G.L.I.T.S.: The story of a home 30 years in the making
How Ceyenne Doroshow created sustainable, safe housing, and is cultivating the next generation of Black transgender leaders in the process
This post is part of the People & Company team’s ongoing research into exceptional communities that are bridging the gaps between us. P&C is a strategy company that helps organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider make smart bets with their community-building investments.
If you enjoyed this interview, you can learn more about our services and reach out here.
“In creating a home, I’m creating sustainability. And I’m creating excellence within the people that I’ll be housing.”- Ceyenne Doroshow
Ceyenne Doroshow is an author, activist, and the founder and executive director of G.L.I.T.S., an organization dedicated to creating sustainable housing and healthcare for Black transgender people. In serving her community, Ceyenne has become “the parent that she desperately wanted as a child” for people around the world. At an early age, Ceyenne identified as transgender and faced a world lacking even the language to understand the experience of a trans person.
In June 2020, Ceyenne co-organized the historic Liberation March, a Black Trans Lives Matter silent march in Brooklyn, NY. At the march, Ceyenne announced to a crowd of more than 15,000 people that G.L.I.T.S. had raised more than $1 million to secure stable housing for Black trans New Yorkers.
Through providing both housing and education, Ceyenne is investing in the next generation of Black transgender leaders. We talk with her about the structure and language she has given to the G.L.I.T.S. community at large to create more leaders.
You can listen to the full episode here:
In our book, “Get Together: How to build community with your people,” we share a framework to spark, stoke, and scale community. Ceyenne offers insights into each of the three steps: sparking the flame, stoking the fire and passing the torch.
A clear WHO and WHY.
From the onset of Ceyenne’s work, she was clear on WHO she wanted to support: Black transgender people.
The reason WHY she does this work is personal. She’s stepping into the role of “the parent that she desperately wanted as a child” by supporting and empowering others. Specifically, Ceyenne believes that “housing is healthcare.” Access to housing and education to housing can transform lives and society.
With a strong hunch about who G.L.I.T.S. wants to empower and why the community is organizing, they are better equipped to decide what dream to pursue together.
Creating structure with the community.
Once members move into their new homes, Ceyenne shared that the community’s social contract would be “developed by the community and not me.”
In designing these shared agreements with the community, Ceyenne is empowering both the members and leaders to create a home that feels like their own.
Vetting leaders.
Ceyenne talked about the rigorous application process her and her team are designing to find leaders who are going to live and help build the G.L.I.T.S. house culture with her.
“I’m going to want an essay to what leadership looks like,” Ceyenne explained. By having an application process, Ceyenne and her team identify who the excellent future leaders she’s seeking. These passionate, remarkable future leaders will fuel the broader impact of the G.L.I.T.S. community, extending the group’s reach well beyond the home they now share.
This interview is part of the People & Company team’s ongoing research into exceptional communities that are bridging the gaps between us. P&C is a strategy company that helps organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider make smart bets with their community-building investments. Learn more about what we do and how we work with organizations.
To hear more of our interviews with people organizers, subscribe to our newsletter and podcast, “Get Together.”
We’ve also written a handbook called Get Together: How to build a community with your people. You can order your copy here.
