Welcome back to another episode of the Digible Dudes podcast. In the past episodes, we’ve been covering extensively about fair housing and equal treatment to everybody when it comes to housing. The LGBTQ community has been experiencing issues related to equal opportunities in housing. Joining us today is Michael Crews, the policy director for Once Colorado, a pioneer organization in advocacy for policies related to the LGBTQ community. Throughout the episode, we talk about One Colorado’s mission, where we stand with regards to policies, fair housing challenges, overcoming discrimination, and more.
Michael started his career in the government policy advocacy space as a summer intern at the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. Over the years, Michael has worked in many different roles related to government policy advocacy. We talk about his career journey and how he came to be a director at One Colorado. One Colorado is dedicated to promoting and advocating equality to the LGBTQ community. Michael shares with us the history of the organization and some of the areas of focus for One Colorado.
In their line of work, Once Colorado collects data via surveys and other methods to assess the issues that the LGBTQ community is facing. We dive deep into the strategies they use for data collection and processing and to ensure the data represents the community effectively. Furthermore, Michaels weighs in on the data they’ve gathered that indicates how wide the LGBTQ community is.
Moving into fair housing, we talk about some of the issues the LGBTQ community faces when it comes to housing. Michael dives deep into some of these issues, possible causes, and how more policies could be put in place to ensure more fair treatment to the LGBT community in the housing market. Wrapping up the episode, Michael shares his thoughts on how modern technology has influenced the LGBTQ community and how to overcome divisiveness in a community.
[09:10] Michael’s Journey – We start the conversation with Michael’s background and the path to working in LGBTQ advocacy.
[12:31] One Colorado – The story of how One Colorado was started, a brief review of its history, and the focus of the organization.
[17:36] Colorado and the Rest of the Country – Michael talks about where Colorado stands in comparison with other states in terms of policies related to the LGBTQ community.
[21:31] Data Collection – Once Colorado conducts a significant amount of surveys to assess the needs of the community. We talk about One Colorado’s data collection processes and how they’re optimized to reach the LGBTQ community effectively.
[27:40] Population – Michael breaks down the numbers of how broad the LGBTQ community is.
[30:00] Fair Housing – Michael shares his thoughts on where we are at in terms of fair housing and housing equality for the LGBTQ community and some of the legislations related to fair housing.
[37:03] Housing Challenges – Some of the housing-related challenging situations people in the LGBTQ community have to face.
[45:14] Impact of Technology – Michael shares his take on the positive and negative ways technology has influenced and impacted the LGBTQ community.
[51:00] National Level Support – Michael’s thoughts on the level of support the LGBTQ community gets in terms of policies and legislation.
[56:47] Overcoming Divisiveness – Some of the factors that contribute to divisiveness in a community and how One Colorado inspires the community to stick together and stay strong.
[1:04:29] Final Thoughts – Michael shares his thoughts on what business organizations can do to increase the support for their customers and employees in the LGBTQ community and how people can get involved with One Colorado and other similar organizations.
