October 13, 2025 • 27 mins
In this episode of Joyously Free!, host Joanie Lindenmeyer talks with Jayden Ruff, director of the South Coast Health Equity Coalition, and Grust Hernandez about advancing equity and justice from a queer perspective. The episode explores the transformative impact of community advocacy, the significance of safe and affirming spaces, and the importance of supporting marginalized […]
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Episode Transcript
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(00:10):
Hi, and welcome, KCIW listeners at one hundred
point point seven and, of course, the website
kciw.org,
Brookings, Oregon. And, of course, let's welcome our
syndicated listeners at KZZH
ninety six point seven FM Access Humboldt, Eureka,
California.
Yes. This is joyously free with me. None
better than the best selling author, Joni Lindenmaier.
(00:32):
I'm so glad you are tuning in today.
I'm a 34 year old resident of Harbor,
Oregon, a retired Del Norte High School teacher
from Crescent City, and a twenty twenty five
Lambda nominated author who has published three books
in two years and with an audiobook in
my own voice also of none better. I
love life and love helping the producer and
the host of this show. So let's begin
(00:53):
with our morning salutation.
I'm gonna say it's a brand new day,
and you get to please respond with it's
never been lived before. Let's give it a
try.
It's a brand new day. It's never been
lived before.
Wait till you meet our guests today. They
are on it. So this radio gatio show,
as Will and Viv named it, is a
show that talks about LGBTQ
(01:14):
plus stories and tips along with religion, church,
faith, spirituality, and joy. Simply, it's about joy
and freedom, which is also the name of
my book, joyously free, that I coauthored with
Elizabeth Ann Atkins.
In this radio broadcast, just as in my
life every single day, there is no hate
speech,
no hate behaviors, and no bullying.
(01:35):
This will be blasted with the three c's,
courage, confidence, and collaboration.
Together this morning, let's seek understanding.
Think out of the box. Be open minded
as an open parachute.
My guests are sitting right across from me,
and I can't wait to get into them.
But first off, we need to open our
hearts.
Let's ask our creator
to shine light on our community and our
(01:56):
world.
I excitedly believe in hope, in the power
of the divine, and that Jesus, god, whatever
name you put on a higher being is
always with me and always with you.
So we do not need to be afraid
or troubled,
saddened or depressed.
Joy and peace are an internal expression of
love and harmony that is already within us,
(02:18):
and we only have to reach deep within
and let it out.
All is well with my soul.
So let's center ourselves.
Take a deep breath in
with the good
and out
with doubt.
Again, breathe in through your nose with hope
(02:38):
and out from your mouth with fears.
Last one.
Take a big deep breath in
with joy
and out with worry or despair.
In the name of mother Earth,
our creator,
our redeemer, and the blowing winds of the
holy spirit, we say, good morning.
(03:01):
Thank you for being with us, holy one,
on this beautiful day.
My quote today is from Lauryn Hill's song.
And let me read it. I'll probably read
it twice if I don't burst into tears.
I love this. And this came from our
guest speaker who uses it a lot on
Facebook.
The quote is,
let me be patient.
(03:22):
Let me be kind.
Make me unselfish
without being blind.
I'm gonna read that one more time, listeners.
Let me be patient.
Let me be kind.
Make me unselfish
without being blind.
When I read this a few days ago,
I said I've gotta take it to my
meditation in the morning, and that's what I
(03:43):
did this morning, looking out my living room
window at the ducks and the chickens and
the flowers and the green trees. And it
was like, yes. Let me be patient with
those that I don't always understand.
Let me be kind, kinder than ever. Let
me deliver my zucchini bread to people. Let
me deliver flowers to people. Let me, please,
smile more for people.
(04:05):
Let me be unselfish
without being blind.
I love this quote, and I hope that
you can listen and write it down or
make it hit your heart as well so
that you can be more patient today, more
kind today,
and unselfish without being blind.
Oh, dear God, thank you for being with
us. Thank you for always lifting us up.
(04:26):
Please lift our friends and our family.
May creator God guidance
guide us and heal us.
Thank you for hearing us, and we pray
all this
in his name, her name, their name. Amen.
Oh my gosh. So here we go, everybody.
I have sparkly
Jaden Ruff sitting right next to me. Beautiful
(04:48):
hoop earrings,
decked out in gorgeous bracelets, and the nails
on her fingers must be three feet long,
and they are decked out with sparkles and
glitter that is just fabulous.
Around the corner from Jaden is Grest. And
Grest Hernandez is just sparkling too, also with
some pretty cool heart earrings. So today is
(05:09):
going to be a beautiful heart day. Jaden
is the director of the South Coast Health
Equity Coalition.
Our topic today is
voices of equity and justice.
And so, Jaden and Grust, welcome to the
show of joyously free. Oh my gosh.
Yes.
I'm I'm
(05:30):
one, thank you. Thank you. And did not
know that I needed that intro,
but I needed that intro. And so really
grateful of you summoning and bringing our ancestors
and ancestors into the space with us this
morning. So
I am really excited, and you two are
sparkling. I want that necklace. You know? I'm
trying to contain myself. But, yeah, thank you
(05:51):
so much for having us today. Oh, thank
you. Thank you so much. And it is
my privilege and my honor to have you
here, both of you. Yes. So so first
off, how are you today?
I'm doing good. I I I mean, last
night yesterday was my first day back from
a retreat, and so Monday was a Monday.
