The mission statement of the South Texas Equality Project (STEP) is to foster a more accepting, affirming and supportive community for LGBTQIA+ individuals and marginalized communities in South Texas. STEP was founded in 2014 by four member organizations and has since grown to include participation from over thirty member organizations. STEP is a coalition of organizations that work to advocate for, celebrate, uplift, educate, and provide support to the LGBTQIA+ community of the Rio Grande Valley. STEP is fully volunteer run and the current STEP board is composed of all Latinx individuals of which the majority identify as transgender. The work STEP does is intentionally focused on and for the Latinx LGBTQIA+ community as the region we serve is predominantly Latinx.
Current activities conducted by STEP include a biweekly support group for the South Texas LGBTQIA+ community and monthly STEP meetings open to everyone to discuss current issues in the community, provide information on resources and update the community about ongoing and upcoming events and projects.
Current projects conducted by STEP include an ongoing Protect Trans Youth Campaign to first educate the community about issues faced by the transgender community and secondly to fundraise to support local transgender led and transgender serving organizations. The STEP Youth Initiative Scholarship Program is also an ongoing project since 2017 that has provided 36 scholarships to many Latinx LGBTQIA+ youth and allies pursuing higher education. The RGV LGBTQIA+ Resource Guide is a growing public database of LGBTQIA+ owned and affirming organizations, services and businesses in South Texas.
Current events conducted by STEP include educational forums, town halls and visibility events. STEP is currently planning The EmpoderX Conference for October 2022 which will be a free conference that includes a GOTV initiative, educational workshops, informational panels, resources from LGBTQIA+ affirming service providers and will highlight local Latinx LGBTQIA+ artists, vendors and businesses.