Due to stubbornly high rates of cancer, the 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans has become known as “Cancer Alley.” This corridor is home to more than 200 petrochemical plants and refineries.

On the one hand, significant gains have been made in creating supportive family and community environments where young people can explore and express their gender identity and sexuality. On the other hand, the experiences of trans and nonbinary youth have been weaponized by conservatives who are fanning the flames of the culture wars, as laws banning gender-affirming care and appropriate health services for trans and nonbinary youth have been proposed and passed in numerous red states.

It has become abundantly clear that the people being harmed the most by the climate crisis – communities of color, migrant populations, people living in poverty– are being hit from multiple sides.

Between early 2020 and the summer of 2022, Silence Speaks partnered with individuals and groups around the world to support online community-building and the sharing of pandemic experiences.