Leaders: Rev. Megan Rohrer and Welcome

The Rev. Megan Rohrer, is a nationally recognized LGBTQ faith leader, historian, writer, homeless advocate, community organizer and speaker. The first openly transgender pastor ordained in the Lutheran church and called by four Lutheran and one Episcopal churches, Megan serves as a missionary to he homeless in San Francisco as the Executive Director of Welcome. Working at Welcome since 2002, Megan has three years of training in using somatic care to heal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and uses these methods of healing trauma in all the programs Megan develops to work with homeless individuals. Megan is also the Growing Home Community Garden Manager at Project Homeless Connect and founded SF Refresh, a series of citywide events that provide free whole body health care in community garden settings that is funded by the Mental Health Services Act in collaboration with the SF Department of Public Health. Recently awarded an honorary doctorate from Palo Alto University, Megan spoke at the 2011 National Conference on Ending Homelessness on a panel entitled: "LGBTQ Youth: Improving Our Responses and Gaining Community Support," won Out History's Since Stonewall Local Histories Competition with an exhibit on the history of trans male mentoring in San Francisco, is the co-editor of Letters For Our Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect and is a contributing advocacy blogger for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Welcome, specializes in listening to the needs of the homeless and hungry, creating innovative programming that creatively engages local communities and faith based organizations to respond to poverty and educating groups around the country about how they can replicate our programs. Our recent projects, the Urban Share Community Gardening Project and Vanguard Revisited have gained attention across the country, been replicated often, received lots of media attention and have been highlighted at HRC's Clergy Call, the National Conference to End Homelessness, the National History Association, the National Queer Arts Festival and both the SF Pride and Trans marches.

Our Vanguard Revisited Project worked with the GLBT Historical Society, Larkin Street Youth Services, the Faithful Fools Street Ministry and the LGBT Center's Youth Program to utilize the local history of GLBT homeless youth from the 1960's to empower, inspire and provide creative outlets for youth to advocate and share their experiences. The project created a magazine, an online exhibit and a national speaking tour that worked with faith groups and LGBT homeless youth living in emergency shelters. Additionally, the project resulted in a youth lead Sleep-In Rally that brought attention to the needs of homeless youth in San Francisco and taught leadership, communication and political skills to the youth, enabling them to voice their needs to local leaders.