Uh-huh. I got down got done, and I
(06:11):
was like, okay. I'm exhausted. But I woke
up this morning feeling really refreshed and had
an opportunity to drive down the one on
one, which is always great when we get
out of the community and can just
be grounded in nature and also just, like,
looking at our creator just showing off with
the blue skies and the blue oceans and
things like that. So it's it's just really
awesome. Right. And the drive from Coos Bay
(06:31):
is only a couple hours. Yeah. Just only
a couple hours. And great visiting time as
well. Yes. We were dancing. I was rapping.
Gruss was the DJ. I mean, shout out
to her, her I don't know if it's
Spotify or any of those things, but got
the tunes. Got it. And I was a
couple times, I was like, okay. You're gonna
be DJing at my wrist at my wedding
reception. Woo hoo. I love it. I love
(06:52):
it. Way to go. Way to go. So
speaking of all that, would you tell us
just a little bit about who you are,
where you've been, where you I don't know.
Just throw out who you hate. Oh oh
my gosh. Well, first off, my name is
Jaden. My pronouns are sheher.
I hail from
the South Georgia. I always say South Georgia.
(07:13):
You know, most of the times when I
say, like, I'm from Roberta, Georgia,
you always have to, like, say
oh, you always have to say, like, oh,
like,
Macon, Fort Valley because it's a small two
red light town, but, like, we have the
best peaches, and we're known for the best
peaches. And so I'm originally from South Georgia
and
(07:34):
have been,
in Oregon.
Oh, it'll be ten years in October. Oregon
was supposed to be a month,
like,
staycation,
and it turned into ten years. And so,
I mean,
that's just because I found my space.
Mhmm. I found the place and, yeah. Like,
so all the things that make me me,
(07:54):
like, I show up and I take up
space. I've been because I have been poured
into and taught that that's an important thing,
you know, especially when we talk about having
a sense of belonging, liberation, and just existing.
Right? You know? And so,
but my experience has been,
advocating. So I first started advocating.
(08:16):
I had this small organization called Operation Cruz
County where, like, we would do,
it was I I I forget, like, how
I phrased it, but, like, I would be
a connector because what I saw was a
lot of community spaces that happened behind the
scenes.
Decisions were being made about people's lives, and
(08:36):
no one none of the community members were
at the table. And so what I started
doing was inviting people to those spaces,
or being in those spaces and sharing out
to community and using my platform that I
was, that I was doing. But a whole
lot of,
a whole lot of volunteerism
and,
as a one of the core,
(08:56):
pride planners for Southern Oregon Coast Pride, me
and Laura kind of started out. And once
we planned pride for the first time, we
said our community
can't just be a community where we only
have a celebration.
Like, we need to be, advocating for systems
and policy change, and we may need to
be,
creating spaces for people to be connected and
(09:17):
feel connected. And so that really was the
catalyst for, like, the work that I do
today
as the director of the, one of nine
regional health equity coalitions, across the state of
Oregon, Southern Oregon Coast Pride not Southern Oregon
Coast Pride, but South Coast Health Equity,
comes in and we do that deep community
work.
(09:37):
You know? I mean, talk about accountability.
Talk about, like,
just showing up in community and asking community,
how would you like us to show up?
And
being
being very invested in just continuing to show
up, you know, with no expectations
and really leaning into our deep relationships that
(09:57):
we have with community.
And so from there, we have, like
we are a organization that leads Juneteenth plannings
across our region. Would you explain that people
who don't know what that is? So Juneteenth,
June well, one, we always say that, like,
it's the family reunion because we know that,
like, due to displacement from slavery,
(10:19):
family reunions were a way
to advertise but also connect with family that
you possibly
had lost. And so Juneteenth signifies
when the Emancipation Proclamation
was made.
We know today that it did not free
all of the slaves. And so Juneteenth celebration,
June 19,
signifies when
(10:40):
when Union soldiers came down to Texas in
Galveston and said,
these folks are free. You know? And so
it's a really and and from there,
it was a really, it signifies, like, the
hardship that African Americans and black African Americans
have, have experienced, but also, like, the joy,
(11:01):
that has kept us going. You know? And
so, like, when we think about, like, liberation,
we also get to, like, provide context around,
like, who's liberation. Yeah. And, you know, we
can't talk about liberation without having the historical
context. So a part of our work is
really doing that deep truth telling,
where we have to talk about the things,
you know. And in doing that, it really
(11:22):
deepens my accountability, our accountability to the community
that we serve. So having Juneteenth and most
people would be like, what's the point of
having Juneteenth in Oregon? Oregon has ex has
a history of exclusionary. Right? And so when
we think about,
not just exclusionary laws, but Coos Bay specifically
has the only documented,
(11:43):
documented lynching
of a person. And his name is mister
Alonzo Tucker. And what we what our work
is not just making
the the way that he was the way
that he died his life story. This person
was a boxer. He was a business owner.
He was a friend. He was a cousin.
He was a brother, you know. And,
we humanize. And so we've been doing that
(12:04):
deep work,
in Coos Bay. And when we started the
Equity Coalition, it was like, well, if we
have it in Coos, we need to have
it in, we need to have it in
Brookings, in Curry. And so but I know,
like, one of the things that we know
is
Curry
is gonna take care of Curry. Yes. What
I know that what I know to be
(12:24):
true is because they
experience
people saying, well, we serve Curry and we
serve Cousc, and then you don't really see
them actually serving Curry. Right. And so our
communities were like, no. We need you to
show up, you know. And I remember when
I was, I used to facilitate a space
with some community partners and,
maybe like
(12:45):
close to eight months in,
they came in there and things were happening
in community. And, and they came in
and they said, girl, can you close that
laptop? If you know and I turned off
the Zoom. I closed the laptop, and we
had real conversations.
Yeah. And when they all left, I was
like, what a privilege to be trusted. Absolutely.
