Our Vetting Process

Every direct service provider listed on InReach is independently vetted by our trained volunteers to be a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ people facing persecution or discrimination. 

Is the provider active and legitimate?

Is the provider LGBTQ+ affirming?

Does the provider meet any of InReach's intersectionality definitions?

We strive to repeat our vetting process regularly to ensure user safety.

Our Vetting Process (updated: 2026)

InReach is built for the diverse and intersectional LGBTQ+ community – InReach’s free platform lists verified services for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants, BIPOC communities, the transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) community, youth and caregivers, and more LGBTQ+ communities in need of safe resources.

At InReach, we are dedicated to ensuring our free resource platform is filled with high-quality, accessible, and welcoming direct service providers for LGBTQ+ people facing persecution or discrimination. Our trained volunteers conduct a rigorous, tailored vetting process for every provider listed on InReach. Our core vetting criteria include: 

  1. Is the direct service provider active and legitimate? (Required)
  2. Is the direct service provider LGBTQ+ affirming? (Required)
  3. Does the direct service provider meet any of InReach’s intersectionality definitions? (Preferred)

    • At InReach, we understand that achieving LGBTQ+ equality requires trans justice, racial justice, refugee justice, reproductive justice, language justice, and more. Therefore, in addition to ensuring that each provider listed on InReach is generally LGBTQ+ affirming, our trained volunteers also verify whether providers are led by and/or have expertise in serving specific historically marginalized LGBTQ+ communities. 

    • See our intersectionality definitions below for more information. 

Our team ensures these criteria are met by thoroughly researching and directly communicating with each provider. Every provider listed on InReach has regularly updated documentation on these core criteria. We also evaluate additional features we value in the providers we publish, such as whether they offer translation services for non-English speaking clients and whether they have a confidentiality policy for their services. At the end of our vetting process, providers are classified as either “verified” or “unverified.” Unverified providers are deemed ineligible for inclusion on InReach, at least for the time being.

Examples of things we look for during our vetting process include:

  • Does the provider have an active website?
  • Does the provider active social media presence?
  • Does the provider respond to email and/or phone outreach? 
  • Note: “Active” is defined as containing content posted or updated within the last 6 months.

Our trained volunteers deploy a multi-tiered vetting process to assess whether or not a service provider is generally ‘LGBTQ+ affirming’. Through a combination of outreach and research, volunteers will answer the following questions:

  • Does the provider’s mission or vision statement explicitly mention the LGBTQ+ community?
  • Does the provider offer one or more services specifically focused on the LGBTQ+ community?
  • Does the provider have an anti-discrimination policy that clearly encompasses both sexual orientation and gender identity?
  • Does the provider host events marketed to the LGBTQ+ community (Pride events, drag shows, etc)?
  • Does the provider post content about Pride, Transgender Day of Remembrance, or other LGBTQ+ observances?
  • Are there staff members who are openly part of the LGBTQ+ community?
  • Do intake forms ask for pronouns, include a variety of gender options, and/or use non-gendered language concerning spouses, parents, etc?
  • Has the provider been certified or endorsed by a well-known LGBTQ+ rights organization (WPATH member, positive rating from Human Rights Campaign, etc)?

If the answer to at least three of these questions is yes, and if there are no red flags (such as language associated with anti-trans organizations or practitioners of conversion therapy), the provider is considered LGBTQ+ affirming.

If a provider does not meet this threshold but exhibits no red flags, a volunteer will reach out to ask additional questions to determine whether the service provider is affirming.

Safety is our priority. When in doubt about whether a service provider is LGBTQ+ affirming, we do not list them on InReach.

With our history in LGBTQ+ asylum, our organization was founded on the belief that every LGBTQ+ person deserves the safety and freedom to live authentically. We believe LGBTQ+ equality requires trans justice, refugee justice, racial justice, reproductive justice, language justice, disability justice – justice for all members of our diverse community.

As a result, in addition to satisfying our general LGBTQ+ affirming verification criteria, we look for organizations who are ‘led by’ and/or have services ‘focused on’ serving historically marginalized LGBTQ+ communities. 

