QARAVAN (former RUSA LGBTQ CORP)

Founded in 2008, QARAVAN (fka RUSA LGBTQ CORP) is a New York City community-based nonprofit organization of LGBTQIA+ people and their allies. Our community comes mainly from the countries of the former Soviet Union. QARAVAN provides a welcoming space and one-to-one support, community building, emergency aid, and integration services for LGBTQIA+ immigrants in Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and beyond. In solidarity with other grassroots groups, QARAVAN builds the power of our community to change unjust policies, discriminatory societal attitudes, and oppressive ideologies to create a more equitable world. After 15 years as a community-based volunteer group, QARAVAN registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2022 to better respond to drastically increased community needs. We are a grassroots organization. Our teams of dedicated volunteers run various programs supporting our community members. We have two part-time coordinators who receive small stipends. Our board of directors, volunteers, and program coordinators are all refugees and immigrants. As a direct result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the Russian government's banning of transgender medical care and designating the “international LGBTQ movement” as “extremist” in 2023, the number of Eurasian asylum seekers in NYC has recently increased exponentially. Through direct and indirect engagement, QARAVAN serves an estimated 4000 people annually. We are in the process of rebranding the organization, including changing the legal documents, social media handles, and other communications.

A core group of volunteers has led QARAVAN since its founding as a grassroots community organization in 2008. Fourteen years later, QARAVAN elected its first Board and was registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation in June 2022. In 2023, a thousand new asylum seekers joined QARAVAN’s moderated chat channels, events, and Pride marches, and received direct assistance through referrals and orientations. Additionally, QARAVAN engaged and served an estimated 3000 people indirectly through informational newsletters, social media, and online guides and resources. QARAVAN is seeking to increase capacity through stronger volunteer engagement to widen QARAVAN's existing response to this increased LGBTQIA+ community and their needs through: one-to-one Rainbow Connections program; weekly in-person community meetings; mental health support group; referrals to social services (HASA and others); referrals to English classes; accompaniment to services; translation, and interpretation; advocacy for people in shelters who experience issues with health, harassment, food and clothes; mutual aid; legal orientations; social outings and art programs. We also organize the annual Bright Beach Pride to increase the visibility of the Eurasian LGBTQIA+ community and advocate for their rights in the Russian-speaking parts of Brooklyn.