And to look somebody in the eye and
(13:07):
listen before you're speaking,
basics manners as well. But that opens up
that you're important. You're an important person. Yes.
Yes. Yes. And so,
it reinforces the accountability thing. And so,
right now, like, we have black student unions
in Marshall High School and in Brookins Harbor
High School.
We have,
(13:28):
weekly programs and things like that, and we
would not have been able to have that
if we didn't engage community in the way
that we did, you know,
and showing up not just for community, but
also for our community partners.
I'm big on, like, what does community partnership
look like? Yeah. It every person that I
work with needs something different. And so,
(13:50):
we like to throw a blanket term on
it, but our work as practitioners is to
be, wait, what do what do we actually
need? You know, because every relationship, every person,
needs different things. And so when we think
about how to
advance equity, you know, and health equity,
it's not just what happens in the hospital
or what happens in policy and systems. If
(14:11):
I am not feeling seen or feel safe
in my community,
how will I even feel safe going into
the doctor or, like, having them listen to
me. Right? And so,
it's both and. It's it's not a period.
It's a comma and then something else and
then a comma.
And so when we start looking at how
to weave together the social determinants of health
(14:32):
and, like, how we show up in our
communities and what they need, like, we always
say, like, we don't just advocate for community.
Like, we advocate with alongside,
and it's really just, like I love the
quote because Maya Maya Angelou says,
I come as one, but I come as
10,000.
You know? Like, I'm bringing all of them
in spaces that we that we take up
(14:54):
and say, well, our communities
is experiencing this. They've told us this. Yep.
You know, and trusting that community wisdom. And
so it's been really cool, and I I
wanna just,
send it out. Like, if if Gress wants
to Let let me ask let me ask
a question, and maybe it's gonna go with
with Gress there. Mhmm.
So your lived experiences
(15:15):
and our ancestors and our parents, grandparents,
siblings, cousins,
all help us to be who we are.
Grest, where are you from, and how long
have you been in Oregon? And what's your
part in this community partnership?
I've been in Oregon for
(15:36):
about
over a year now. And I I came,
before I was here, I was in Colorado.
And I came to Oregon, and I had
really
no plans for anything. And I started showing
up to one of the programs, and that's
how I got involved in, like, everything.
And
I've just been I've just adored Oregon ever
(15:57):
since. And the people then. Yes. So much.
Right. Yeah. And so I had attended one
of the programs,
for
our,
our queers and ally,
group that we have.
And
now that's currently, like, one of the programs
(16:18):
that I help facilitate.
And so I show up every Thursday, and
I kind of lead that group.
Awesome. And so it's been such an experience,
like, coming from, like, just attending
Mhmm. To run into things. Mhmm. Mhmm. Well
and and thank goodness we have it. And
it's thank goodness to what you all do
that makes it available for who anybody who
(16:38):
wants to come. And it's it's an open
door. Talk about a seat at the table.
Oh my gosh. You know? What do you
enjoy the most about being a part of
that?
Just being community, having people show up, and
giving them a place. Because so often I
hear, like, people don't have anywhere and they
don't really you know, there's not really many
spaces. Like, my best friend that,
(17:03):
that was, like, one of, like, the only
time she would leave the house was to
attend that group.
Mhmm. And so just give just giving her
that space is so it's just it has
been, like, life saving. And liberating. Mhmm. And
liberating. And I heard, Jaden mentioned that word
several times today. Liberating,
equity, justice.
You know? You know, going back to that,
(17:24):
I I know that you're also from Detroit,
and you have connections there Mhmm. From a
big city to small rural Oregon.
Do you see any difference in liberation or
equity or justice?
I mean, I think,
you know, we come from people that have
had to be creative.
You know? I I I think sometimes, like,
(17:47):
that is missed in in the social justice
and things and and all of the stuff
is, like, we have had to be creative
people and oftentimes
making something out of nothing,
or creating I mean, creating
spaces and Thursdays where,
you know, it first starts with us and
then it's like, oh my gosh. Like, I'm
(18:07):
not the only person that needed this space
as well. And so, yeah, I've had experiences
from Georgia to Detroit.
And,
yeah, like, it is way different because when
I lived in so I'm originally from rural
community, then we moved to the city.
Whether it was in rural community or whether
it was in the city, when I was
(18:27):
looking for
affirmations to affirm who I was, I did
not have access. Right? And so I think
sometimes
when we think about, like, what the big
city can provide,
like, sometimes, like, when I came out, you
you know, I was the only person in
my class. And
luckily, like, I had my best friend had
(18:47):
at the time had just came out. And
so but then, like, when they moved, I
was the only person, you know? And we
didn't have, like,
what would have and and I think, like,
that was the thing too of, like, when
I first came to Oregon,
I had been a part of, like, I
was a gay mom. I had gay kids.
And I, I was a part of, like,
the Atlanta gay scene and things like that.
(19:09):
And so I had community.
When I came to Coos Bay, I was
like,
where first off, where are the black people?
And then also, like, where are, like, the
LGBTQ?
Like, where are my people? Where are my
community? Right. And,
I remember seeing on
Facebook,
there was a,
(19:30):
like, a flyer floating around. And I was
like, okay. Like, there's, like, an a like,
an adult, like, link up, you know.
And it was a barbecue, and I missed
the barbecue. And then I was like, what
I saw a flyer where it was like,
well, we'll be at this church basement. You
know, we always in a church basement or,
you know, like, when we're when we're starting,
when we're finding spaces. But
(19:52):
when I walked into the room, it was,
youth. It was kids.
And I don't know, like, I paused and
I like, baby Jaden, like, that inner child
was like, woah.
Woah.
