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Oscar Oliveira Soens (He/Him/His) - Program Directoroscar.oliveirasoens@openskycs.org

Oscar, a white trans man with a white button shirt with flowers posing with thumbs up at an activities table at Fitchburg State's Rock the Block event."I'm from Massachusetts, I am transgender, I have two cats (and currently two fosters -- I foster for people who are between homes!), I love native plants and permaculture and I like to grow my own potatoes. I'm a collage artist in my spare time, and I'm really, really looking forward to making Safe Homes better and stronger than ever.

So far I've been having a blast and I feel very "at Home" here at Safe Homes/Open Sky. In my first couple weeks I was at Rock the Block (shown in photo), Worcester Pride, and the event at the New England Botanic Garden. I could not have done it all without the help of our wonderful youth!"

 

 

 

Otto Ruderman (They/Them) - Program Coordinator

[Image Description: photo of Safe Homes' Lead Peer, Otto Ruderman, a white, queer, nonbinary person. They are wearing a brown shirt and glasses. They have several piercings on their nose, lips and ears.]

Otto is the Program Coordinator at Safe Homes. A recent college grad, they studied Psychology to further their knowledge and skills in supporting the mental health of young adults. Otto has been regularly attending Safe Homes since 2016, and was a peer leader for three years prior to their current role. In Otto's free time, they enjoy baking, crocheting and listening to music. 
 

 

 

 

Maxwell Farrell (He/Him) - Peer Leader

[Image Description: Maxwell, Safe Homes Peer Leader, is smiling at the camera. He has glasses and shoulder length brown hair.Maxwell is currently a college student and is majoring in Psychology. He hopes to work in the field of mental health, particularly in a role involving the LGBTQIA+ community, in the future. Maxwell has been attending Safe Homes since 2018, and has been working as a Peer Leader since 2020. He spends his free time making art, baking, and spending time with his pets.

 

 

 

Alice Cleghorn (She/Her) - Peer Leader

Alice is serving with Safe Homes for 2022-2023 as a Commonwealth Corps Intern. She is passionate   about giving back to her community, in the same way Safe Homes was there for her years ago when she would attend as a youth. Alice hopes to apply her newfound knowledge and skills from working with LGBTQIA+ individuals to the field of STEM, in efforts to combat misrepresentation and discrimination of marginalized peoples in the science community. Apart from Safe Homes, Alice enjoys all things art related, such as electric guitar, drawing, singing, and crafting.