For example, we look for organizations who are led by those with relevant lived experience for LGBTQ+ people facing discrimination and persecution, such as organizations who are: 

  • Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) led 
  • Black led 
  • Immigrant led 
  • LGBTQ+ led
  • Trans led  
  • Women led
  • *Note: We hope to add new ‘led by’ categories in the future. 

An organization is Black-, BIPOC-, immigrant-, trans-, woman-, or LGBTQ+- led if the organization labels itself that way or if majority of the people in charge of the organization identify as members of that particular community. “People in charge” includes any of the following examples:

  • The director, if there is one
  • The majority of the governing board collective, advisory committee, or similar governing body, if there is such a body
  • The majority of any staff members
  • If the organization or project is volunteer-run, the majority of volunteers

Note: The definition above is adapted from the Trans Justice Funding Project’s definition of trans-led

We also look for organizations who provide services that are focused on serving a specific marginalized LGBTQ+ population(s), including: 

  • Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) community 
  • Immigrant community  
    • Asylum seekers
    • Resettled refugees 
  • LGBTQ+ youth 
    • Trans youth 
  • Spanish speakers 
  • Trans community 
    • Gender nonconforming community
    • Trans men and the transmasculine community 
    • Trans women and the transfeminine community
    • Trans youth 
  • *Note: As our organization’s capacity grows, we hope to add new LGBTQ+ communities in the future.  

We consider a service focused on a specific community if:

  • The service exclusively serves that community
  • The service is explicitly marketed to that community
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of their clients served by the service are members of that community.

Great question! Our vision is to build a dynamic platform that incorporates regular community feedback, including from direct service providers listed on InReach. 

To alert us to an update, please email shannon@inreach.org

INREACH’S INTERSECTIONALITY DEFINITIONS

Please see below for our intersectionality definitions  outlining how InReach defines which organizations are ‘trans led’, ‘BIPOC led’, ‘immigrant led’, etc. and what it means for an organization to offer a service ‘focused on’ a specific LGBTQ+ community. 

Definitions List #1: Determining whether an organization meets any of InReach’s ‘led by” definitions

For consistency, InReach uses an adapted version of the Trans Justice Project definition of what it means to be ‘trans led’ for all of our community ‘led by’ definitions, as described below.

  • The organization publicly markets itself as ‘BIPOC led’; OR 
  • The organization adheres to the adapted Trans Justice Funding Project definition for what it means to be ‘trans led’, which holds that the majority of the people in charge of the group identify as trans or gender non-conforming. As applied to ‘BIPOC led’, “in charge” includes any of the following examples:
    • The director, if there is one, should identify as BIPOC.
    • The majority of the governing board collective, advisory committee, or similar governing body, if there is such a body, should identify as BIPOC.
    • The majority of any staff members should identify as BIPOC.
    • If the organization or project is volunteer-run, the majority of volunteers should identify as BIPOC.
  • The organization publicly markets itself as ‘Black led’; OR 
  • The organization adheres to the adapted Trans Justice Funding Project definition for what it means to be ‘trans led’, which holds that the majority of the people in charge of the group identify as trans or gender non-conforming. As applied to ‘Black led’, “in charge” includes any of the following examples:
    • The director, if there is one, should identify as Black.
    • The majority of the governing board collective, advisory committee, or similar governing body, if there is such a body, should identify as Black.
    • The majority of any staff members should identify as Black.
    • If the organization or project is volunteer-run, the majority of volunteers should identify as Black.
  • The organization publicly markets itself as ‘Immigrant led’; OR 
  • The organization adheres to the adapted Trans Justice Funding Project definition for what it means to be ‘trans led’, which holds that the majority of the people in charge of the group identify as trans or gender non-conforming. As applied to ‘Immigrant led’, “in charge” includes any of the following examples:
    • The director, if there is one, should identify as an Immigrant.
    • The majority of the governing board collective, advisory committee, or similar governing body, if there is such a body, should identify as Immigrants.
    • The majority of any staff members should identify as Immigrants.
    • If the organization or project is volunteer-run, the majority of volunteers should identify as Immigrants.
  • The organization publicly markets itself as ‘LGBTQ+ led’; OR 
  • The organization adheres to the adapted Trans Justice Funding Project definition for what it means to be ‘trans led’, which holds that the majority of the people in charge of the group identify as trans or gender non-conforming. As applied to ‘LGBTQ+ led’, “in charge” includes any of the following examples:
    • The director, if there is one, should identify as LGBTQ+.
    • The majority of the governing board collective, advisory committee, or similar governing body, if there is such a body, should identify as LGBTQ+.
    • The majority of any staff members should identify as LGBTQ+.
    • If the organization or project is volunteer-run, the majority of volunteers should identify as LGBTQ+.
  • The organization publicly markets itself as ‘Women led’; OR 
  • The organization adheres to the adapted Trans Justice Funding Project definition for what it means to be ‘trans led’, which holds that the majority of the people in charge of the group identify as trans or gender non-conforming. As applied to ‘women led’, “in charge” includes any of the following examples:
    • The director, if there is one, should identify as a woman.
    • The majority of the governing board collective, advisory committee, or similar governing body, if there is such a body, should identify as women.
    • The majority of any staff members should identify as women.
    • If the organization or project is volunteer-run, the majority of volunteers should identify as women.