And so, like,
that was one of the things that kept
(20:12):
me. That hooked me. Q and a. Right?
Uh-huh.
Being in that being in that space, being
in in in also, like, being of service.
So, like, we were in in those spaces
where, like, sometimes,
youth will be getting their job for the
first time. And so we're helping support writing
resumes,
or they were navigating through, systems. And so
and we always used to take the kids
(20:33):
up to Portland every year,
for pride.
And what we found was
we were like,
how often do we have to leave community
in order to find community?
Mhmm. Mhmm. You know? And so what would
it look like with us flipping back Mhmm.
And bringing all the things here? Mhmm. And
so whenever I go into communities outside of
(20:53):
Coos Bay, outside of Curry well, Coos and
Curry Counties,
they're like, wait. Y'all have that there? Mhmm.
And I'm like, yeah. You know? Right. And
because we need them. We, like, we know
that we're everywhere. Right. And so having those
spaces were definitely reduces,
isolation, but it's justice.
Right. You know, like, it's justice. And we
know that we have had to
(21:15):
operate outside of those systems because those systems
were not they were built intentionally
structural,
structure to keep us outside of. You know?
And so what way of liberation to
say, I don't I can't be in that
space, but I'm a create my own. Right.
We're gonna create our own. Yeah. I I
love what you're saying because community is dear
to my heart. Mhmm.
(21:37):
From from sports to joining the convent, which
is a community. Yes. You know? Yes. And
then when you when you come out to
yourself and then you come out to other
people and you find your tribe, you find
your people, you find your community, that is
so joyously free. And, I
I I just I I can totally relate.
Totally relate. And that joyously free is a
(21:58):
big part of that because when you feel
comfortable, you feel safe, and you can just
be you,
there's nothing better. Do you wanna comment on
that? Yeah. I think that was, like I
think what,
what Russ said earlier about it being life
saving.
Like, I did not know
that I could have
(22:18):
liberation in the way that I have it
today
because I had lived life,
based on the opinions of others
in requiring
me to get my worth, my value,
everything defined. And what it end up being
was everybody around me was happy or looked
happy, and I was miserable. Mhmm. I was
unhappy, but I just also, like,
(22:40):
when we come out, like, our like, some
of the experiences are great. Like, mine was
not that. It was really traumatic,
and I lost a lot of people in
a matter of a day. Right? And that
was the day, like, one of the one
of the days, where my world changed. Mhmm.
And so being able
being at a point where, like, I was,
like, it's either
(23:01):
do this,
like, choose you for the very first time
in the way that you've never chose it,
which choosing you should not even be radical,
but it is. Right?
And so when you talk about joyously free,
like, I had to I I remember going
into spaces after transitioning and being like,
oh my gosh, I'm so nervous to go
(23:21):
into the grocery store. Right. Or, oh my
gosh, like, we're conditioned to, like, leave the
house a certain type of way when you
are, like, trans woman, like, the makeup, the
things like that. And I got, a tattoo
where it says, to thine own self be
true.
And it was like I had been
It's beautiful. So much wrapped up in people,
(23:42):
places, and things that I lost myself.
I didn't know who I was.
And so that,
that joyously free
piece is something that I get to hold
on, and, also, I get to remind myself
when I start to question.
Exactly. Exactly. You know? We've come too far
to go backwards. Yep. I agree. But which
(24:04):
leads to I know we're down to a
couple minutes.
What are some tips, suggestions
that you can give to our listeners that
have out there
about equity, justice, liberation, joyously, all of that
from a queer standpoint. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You
got a minute to stay with it. Gosh.
Okay. I'm a try. And, Gruss, please, like,
jump where you but I think what we
(24:25):
need to do more of is listen.
Also,
like,
What do you mean by that? By listen.
Like, listening to ourselves,
listening to the what community is saying,
you know, and also, like, in the times
that we are in now,
we have to pick something and go after
(24:45):
it. Pick a US system. Defend it. Right?
Like, if I am and also we can't
be picking and choosing who we advocate for.
You know? And so when I think of
what
what it's all about,
as far as, like, being an, a practitioner
of anti racism, it's all about who am
I bringing with me. Yep. So if I
(25:05):
touch bases, I'm bringing people with me. This
interview, I was like, Gruss, get in the
car. You know. Right. And, so yeah. Like,
to me, it was and also, like,
learn,
learn,
learn,
more contacts,
read.
Oh my gosh.
So there's four things right there. Okay. Thank
(25:26):
you. Listen. Pick pick your mission that you
wanna do. Bring somebody with you. Learn and
read. Yep. Oh my gosh. This has been
phenomenal. And navigate. Phenomenal. And that yeah. And
navigate. And give a quick
website or phone number how they can get
a hold of you. Okay. So people can
find the Equity Coalition at southcoastequity.org.
(25:46):
My email is jaden@southcoastequity.org.
My phone number is (678) 654-3164.
And if you missed all that, get a
hold of KCIW, and I'll make sure it
happens. There we go. Oh my gosh. Thank
you, beautiful listeners on the gorgeous coast of
Southern Oregon and Northern California for being with
us, Jaden, Grest, and myself today in this
(26:07):
joyously free manner. We hope you've been inspired
and challenged and enjoyed the stories, the tips,
the hopes, and the loves from our special
guest today. Oh, it has been absolutely phenomenal,
Jaden and Grest, for being here today. I
thank you from the top of my heart.
High tens around the table. Pass that over
to Gress. Oh my gosh. From the top
of my heart, I really, really thank you.
(26:27):
I thank Tom Bozak, Mike Gorse, Candice and
Rose, but especially Mike Gorse today on sound.
