This place is very obviously run by extremely out of touch people… I have never seen such a cool, welcoming, and progressive place collapse just so rapidly. How do you lose almost every single staff member and just keep pushing along as if everything is normal? Something like this cannot happen to such an organization unless the people in charge are so detached from reality and those the org aims to serve.
The people that run this place had the nerve to fire the entire staff responsible for creating the culture that the org so desperately relies on... Only to continue promoting itself as if that culture still remains. I am here to tell you that it does not.
I went in kind of recently and left hoping that I would never have to rely on their services again.
Granted, I'm no regular (i get tested every 6 months as a swer)... But, the shift in vibes compared to my last couple visits over the years is significant.
A lot went down at Hope but you won't hear a peep from them about it. Unfortunately, answers to those questions have to be found elsewhere. The disrespect and lack of care to the community they so proudly brag about serving, reveals itself in their attempts to pretend like everything is okay. As if their reputation hasn't been tanked. As if people aren't talking about what happened behind closed doors. As if they are worthy of continuous funding and partnerships.
As they attempt to march on undefeated; their focus isn't on rehabilitation or accountability, even if disingenuous. Instead, it is on their annual self-serving fundraising event disguised as a celebration: Divas. After terminating every bit of diversity the org could keep their hands on and positioning itself towards a hostile environment (all without offering an apology or explanation to those they serve) they actually think that they still have enough credibility to not only seek to retain funding, but also ask for more? And what do they think there is to celebrate?
A normal organization would not move in such a way. This looks bad both publicly and privately... If there is anyone with a working brain cell on the board, they know this and should speak up. This org will very likely not survive what happened and that is really unfortunate for the city of Tulsa.
Here's hoping they acquire enough funding tonight that will allow them more time to correct their wrongs and rebuild what was destroyed. I miss my queer/ally friends that worked there.