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Series of programs hosted by Equality AZ on a variety of topics with experts in the field.
Join Equality Arizona for a series of programs on a variety of topics with experts in the field. With each installment of Ask Smart People Smart Questions, Equality Arizona convenes a panel of experts to talk about the bigger picture of the big issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community in Arizona. Ask Smart People Smart Questions is recorded and published as a podcast feed. Catch up on past discussions at equalityarizona.org/questions.
April — School Governance
With LGBTQ inclusion and support becoming an increasingly incendiary topic in school board meetings across the state, it’s important not to let those debates happen in a vacuum. Over the course of an hour, we’ll cover four big questions about school boards with the goal of adding important context to the conversation.
How is governance distributed in our public education system?
What has been the history of dialogue and debate around public education in Arizona?
Where is the current trend of extremism coming from, and what form does it take?
In what ways does this trend rely on the structure of governance in public education?
May — Substance Use
With LGBTQ+ people more likely to experience mental health issues, homelessness, and harassment, our community reports rates of substance use and abuse at roughly twice that of the overall adult population. Over the course of an hour, we’ll cover four big questions about substance use and policy solutions with the goal of adding important context to the conversation.
What are the major risk factors for LGBTQ+ people?
How has the U.S. policed and regulated substances over time?
How is that changing now, and why? What direction are we headed?
What can we do, practically, to keep our communities safe?
June — Homelessness & the Housing Crisis
Over the course of an hour, we’ll cover four big questions about homelessness and the housing crisis with the goal of adding important context to the conversation.
Who are the players and what are the tensions? (Landlords, developers, homeowners, renters, the insecure, the unhoused, service providers, municipalities, county and state agencies, the state legislature)
Homelessness: Who is left on the outside? How are their needs being met? (LGBTQ+ youth)
Gentrification: How do we balance community health with the need for development? (Gayborhoods)
Solutions: What are people proposing to do about it? What is actually getting done? In which parts of the system?
Tempe Public Library provides the community free access to and assistance with information, resources, spaces, and opportunities.