Oh my gosh. We couldn't do this without
KCIW and the team, and we couldn't do
it without all the KZZH listeners in Eureka,
California. So if you need to get a
hold of me, here was what we do.
Smile big and wear bright colors.
Have a great day.
Hi, and welcome, KCIW listeners at one hundred
point point seven and, of course, the website
kciw.org,
Brookings, Oregon. And, of course, let's welcome our
syndicated listeners at KZZH
ninety six point seven FM Access Humboldt, Eureka,
California.
Yes. This is joyously free with me. None
better than the best selling author, Joni Lindenmaier.
(00:32):
I'm so glad you are tuning in today.
I'm a 34 year old resident of Harbor,
Oregon, a retired Del Norte High School teacher
from Crescent City, and a twenty twenty five
Lambda nominated author who has published three books
in two years and with an audiobook in
my own voice also of none better. I
love life and love helping the producer and
the host of this show. So let's begin
(00:53):
with our morning salutation.
I'm gonna say it's a brand new day,
and you get to please respond with it's
never been lived before. Let's give it a
try.
It's a brand new day. It's never been
lived before.
Wait till you meet our guests today. They
are on it. So this radio gatio show,
as Will and Viv named it, is a
show that talks about LGBTQ
(01:14):
plus stories and tips along with religion, church,
faith, spirituality, and joy. Simply, it's about joy
and freedom, which is also the name of
my book, joyously free, that I coauthored with
Elizabeth Ann Atkins.
In this radio broadcast, just as in my
life every single day, there is no hate
speech,
no hate behaviors, and no bullying.
(01:35):
This will be blasted with the three c's,
courage, confidence, and collaboration.
Together this morning, let's seek understanding.
Think out of the box. Be open minded
as an open parachute.
My guests are sitting right across from me,
and I can't wait to get into them.
But first off, we need to open our
hearts.
Let's ask our creator
to shine light on our community and our
(01:56):
world.
I excitedly believe in hope, in the power
of the divine, and that Jesus, god, whatever
name you put on a higher being is
always with me and always with you.
So we do not need to be afraid
or troubled,
saddened or depressed.
Joy and peace are an internal expression of
love and harmony that is already within us,
(02:18):
and we only have to reach deep within
and let it out.
All is well with my soul.
So let's center ourselves.
Take a deep breath in
with the good
and out
with doubt.
Again, breathe in through your nose with hope
(02:38):
and out from your mouth with fears.
Last one.
Take a big deep breath in
with joy
and out with worry or despair.
In the name of mother Earth,
our creator,
our redeemer, and the blowing winds of the
holy spirit, we say, good morning.
(03:01):
Thank you for being with us, holy one,
on this beautiful day.
My quote today is from Lauryn Hill's song.
And let me read it. I'll probably read
it twice if I don't burst into tears.
I love this. And this came from our
guest speaker who uses it a lot on
Facebook.
The quote is,
let me be patient.
(03:22):
Let me be kind.
Make me unselfish
without being blind.
I'm gonna read that one more time, listeners.
Let me be patient.
Let me be kind.
Make me unselfish
without being blind.
When I read this a few days ago,
I said I've gotta take it to my
meditation in the morning, and that's what I
(03:43):
did this morning, looking out my living room
window at the ducks and the chickens and
the flowers and the green trees. And it
was like, yes. Let me be patient with
those that I don't always understand.
Let me be kind, kinder than ever. Let
me deliver my zucchini bread to people. Let
me deliver flowers to people. Let me, please,
smile more for people.
(04:05):
Let me be unselfish
without being blind.
I love this quote, and I hope that
you can listen and write it down or
make it hit your heart as well so
that you can be more patient today, more
kind today,
and unselfish without being blind.
Oh, dear God, thank you for being with
us. Thank you for always lifting us up.
(04:26):
Please lift our friends and our family.
May creator God guidance
guide us and heal us.
Thank you for hearing us, and we pray
all this
in his name, her name, their name. Amen.
Oh my gosh. So here we go, everybody.
I have sparkly
Jaden Ruff sitting right next to me. Beautiful
(04:48):
hoop earrings,
decked out in gorgeous bracelets, and the nails
on her fingers must be three feet long,
and they are decked out with sparkles and
glitter that is just fabulous.
Around the corner from Jaden is Grest. And
Grest Hernandez is just sparkling too, also with
some pretty cool heart earrings. So today is
(05:09):
going to be a beautiful heart day. Jaden
is the director of the South Coast Health
Equity Coalition.
Our topic today is
voices of equity and justice.
And so, Jaden and Grust, welcome to the
show of joyously free. Oh my gosh.
Yes.
I'm I'm
(05:30):
one, thank you. Thank you. And did not
know that I needed that intro,
but I needed that intro. And so really
grateful of you summoning and bringing our ancestors
and ancestors into the space with us this
morning. So
I am really excited, and you two are
sparkling. I want that necklace. You know? I'm
trying to contain myself. But, yeah, thank you
(05:51):
so much for having us today. Oh, thank
you. Thank you so much. And it is
my privilege and my honor to have you
here, both of you. Yes. So so first
off, how are you today?
I'm doing good. I I I mean, last
night yesterday was my first day back from
a retreat, and so Monday was a Monday.
Uh-huh. I got down got done, and I
(06:11):
was like, okay. I'm exhausted. But I woke
up this morning feeling really refreshed and had
an opportunity to drive down the one on
one, which is always great when we get
out of the community and can just
be grounded in nature and also just, like,
looking at our creator just showing off with
the blue skies and the blue oceans and
things like that. So it's it's just really
awesome. Right. And the drive from Coos Bay
(06:31):
is only a couple hours. Yeah. Just only
a couple hours. And great visiting time as
well. Yes. We were dancing. I was rapping.
