underserved regions of Puerto Rico such as Cabo Rojo, Loiza, Isabela, and Maunabo, while we continue to offer holistic services from our central offices in San Juan to the whole island. 

We hope this Annual Appeal finds you in good health.  Today, I’d like to share with you the exceptional progress Waves Ahead has made in 2023, and tell you about the grim new challenges faced by marginalized and vulnerable LGBTQ+ seniors across Puerto Rico. 

2023 was paradoxical: Our ability to serve the LGBTQ+ community has expanded substantially thanks to people like you and the relentless work of Waves Ahead staff and volunteers. Simultaneously, we face a historic backlash due to increasing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, largely influenced by forces and wealthy donors opposed to equality and fairness.

In 2023, we committed over $150,000 to support our community in Puerto Rico.  This investment has reached 274 participants every month for a total of over 1,240 individual participants (as of this writing).  While donations have remained at the same level as in the past, through our hard work, we increased the services we provide to the community by 42%. 

But these top-line numbers don’t tell the whole story; here’s what that support looks like in action:  

·       We established the first community Center of its kind in the town of Isabela, providing services to the LGBTQ+ community and elders in the northwest region of Puerto Rico.

●      We began Fresas y Chocolate, a weekly support group for gay and bisexual men. 

●      We signed an agreement with the town of Isabela to restore 30 one-bedroom units of supportive housing designed for LGBTQ+ older adults. This project is in its beginning phase and should be completed during 2025.

●      We began the remodeling and construction of Soraya’s Shelter. We are well on our way to having the first shelter of its kind in Puerto Rico focused on the LGBTQ+ older adult. 

●      We have been approved to provide transportation to and from services in the towns of Maunabo and Cabo Rojo. To make this happen, we’re acquiring two vans that should be received by early 2024. When they’re in place, we expect that they’ll enable those who couldn’t access services to having a reliable connection to help and community.

The bottom line is this: Donations from allies like you beget more resources.  When we can demonstrate our ability to create change with the funding we receive, it instills trust in the organization with our funders who are helping us develop the capacity not just to serve, but to thrive. 

Look at the proof: We welcomed eight new members to Waves Ahead staff who are now serving people across our five Community Centers, enabling us to increase support to participants in Cabo Rojo, Maunabo, and Isabela.  We exponentially increased our visibility thanks to our collaborations with groups like SER de Puerto Rico, One Stop Career Center, Taller Salud, local Food Bank, and Paz para la Mujer. These partnerships build support among new allies, making our on-the-ground fundraising events more successful and help those who need us most connect with our services.

But our successes have not come without incredible challenges.

More than ever, safety has become a top priority for our organization.  As our profile and work has become more prominent, opposition to LGBTQ+ equality has targeted Waves Ahead. 

This summer, amid the celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, The District (an event space in San Juan) was pressured by local elected officials seeking headlines and demanded we omit performances by drag and trans artists in order to be welcomed into their space.  

Waves Ahead didn’t back down.

We declined to meet their exclusionary demands because no one in our community should be relegated to the shadows. We declined because we know that representation is critical to promoting dialogue and engaging new allies. We declined to exclude these performances because by standing strong, Waves Ahead is supporting these members of marginalized communities and providing them with a much-needed platform on our island.  

Our courage came with a high cost. We moved the event to a welcoming space, but our resistance led to losing much-needed institutional and government support. It also led to threats of violence against staff and attendees, requiring us to spend thousands of unbudgeted dollars to hire security to ensure everyone at the Pride event was safe. This attempt at intimidation and censorship wasn’t isolated, and it is putting an increasing strain on our purse that taxes our ability to deliver life-saving services.

My friends, we are at a historical moment for the LGBTQ+ community in Puerto Rico. And we literally cannot do this without your ongoing funding of this life-saving work.

If you believe in:

●       Ensuring that our LGBTQ+ elders are provided with support and community;

●       Building the financial well-being of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs on the island;

●       Creating communities that are safe for our transgender loved ones; and

●       Resisting U.S.-funded attacks on the LGBTQ+ population in Puerto Rico…

We need your contributions today!

We believe that the work that Waves Ahead is doing on the ground will overcome any threats to the hard-fought rights earned by our community, but we have a fierce fight ahead of us. Please give today to ensure that we can save lives and liberate spirits in the LGBTQ+ community of Puerto Rico.

Together, we can change lives. Together, we can express our pride. Together, we can build a stronger and more inclusive Puerto Rico for everyone. Be part of this by supporting Waves Ahead today.

For more information and details, contact us at waves@wavesahead.org or call us at 787-940-8851. We accept legacy endowments and gifts.

www.wavesahead.org

Thank you for supporting our work! En Solidaridad y con Orgullo SIEMPRE!