Gaye Monet (from left), Camilla Crush, Regina B. Itch, and Tara Dikov posing after their performances at the Hope Packages Drag Revue. Photo: Hope Packages.
Thank you to the community for making the first Hope Packages Drag Revue a fabulous success! As we build a fight-back movement to defeat recent attacks on LGBTQ and all oppressed people, we can’t neglect one of the key ingredients to our movement: community! The community turnout for our first Drag Revue affirmed there is joy in struggle!
Not only was the show an absolute blast, with every seat filled for show-stopping performances by four talented queens, but we raised enough money to fully fund a month’s worth of organizing aid for our unhoused and homeless neighbors in Indy! This money goes toward providing food, water, hygiene items, bags, bus passes, and other necessities, as well as helping our project move into a larger office so we can expand our operations.
Hope Packages, founded by Indy10 Black Lives Matter and PSL Indianapolis, is not a charity but a political mutual aid organization, meaning we aren’t afraid to be political about the capitalist system that causes the housing injustice at the root of the deep need our packages address. Because we won’t waver on that principle, we’re entirely funded by donations and supported by the efforts of everyday people like you. As we heard during the show, the aid we provide is especially important for LGBTQ+ people, particularly youth, oppressed races, and oppressed nationalities.
Queer people are at a much higher risk of losing access to housing, and much of what little assistance is available to people in need is from religion-based charities that discriminate by gender, sexuality, and age. We celebrate drag artistry not only to fund the aid our community needs, but to connect the queer rights struggle and the housing justice struggle as one fight, united!
At the end of the show, one drag queen shared why the event was important to her:
“My sister has been in and out of prison and homelessness her entire adult life, and she just recently got out again. She is finally getting her own place and a stable job, and I’m actually going to her place after this to help her out. She’s lucky to have a supportive family who is there for her no matter what, but many people don’t. Hope Packages is there for the people who don’t. Thank you, you’re doing important work.”
– Regina B. Itch
If you missed out on the show, you can check our Facebook and Instagram pages for photos and help us out by donating to Hope Packages through our PayPal, Venmo, or purchasing something from our wish list. Just as importantly, you can volunteer your time and share about our growing project with everyone you know!