Gruss was the DJ. I mean, shout out
to her, her I don't know if it's
Spotify or any of those things, but got
the tunes. Got it. And I was a
couple times, I was like, okay. You're gonna
be DJing at my wrist at my wedding
reception. Woo hoo. I love it. I love
(06:52):
it. Way to go. Way to go. So
speaking of all that, would you tell us
just a little bit about who you are,
where you've been, where you I don't know.
Just throw out who you hate. Oh oh
my gosh. Well, first off, my name is
Jaden. My pronouns are sheher.
I hail from
the South Georgia. I always say South Georgia.
(07:13):
You know, most of the times when I
say, like, I'm from Roberta, Georgia,
you always have to, like, say
oh, you always have to say, like, oh,
like,
Macon, Fort Valley because it's a small two
red light town, but, like, we have the
best peaches, and we're known for the best
peaches. And so I'm originally from South Georgia
and
(07:34):
have been,
in Oregon.
Oh, it'll be ten years in October. Oregon
was supposed to be a month,
like,
staycation,
and it turned into ten years. And so,
I mean,
that's just because I found my space.
Mhmm. I found the place and, yeah. Like,
so all the things that make me me,
(07:54):
like, I show up and I take up
space. I've been because I have been poured
into and taught that that's an important thing,
you know, especially when we talk about having
a sense of belonging, liberation, and just existing.
Right? You know? And so,
but my experience has been,
advocating. So I first started advocating.
(08:16):
I had this small organization called Operation Cruz
County where, like, we would do,
it was I I I forget, like, how
I phrased it, but, like, I would be
a connector because what I saw was a
lot of community spaces that happened behind the
scenes.
Decisions were being made about people's lives, and
(08:36):
no one none of the community members were
at the table. And so what I started
doing was inviting people to those spaces,
or being in those spaces and sharing out
to community and using my platform that I
was, that I was doing. But a whole
lot of,
a whole lot of volunteerism
and,
as a one of the core,
(08:56):
pride planners for Southern Oregon Coast Pride, me
and Laura kind of started out. And once
we planned pride for the first time, we
said our community
can't just be a community where we only
have a celebration.
Like, we need to be, advocating for systems
and policy change, and we may need to
be,
creating spaces for people to be connected and
(09:17):
feel connected. And so that really was the
catalyst for, like, the work that I do
today
as the director of the, one of nine
regional health equity coalitions, across the state of
Oregon, Southern Oregon Coast Pride not Southern Oregon
Coast Pride, but South Coast Health Equity,
comes in and we do that deep community
work.
(09:37):
You know? I mean, talk about accountability.
Talk about, like,
just showing up in community and asking community,
how would you like us to show up?
And
being
being very invested in just continuing to show
up, you know, with no expectations
and really leaning into our deep relationships that
(09:57):
we have with community.
And so from there, we have, like
we are a organization that leads Juneteenth plannings
across our region. Would you explain that people
who don't know what that is? So Juneteenth,
June well, one, we always say that, like,
it's the family reunion because we know that,
like, due to displacement from slavery,
(10:19):
family reunions were a way
to advertise but also connect with family that
you possibly
had lost. And so Juneteenth signifies
when the Emancipation Proclamation
was made.
We know today that it did not free
all of the slaves. And so Juneteenth celebration,
June 19,
signifies when
(10:40):
when Union soldiers came down to Texas in
Galveston and said,
these folks are free. You know? And so
it's a really and and from there,
it was a really, it signifies, like, the
hardship that African Americans and black African Americans
have, have experienced, but also, like, the joy,
(11:01):
that has kept us going. You know? And
so, like, when we think about, like, liberation,
we also get to, like, provide context around,
like, who's liberation. Yeah. And, you know, we
can't talk about liberation without having the historical
context. So a part of our work is
really doing that deep truth telling,
where we have to talk about the things,
you know. And in doing that, it really
(11:22):
deepens my accountability, our accountability to the community
that we serve. So having Juneteenth and most
people would be like, what's the point of
having Juneteenth in Oregon? Oregon has ex has
a history of exclusionary. Right? And so when
we think about,
not just exclusionary laws, but Coos Bay specifically
has the only documented,
(11:43):
documented lynching
of a person. And his name is mister
Alonzo Tucker. And what we what our work
is not just making
the the way that he was the way
that he died his life story. This person
was a boxer. He was a business owner.
He was a friend. He was a cousin.
He was a brother, you know. And,
we humanize. And so we've been doing that
(12:04):
deep work,
in Coos Bay. And when we started the
Equity Coalition, it was like, well, if we
have it in Coos, we need to have
it in, we need to have it in
Brookings, in Curry. And so but I know,
like, one of the things that we know
is
Curry
is gonna take care of Curry. Yes. What
I know that what I know to be
(12:24):
true is because they
experience
people saying, well, we serve Curry and we
serve Cousc, and then you don't really see
them actually serving Curry. Right. And so our
communities were like, no. We need you to
show up, you know. And I remember when
I was, I used to facilitate a space
with some community partners and,
maybe like
(12:45):
close to eight months in,
they came in there and things were happening
in community. And, and they came in
and they said, girl, can you close that
laptop? If you know and I turned off
the Zoom. I closed the laptop, and we
had real conversations.
Yeah. And when they all left, I was
like, what a privilege to be trusted. Absolutely.
And to look somebody in the eye and
(13:07):
listen before you're speaking,
basics manners as well. But that opens up
that you're important. You're an important person. Yes.
Yes. Yes. And so,
it reinforces the accountability thing. And so,
right now, like, we have black student unions
in Marshall High School and in Brookins Harbor
High School.
