by Dennis Dalman
The Twin Cities-based QueerSpace Collective is about to open a branch organization in the St. Cloud area and will celebrate its launch with a gathering from 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 14 at Jupiter Moon Ice Cream in St. Joseph.
The event had originally been set for March 31 but had to be rescheduled due to weather concerns.
The Jupiter Moon Ice Cream shop is located at 15 E. Minnesota St. Suite 108 in downtown St. Joseph.
QueerSpace Collective, which began in Minneapolis in 2021, is a mentor-mentee program to help youth who are LGBTQ. LGBTQ is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer.
According to its website, QueerSpace Collective’s governing board decided the St. Cloud area would be a good place for a branch because the feedback the board received indicated there is a strong need for supporting LGBTQ youth and their families in central Minnesota.
Resources and support for LGBTQ youth are largely unavailable or inaccessible in the St. Cloud area, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, the board members noted.
Their statement continued: “Citing the record-breaking wave of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country, we plan to work alongside local community (members) to provide space for youth to show up as their authentic selves and make connections with others who understand and can help them navigate their experience as queer and trans people.”
QueerSpace Collective is considered the first mentorship program for LGBTQ youth in Minnesota. It was founded two years ago by Nicki Hangsleben, who is also the organization’s executive director.
Hangsleben has been active for nearly 20 years in nonprofits and has a background in strategic partnerships, business development, program oversight and financial management. Before founding QueerSpace Collective, she worked in the field of international development implementing agricultural programs throughout the world and worked for Minnesota Public Radio, as a financial assistant, and before that time she was a special-education assistant at Minneapolis Public Schools.
Hangsleben earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business.
She grew up in South Minneapolis and now lives in North Minneapolis with her wife and two daughters. Her passions include serving her community, advocating for the rights of all humans and creating lasting impacts locally and globally.
The director of the St. Cloud branch of QueerSpace Collective is Mandy Rubink, who grew up in central Minnesota. She has a bachelor’s degree in special education from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She lived in Mankato for more than 10 years, working as a middle-school youth director. In 2018, she and her family moved to the St. Cloud area, where she became a special education teacher, specializing in helping students with autism.
While living in Mankato for more than a decade, Rubink worked as a middle-school youth director. She is a Gay-Straight Alliance advisor and has offered professional development to teachers and community organizations about gender identity.
QueerSpace Collective was founded on the foundation people have the right to show up as their authentic selves. The organization is dedicated to helping LGBTQ youth to feel safe and empowered to be their true selves, to providing resources for youth and their caregivers and to raise awareness about the inequities faced by LGBTQ youth in their communities.
In recent years, there have been an increasing number of hate crimes directed at people who are LGTBQ or perceived as such. The crimes range from harassment to violent assaults that include rape and murder. There have also been increases in depression, anxiety, trauma, suicide attempts and suicides among LGBTQ youth.
