First D.C. LGBTQ Emergency Training event called success
About 25 representatives of local LGBTQ organizations turned out on April 5 for the first in what is expected to be a series of LGBTQIA+ Emergency Preparedness Training sessions offered by the D.C.
Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. “It was about a two and a half to three-hour training intended for our LGBTQ nonprofits,” said Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Affairs Office. “And we will host more trainings targeting specific audiences in our community, including our businesses and nightlife folks, particularly in the lead up to Pride month in June,” Bowles said.
In an interview with the Washington Blade on Tuesday, Bowles and Chris Rodriguez, director of the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, known as HSEMA, said the training is aimed at helping LGBTQ organizations take steps to minimize potential threats of violence and to recognize behaviors by individuals who may pose a potential threat.
Rodriguez said among other things, the trainers informed participants that as nonprofit groups they are eligible for security grants offered by the U.S.
