LGBTQ Youth and Families across Connecticut

We are more grateful to you, our donors and supporters than ever. 2017 was a challenging year – politically, financially and in terms of the growing need for advocacy.  A recent study looked at LGBTQ acceptance across the US and found that it has dipped under 50% for the first time in several years.  The researchers attribute that to the polarized political climate.  It now seems more ‘acceptable’ for people to express biased views about many groups including LGBTQ youth.  That new ‘freedom to be mean’ impacts our kids in many ways.  More depression, more substance use, more social isolation.  We know that it is more important than ever for True Colors to be in the forefront in making the world a safe and affirming place for all youth, including those who are queer.  And we know that we can’t do it without you. 

Here is some of what YOUR support made possible in the last quarter of 2017:

We visited 15 Gender/Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) in Connecticut schools during this quarter. We noticed that GSA visits have become way more serious over the last year. Most are much larger than they used to be (20-30 members as opposed to 5-10) and had clear goals involving the school climate and student body’s awareness level.   Here are some examples:

• The New Britain High (MBH) GSA is intensely invested in improving their school climate. They brainstormed several campaigns for this during our visit, eventually settling on gathering their stories together in a zine and then hopefully having other students read them aloud on video (keeping anonymity but adding emotion). The heartbreaking thing about NBH was asking them “what are you up against?” as a conversation starter and hearing multiple stories about staff bullying students for being queer. One was denied entry into homecoming with his boyfriend and other students snuck them into their own dance. When the advisor said she hadn’t heard about this, the student said, “You didn’t ask.” It seems bullying by an adult is so commonplace it doesn’t seem like something that should even deserve a report.
  
  
• Only two students attended the New Haven summit, despite extensive advertising and personal outreach to both advisor and student contacts. The two that attended told me they expected it to be a small group as it isn’t safe to be out in New Haven, and it isn’t safe in the area we hosted the summit (New Haven Pride Center) for many students because it’s the white part of town. This needs major follow-up on our part.
  
  
• Movie Night was “run” by one of our former mentees, Jessie. She comes back to help us clean out our trash buckets (by bringing bags outside) and clothing closet (by bringing bags at a time home), but this is the first time she stepped up to an activity. It was a neat “brave space” moment – and an example of the long term impact of our work.
  
  
• Drag Night brought in a couple brand new faces! This one was a kick-off event, which featured a panel of local performers, including one of our mentors. We took pages of topics that were brought up during the event on sticky-notes so everyone could keep track; we ended up with three pages of material to work with for future events! Fun and history and Queer culture are also a critical part of who we are and what we bring to our youth.

This is just a ‘taste’ of the work your support makes possible.We expect the demand for our services to continue to rise throughout 2018.  The lack of civil discourse at the national level shows no sign of abating; the crises of unkindness continues. But with your support, we will keep on keeping on.  Our kids need us all.

Links:

• Out in New Haven an interview with our founder
• Education matters: LGBTQ youth