Baltimore Safe Haven (BSH) was founded in 2018 by Iya Dammons, a passionate Black trans woman activist with lived experience of homelessness, survival sex work, and incarceration. Iya recognized the pressing need for safe and supportive spaces for TLGBQIA+ individuals in Baltimore City who were living in survival mode.

I Call Her Iya Dammons, Founder &Executive Director of Baltimore Safe Haven. During the last couple of months, Iya and a group of her peers worked tirelessly to get the Transgender Health Equality Act passed into legislation, on April 8th, 2023 merely days after the passing of this act Iya started the final leg of her journey of her Gender ...

2022年3月28日 · As a sex worker, Iya Dammons always lived in survival mode. She experienced homelessness and violence. But Dammons wouldn’t let that be her narrative—she had an idea for moving forward. “I wanted to empower my community,” says Dammons, a Black transgender activist from Baltimore. “This couldn’t be all that life has to offer us.”

Iya Dammons is the Founding Executive Director of Baltimore Safe Haven and visionary activist for the TLGBQIA+ community.

This transformative initiative, shaped by founder Iya Dammons, sprung from her personal experiences with poverty, violence, and sex work. These struggles inspired a comprehensive wellness and outreach program dedicated to aiding those in need. In the same year, Baltimore Safe Haven achieved official 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Iya Dammons founded Baltimore Safe Haven to protect the LGBTQ community from housing discrimination, addiction, and street violence. No one gets left behind on Iya Dammons' watch.

2021年1月1日 · Iya Dammons is the founder of Baltimore Safe Haven (BSH), the first of a kind Trans led organization that brings services directly to the community that needs them most. Dammons organized the Black Trans Lives Matter March in Baltimore and created the city’s Black Trans Lives Matter mural.

2021年6月8日 · Because of the leadership of founder Iya Dammons, Baltimore Safe Haven stands in a class of its own when it comes to community work that centers Black trans youth.

2020年9月5日 · Iya Dammons is the Founder and Executive Director of Baltimore Safe Haven, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to empower TLGBQ Baltimoreans and their peers through direct services, advocacy, outreach, and education. Baltimore Safe Haven is the only trans-led human service nonprofit in Baltimore City.