ABOUT BRIE NIKORA:
Brie Nikora is a Social Justice Educator and Activist. They hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and are currently completing their Master of Social Work (MSW) at Eastern Michigan University. As the Outreach and Pride Zone Coordinator with Ozone House, Brie is dedicated to empowering young folks within the 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities to find pride in their identities while empowering the community to not only accept, but to celebrate intersectional diversity. With a decade of work behind their belt, they continue to be a radical and relatable advocate for both individual and community wellness. Brie’s passion is rooted in their desire to subvert systems of disenfranchisement and establish inclusivity and equity for all beings.
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David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and housing insecurity is on high. And there are more homeless young people in Washtenaw County than you might think. Welcome to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. I'm David Fair, and each Monday, we explore issues of equity and opportunity in our community. Today, we'll do so through the lens of Ozone House in Ypsilanti. For 55 years, Ozone House has worked to, as it says in its mission statement, "provide holistic support and housing services that enhance the well-being and safety of young people through empowerment, advocacy, and connection." Pride Zone at Ozone House provides a safe space for young people on the LGBTQ-plus community offering a variety of supportive and engaged services and activities. Our guest this morning is Outreach and Pride Zone coordinator Brie Nikora. Brie, I'm glad you could make the time for us today!
Brie Nikora: Hi! Thanks for having me!
David Fair: As I understand it, you earned your bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I'm just curious. What brought you to Ozone House in Ypsilanti?
Brie Nikora: Such a great question! Actually, so I grew up in Hawaii and then moved to Texas after my bachelor's degree. And while in Texas, I met my now-partner. And they lived in Michigan. And Texas was, and still is, quite a hot mess. And I think the access and privilege to live in a city that's also surrounded by other cities that's so progressive and forward-thinking creates a new sense of safety in my body. So, that's a long way to say sort of what brought me to Michigan: love, queer love and a space where I could experience more of myself.
David Fair: You've described yourself as a radical and relatable advocate for both individual and community wellness. What do you mean by that?
Brie Nikora: Also, such a great question. I feel like my life purpose, which comes from a lot of lived experience, right? I'm biracial, Black, queer, non-binary. I hold different disabilities and different sectors of marginalization. And I've overcome a lot of experiences. And "overcome" isn't even really the language that I want to use for this. I've lived through and kept living through a lot of experiences. And that offers me, one, an ability to see myself, right, two, an ability to see the systems, right, these large-scale influences that disrupt our individual access to that holistic health. And then, I think my last part is, like, because of my personal experience, because of awareness of these things that are outside of the individual, I feel really, really passionate and called to walking people home to themselves, to walking communities back home to themselves and the truth within, right? The truth that is bigger and stronger and louder than the voice of the system.
David Fair: How does that experience that you've had in your life help create bond, connection, and access to those you're working with and the young people at Ozone House?
Brie Nikora: I'm just real, you know? And with my own boundaries, right, because these are young people, but this thing that we're seeing is breaks in the attachment bond, right? And so, if I as a healthy, and I put air quotes there that you couldn't see because it ebbs and flows, right? There's undulations of this life. And I know that for myself. I'm not always my best self, but I strive to be there and I'm open about that with the young people. There have been times where I have made mistakes. And I go back the next day, and I apologize to them. And that's a thing that doesn't happen very often in spaces where young people are, right, where adults humble themselves. And that is because of the condition of ageism, right, and us not honoring young people in their fullness where it's at the same way that we would honor and respect people of other ages.
David Fair: Washtenaw United and our conversation with Brie Nikora from Ozone House continues on 89.1 WEMU. This is Pride Month, and we're at an interesting time in the American political landscape, and there has been what some would consider regression. How are you at Ozone House and through the Pride Zone program helping address those issues?
Brie Nikora: Yeah, this is such a heavy and intense question to bring to light, but I'm glad that you did because I think it's important that people know the reality of a lot of organizations and nonprofits that are doing the work in this current climate, right? Federal funding is a mess right now. It's a mess. There's a lot of fear. And I think on the other side of that fear is this realization that may be, like for example, Ozone House, as you said, has been here for 55 years. And it started out as this grassroots organization. It started out as a group of community members coming together for their community. And so, that lifeline is still with us today. And a lot of nonprofit industrial complex has gotten really attached to needing federal funds. So, there's a lot of conversations about how do we diversify funding? And also, how do hold true to that grassroots heart? How do we lean on community a bit more? Again, in the nonprofit industrial complex, there's a lot siloing. There's a lots of organizations that do these individual things. And those silos, I think, are starting to kind of break down. Because, to give a sort of example, instead of looking up and asking for a handout from this government, we're looking at each other.
David Fair: Let me ask this. Is that a long-term potential silver lining, but the hardship is still to come in many cases?
Brie Nikora: Oh, absolutely! I don't want to say it's just a long-term silver lining because this is an actionable step that everyone can take today, right? It's looking at your neighbors and asking them what help they need and looking at your neighbors and telling them what help you need. So, yes and, right, because it's that piece, and, yes, things are predicted to get more intense. And so, start strengthening the bonds right here right now. And it's a silver lining for today and a silver lining for tomorrow.
David Fair: Once again, we're talking with Brie Nikora on 89.1 WEMU's Washtenaw United. They serve as Outreach and Pride Zone Coordinator at Ozone House in Ypsilanti. The turbulent times that we are experiencing right now create uncertainty. And those you're serving at Ozone House are already living in a degree of uncertainty. The world will continue to be full of prejudice and systemic barriers to progress. How do you navigate the challenges of helping young people overcome these barriers?
Brie Nikora: I mean, again, one step at a time, right? And not alone. So, specifically in Pride Zone, we have really real conversations with the young people about what this could look like for a few years. We also have really, really real conversations with the young people about our history and what things have looked like before, right? It's incredible that we're having this conversation. And sorry if I get some emotion moves through me here. And so, we look back at indigenous people, at Black people, at our trans ancestors, and we study what they did. We learn from them and we adapt to now and we keep going. And those are the conversations that we have with young people. We hold their feelings. We hold our feelings together as staff. I mean, just last Friday, I'm grateful. I don't know if all nonprofits are doing this, so I'm grateful to our board and to our executive team and to all of the staff who are there because everybody cares so much. So, we have big conversations like a community to talk about what to do.
David Fair: So, looking forward and building on what we've learned from the past, what are you most optimistic about?
Brie Nikora: Yeah, I think this touches on sort of the shift that I named earlier, right, from just even on the macro scale of nonprofits and organizations being siloed. Like, that also trickles all the way down to the individual level, right? Like, we've really been living this individualistic lifestyle. The same way that I named it, I can feel the silos between agencies breaking apart. I can feel the barriers, the walls, the shielded hearts around individuals also starting to release themselves, so that we can come back together. And I think that togetherness is hope for me. It feels like love, you know?
David Fair: Well, thank you for the conversation today and sharing so much of yourself, Brie! I appreciate it!
Brie Nikora: Thank you! Yeah, it's been fun!
David Fair: That is Brie Nikora. They are Outreach and Pride Zone Coordinator at Ypsilanti-based Ozone House. For more information on Pride Zone and Ozone House, stop by our website at WEMU.org, and we'll get you connected. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM, Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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