We have,
(13:28):
weekly programs and things like that, and we
would not have been able to have that
if we didn't engage community in the way
that we did, you know,
and showing up not just for community, but
also for our community partners.
I'm big on, like, what does community partnership
look like? Yeah. It every person that I
work with needs something different. And so,
(13:50):
we like to throw a blanket term on
it, but our work as practitioners is to
be, wait, what do what do we actually
need? You know, because every relationship, every person,
needs different things. And so when we think
about how to
advance equity, you know, and health equity,
it's not just what happens in the hospital
or what happens in policy and systems. If
(14:11):
I am not feeling seen or feel safe
in my community,
how will I even feel safe going into
the doctor or, like, having them listen to
me. Right? And so,
it's both and. It's it's not a period.
It's a comma and then something else and
then a comma.
And so when we start looking at how
to weave together the social determinants of health
(14:32):
and, like, how we show up in our
communities and what they need, like, we always
say, like, we don't just advocate for community.
Like, we advocate with alongside,
and it's really just, like I love the
quote because Maya Maya Angelou says,
I come as one, but I come as
10,000.
You know? Like, I'm bringing all of them
in spaces that we that we take up
(14:54):
and say, well, our communities
is experiencing this. They've told us this. Yep.
You know, and trusting that community wisdom. And
so it's been really cool, and I I
wanna just,
send it out. Like, if if Gress wants
to Let let me ask let me ask
a question, and maybe it's gonna go with
with Gress there. Mhmm.
So your lived experiences
(15:15):
and our ancestors and our parents, grandparents,
siblings, cousins,
all help us to be who we are.
Grest, where are you from, and how long
have you been in Oregon? And what's your
part in this community partnership?
I've been in Oregon for
(15:36):
about
over a year now. And I I came,
before I was here, I was in Colorado.
And I came to Oregon, and I had
really
no plans for anything. And I started showing
up to one of the programs, and that's
how I got involved in, like, everything.
And
I've just been I've just adored Oregon ever
(15:57):
since. And the people then. Yes. So much.
Right. Yeah. And so I had attended one
of the programs,
for
our,
our queers and ally,
group that we have.
And
now that's currently, like, one of the programs
(16:18):
that I help facilitate.
And so I show up every Thursday, and
I kind of lead that group.
Awesome. And so it's been such an experience,
like, coming from, like, just attending
Mhmm. To run into things. Mhmm. Mhmm. Well
and and thank goodness we have it. And
it's thank goodness to what you all do
that makes it available for who anybody who
(16:38):
wants to come. And it's it's an open
door. Talk about a seat at the table.
Oh my gosh. You know? What do you
enjoy the most about being a part of
that?
Just being community, having people show up, and
giving them a place. Because so often I
hear, like, people don't have anywhere and they
don't really you know, there's not really many
spaces. Like, my best friend that,
(17:03):
that was, like, one of, like, the only
time she would leave the house was to
attend that group.
Mhmm. And so just give just giving her
that space is so it's just it has
been, like, life saving. And liberating. Mhmm. And
liberating. And I heard, Jaden mentioned that word
several times today. Liberating,
equity, justice.
You know? You know, going back to that,
(17:24):
I I know that you're also from Detroit,
and you have connections there Mhmm. From a
big city to small rural Oregon.
Do you see any difference in liberation or
equity or justice?
I mean, I think,
you know, we come from people that have
had to be creative.
You know? I I I think sometimes, like,
(17:47):
that is missed in in the social justice
and things and and all of the stuff
is, like, we have had to be creative
people and oftentimes
making something out of nothing,
or creating I mean, creating
spaces and Thursdays where,
you know, it first starts with us and
then it's like, oh my gosh. Like, I'm
(18:07):
not the only person that needed this space
as well. And so, yeah, I've had experiences
from Georgia to Detroit.
And,
yeah, like, it is way different because when
I lived in so I'm originally from rural
community, then we moved to the city.
Whether it was in rural community or whether
it was in the city, when I was
(18:27):
looking for
affirmations to affirm who I was, I did
not have access. Right? And so I think
sometimes
when we think about, like, what the big
city can provide,
like, sometimes, like, when I came out, you
you know, I was the only person in
my class. And
luckily, like, I had my best friend had
(18:47):
at the time had just came out. And
so but then, like, when they moved, I
was the only person, you know? And we
didn't have, like,
what would have and and I think, like,
that was the thing too of, like, when
I first came to Oregon,
I had been a part of, like, I
was a gay mom. I had gay kids.
And I, I was a part of, like,
the Atlanta gay scene and things like that.
(19:09):
And so I had community.
When I came to Coos Bay, I was
like,
where first off, where are the black people?
And then also, like, where are, like, the
LGBTQ?
Like, where are my people? Where are my
community? Right. And,
I remember seeing on
Facebook,
there was a,
(19:30):
like, a flyer floating around. And I was
like, okay. Like, there's, like, an a like,
an adult, like, link up, you know.
And it was a barbecue, and I missed
the barbecue. And then I was like, what
I saw a flyer where it was like,
well, we'll be at this church basement. You
know, we always in a church basement or,
you know, like, when we're when we're starting,
when we're finding spaces. But
(19:52):
when I walked into the room, it was,
youth. It was kids.
And I don't know, like, I paused and
I like, baby Jaden, like, that inner child
was like, woah.
Woah.
And so, like,
that was one of the things that kept
(20:12):
me. That hooked me. Q and a. Right?
Uh-huh.
Being in that being in that space, being
in in in also, like, being of service.