Definitions List #2: Determining whether an organization has a service(s) ‘focused on’ a specific LGBTQ+ community

A service is defined as focusing on a specific LGBTQ+ community if:

  • The service exclusively serves that community;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving the community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are members of the community 

A service is defined as focusing on asylum seekers if the service:

  • Exclusively serves asylum seekers;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving asylum seekers; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are asylum seekers.  

A service is defined as focusing on resettled refugees if the service:

  • Exclusively serves resettled refugees;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving resettled refugees; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are resettled refugees.

A service is defined as focusing on the immigrant community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves the immigrant community;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving the immigrant community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are immigrants.  

A service is defined as focusing on Spanish speakers if the service:

  • Exclusively serves Spanish speakers;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving Spanish speakers; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are Spanish speakers. 

A service is defined as focusing on the BIPOC community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves the BIPOC community;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving the BIPOC community; 
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of their clients served by the service are BIPOC. 

A service is defined as focusing on LGBTQ+ youth if the service:

  • Exclusively serves LGBTQ+ youth;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving LGBTQ+ youth; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are LGBTQ+ youth.  

A service is defined as focusing on the HIV community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves the HIV community;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving the HIV community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are members of the HIV community. 

 

A service is defined as focusing on the transgender community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves the transgender community;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving the trans community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are transgender. 

A service is defined as focusing on trans youth if the service:

  • Exclusively serves trans youth;
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving trans youth; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are trans youth.

A service is defined as focusing on transgender men and the trans masculine community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves transgender men and the trans masculine community;  
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving transgender men and the trans masculine community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are transgender men and trans masculine folks.

A service is defined as focusing on transgender women and the trans feminine community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves transgender women and the trans feminine community;  
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving transgender women and the trans feminine community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are transgender women and trans feminine folks.

A service is defined as focusing on the gender nonconforming community if the service:

  • Exclusively serves the gender nonconforming community;  
  • The service explicitly markets itself as serving the gender nonconforming community; OR
  • The provider estimates that at least 50% of the clients served by the service are gender nonconforming.  

Our Re-verification Process

We strive to repeat the process above regularly for all of the direct service providers listed on InReach regularly to ensure maximum user safety and to keep our listings up to date.

Our trained interns and locally activated connectors carry out the bulk of our crucial re-verifications.

With increased capacity and support, we can continue to increase the frequency of our re-verifications to ensure our resource data remains up-to-date. (Want to help? Join our 50 State Activation  or Make a tax-deductible donation today.)

Additional Questions?

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to us!

CONTACT