Community Data Party: Turning Stories Into Collective Power

When you think of a party, “data” likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. For many people, it evokes spreadsheets, academic reports, and findings that aren’t shared with the communities they came from. Policy decisions get made with data, whether our communities participate in shaping it or not. Funding gets allocated, programs designed, priorities set, and it’s all driven by research.

For too long, LGBTQIA+ people in South King County have navigated systems built on research that wasn't made for us, with us, or by us. They were built about us and around us, by people looking in from the outside. They often fall short because of that.

When Queer Power Alliance, Entre Hermanos, POCAAN, and PNW Black Pride came together to launch the South King County LGBTQIA+ Collaborative, we purposefully set out to forge a different path to data collection and community activation. This work was led by our community, for our community. We designed the surveys, hosted the listening sessions, and centered the voices of Black and Brown people, trans and nonbinary people, immigrants, elders, youth, and working-class community members, because these are the people who should define the priorities.

What we found confirmed what most of us already knew: our communities are navigating serious challenges with housing, income, healthcare access, and safety. We also uncovered something that doesn't make it into policy reports. Resilience. Mutual aid. Cultural pride. Community members who have been supporting each other for years, instead of waiting for a government program to be created. That data earns a place in the findings, too.

That’s why this Wednesday (5/13), we're throwing a Community Data Party at White Center HUB, and we hope that you’ll join us.

There will be food, conversation, and data about real people, built by the communities that the data represents. Together, we'll discuss what these findings mean, how to hold decision-makers and funders accountable to the priorities our community has defined, and what we want to build next.

Last year, Phase 1 of our collaborative research focused on housing and economic stability. This year, Phase 2 covers healthcare, transportation, and civic engagement. Across both phases, the narrative is consistent: LGBTQIA+ BIPOC residents in South King County are describing a noticeable gap between what systems promise and what they actually deliver. Communities are burdened by high rent, job insecurity, and healthcare that doesn't feel safe or affirming. These aren't abstract policy problems; they are the daily conditions of people in our community.

Community is critical to this work because no policy, program, or report changes anything on its own. People who are invested in each other, who show up, and who refuse to let their experiences be reduced to statistics without context or action enact policy change.

If you contributed to this research, come see the results of your advocacy. If you're new to this work, this is a good place to start and learn how we're building LGBTQIA+ power together. If you can't make it, more information is available at queerpoweralliance.org/community-data2026. Share the data in any space where decisions are being made about South King County.

When communities lead, lasting change takes root. We are building this foundation together.