So, like, we were in in those spaces
where, like, sometimes,
youth will be getting their job for the
first time. And so we're helping support writing
resumes,
or they were navigating through, systems. And so
and we always used to take the kids
(20:33):
up to Portland every year,
for pride.
And what we found was
we were like,
how often do we have to leave community
in order to find community?
Mhmm. Mhmm. You know? And so what would
it look like with us flipping back Mhmm.
And bringing all the things here? Mhmm. And
so whenever I go into communities outside of
(20:53):
Coos Bay, outside of Curry well, Coos and
Curry Counties,
they're like, wait. Y'all have that there? Mhmm.
And I'm like, yeah. You know? Right. And
because we need them. We, like, we know
that we're everywhere. Right. And so having those
spaces were definitely reduces,
isolation, but it's justice.
Right. You know, like, it's justice. And we
know that we have had to
(21:15):
operate outside of those systems because those systems
were not they were built intentionally
structural,
structure to keep us outside of. You know?
And so what way of liberation to
say, I don't I can't be in that
space, but I'm a create my own. Right.
We're gonna create our own. Yeah. I I
love what you're saying because community is dear
to my heart. Mhmm.
(21:37):
From from sports to joining the convent, which
is a community. Yes. You know? Yes. And
then when you when you come out to
yourself and then you come out to other
people and you find your tribe, you find
your people, you find your community, that is
so joyously free. And, I
I I just I I can totally relate.
Totally relate. And that joyously free is a
(21:58):
big part of that because when you feel
comfortable, you feel safe, and you can just
be you,
there's nothing better. Do you wanna comment on
that? Yeah. I think that was, like I
think what,
what Russ said earlier about it being life
saving.
Like, I did not know
that I could have
(22:18):
liberation in the way that I have it
today
because I had lived life,
based on the opinions of others
in requiring
me to get my worth, my value,
everything defined. And what it end up being
was everybody around me was happy or looked
happy, and I was miserable. Mhmm. I was
unhappy, but I just also, like,
(22:40):
when we come out, like, our like, some
of the experiences are great. Like, mine was
not that. It was really traumatic,
and I lost a lot of people in
a matter of a day. Right? And that
was the day, like, one of the one
of the days, where my world changed. Mhmm.
And so being able
being at a point where, like, I was,
like, it's either
(23:01):
do this,
like, choose you for the very first time
in the way that you've never chose it,
which choosing you should not even be radical,
but it is. Right?
And so when you talk about joyously free,
like, I had to I I remember going
into spaces after transitioning and being like,
oh my gosh, I'm so nervous to go
(23:21):
into the grocery store. Right. Or, oh my
gosh, like, we're conditioned to, like, leave the
house a certain type of way when you
are, like, trans woman, like, the makeup, the
things like that. And I got, a tattoo
where it says, to thine own self be
true.
And it was like I had been
It's beautiful. So much wrapped up in people,
(23:42):
places, and things that I lost myself.
I didn't know who I was.
And so that,
that joyously free
piece is something that I get to hold
on, and, also, I get to remind myself
when I start to question.
Exactly. Exactly. You know? We've come too far
to go backwards. Yep. I agree. But which
(24:04):
leads to I know we're down to a
couple minutes.
What are some tips, suggestions
that you can give to our listeners that
have out there
about equity, justice, liberation, joyously, all of that
from a queer standpoint. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You
got a minute to stay with it. Gosh.
Okay. I'm a try. And, Gruss, please, like,
jump where you but I think what we
(24:25):
need to do more of is listen.
Also,
like,
What do you mean by that? By listen.
Like, listening to ourselves,
listening to the what community is saying,
you know, and also, like, in the times
that we are in now,
we have to pick something and go after
(24:45):
it. Pick a US system. Defend it. Right?
Like, if I am and also we can't
be picking and choosing who we advocate for.
You know? And so when I think of
what
what it's all about,
as far as, like, being an, a practitioner
of anti racism, it's all about who am
I bringing with me. Yep. So if I
(25:05):
touch bases, I'm bringing people with me. This
interview, I was like, Gruss, get in the
car. You know. Right. And, so yeah. Like,
to me, it was and also, like,
learn,
learn,
learn,
more contacts,
read.
Oh my gosh.
So there's four things right there. Okay. Thank
(25:26):
you. Listen. Pick pick your mission that you
wanna do. Bring somebody with you. Learn and
read. Yep. Oh my gosh. This has been
phenomenal. And navigate. Phenomenal. And that yeah. And
navigate. And give a quick
website or phone number how they can get
a hold of you. Okay. So people can
find the Equity Coalition at southcoastequity.org.
(25:46):
My email is jaden@southcoastequity.org.
My phone number is (678) 654-3164.
And if you missed all that, get a
hold of KCIW, and I'll make sure it
happens. There we go. Oh my gosh. Thank
you, beautiful listeners on the gorgeous coast of
Southern Oregon and Northern California for being with
us, Jaden, Grest, and myself today in this
(26:07):
joyously free manner. We hope you've been inspired
and challenged and enjoyed the stories, the tips,
the hopes, and the loves from our special
guest today. Oh, it has been absolutely phenomenal,
Jaden and Grest, for being here today. I
thank you from the top of my heart.
High tens around the table. Pass that over
to Gress. Oh my gosh. From the top
of my heart, I really, really thank you.
(26:27):
I thank Tom Bozak, Mike Gorse, Candice and
Rose, but especially Mike Gorse today on sound.
Oh my gosh. We couldn't do this without
KCIW and the team, and we couldn't do
it without all the KZZH listeners in Eureka,
California. So if you need to get a
hold of me, here was what we do.
Smile big and wear bright colors.
Have a great day.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.