A brand-new homeless shelter serving LGBTQ youth in New York City’s East Village will open early next year — and it’s all thanks to comedian and beloved Golden Girl Bea Arthur. Arthur, who died in 2009, left $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center, an organization that provides support for homeless LGBTQ young people. The center will pay tribute to Arthur in a big way in return.
“My name is Jesse, and I’m accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth who are starving, lost, and scared right now. I know this because I am one of these people.”
At last night’s MTV VMAs, pop star Miley Cyrus won the Video of the Year award for “Wrecking Ball.” But as buzzfeed reports, “rather than accept the award herself, she sent her friend Jesse”–who is himself a homeless youth. In a short but poignant speech, he highlighted the invisible population of homeless youth in America.
We hope this signals a change in attitude towards homelessness, especially for LGBT homeless youth across the country. In a 2012 study conducted by the Williams Institute, up to 40% of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans.
Did you see this speech last night?
Jóvenes LGBTQ! ¿Has tomado la Encuesta Nacional de Clima Escolar 2013 de GLSEN? ¿Sabías que es la única encuesta nacional para examinar las experiencias educativas de los jóvenes LGBTQ, y que se utiliza para informar a las autoridades educativas y al público sobre el derecho de todos los estudiantes a ser tratado con respeto? Descubre por qué es tan importante en este video, y por favor, toma la encuesta ahora! www.glsen.org/2013encuesta
Dear LGBTQ Youth,
I’m 33 years old, and my mother still tells me to “be safe” when I walk out of her house. In that moment, it’s like she’s seeing all the parts of me that add higher threat levels to my existence: queer, brown, deemed masculine presenting on sight, tattooed chubby dyke.
How many parents and guardians say the same words to their children as they walk out the door? How many of them see all the things they can’t protect us from as we exit the safety of their homes and are consumed by a vibrant but utterly chaotic world?
And that’s for those of us who have that type of love and support from our parents or guardians. That type of love and support is not a given for our LGBTQ community; it’s a luxury, just like the idea of safety.
Pulse. Orlando. 49 humans. LGBTQ. Allies. Puerto Ricans. Lovers. Sons. Siblings. Humans. Celebrating pride.
Celebrating because we as LGBTQ people have always been here, shining brightly, living out loud and in Technicolor, and we will continue to thrive.
Celebrating because what else can you do but find the glory and beauty in all the people who are blessed to be queer and brown? Because it’s Latinx night and all the world in this moment is yours.
Celebrating because our defiance is miraculous.
Because no matter what laws they pass or how many times the bigoted, violent forces come for us, we rally and push back with every ounce of our universe-given right to live free and out loud.
LGBTQ youth, know that we, LGBTQ adults and allies, strive to create safer schools and communities for you and with you.
Know that as hard as we try, we cannot 100% eradicate the recklessness and cruelty found in an often homophobic, racist, transphobic, anti-Black, anti-immigrant and pro-violence society.
Know that we use our spirits, our bodies and our work in every way possible to build hope and community for all of you.
The forces attempting to suppress and eliminate the LGBTQ community are strong and you should know this.
You probably already know this.
It probably already lives on your skin.
We learn about the world off the blood of our family members.
We are here with 49 people to mourn, and thousands of our community members grieving, mourning and afraid to go out and dance into the night.
So what do we do? How do we move forward in bravery when our lives are at risk?
How do we reclaim our community?
We must reach for each other.
We cannot shield you from the often harsh realities of this world, but we can hold tremendous healing spaces for each other.
We rally our GSAs and organize vigils in our schools.
We embrace the grief process. Let ourselves cry.
We find solace in each other so that our wounds can begin to heal.
We gather our friends and offer home-cooked meals.
We work on those zines about radical queerness, intersectionality and summer love.
We put on Pariah and find strength in Alike.
We write articles and blogs about ourselves, in our words because others cannot tell our stories for us.
We dive deep into our studies and our passions because no one can stop us from excelling.
We name our fears, our oppressors and all that must be changed.
We put pressure on school officials, city council people, senators and other folks in positions of power.
We take over bridges as we march for justice.
Together.
We must continue to do the work and strengthen our communities because they belong to us.
We must engage in all of this work while loving on each other and forcing the world to stretch with us, with our queer, trans, non-binary, asexual, bisexual, Latinx, Black, Muslim, Asian-Pacific Islander, Buddhist, Atheist, neurodivergent, totally glorious human selves.
So, let’s hold each other by the hand and say, “I love you”.
I love you because you’re my chosen family.
I love you because we just met on this dance floor, and I never knew my heart could feel so whole.
I love you because you’re brave enough to cry.
And vote.
And rally.
And rest.
I love you because you are vibrant, visible and glowing with pride.
I love you enough to keep fighting and thriving.
I cannot make the world safer, but I can walk with you.
I will dance with you.
We will dance together.
Because we are Pulse, we are Orlando, and we will never forget our fallen siblings in the struggle.
Love,
Gabby Rivera
Youth Programs Manager
Read more on the GLSEN Blog.
We love this recap of the GLSEN Respect Awards from The Advocate featuring advice for LGBT youth from Respect Awards honorees and friends of GLSEN!
[To honor LGBT youth] The Advocate asked those on the [GLSEN Respect Awards] red carpet, including Gigi Gorgeous, J.J. Abrams, Jason Collins, Dana Delany, Connor Franta, Robbie Rogers, Todrick Hall, and more, to offer a piece of advice to LGBT freshmen in high school. Here are their responses as well as highlights from the evening.
H/T: The Advocate
We will forever mourn and memorialize the victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando and will grieve the loss of safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ people for some time. As we begin to think about how to move forward and look ahead to the Pride events coming up in June and throughout the rest of the year, we are reminded of the importance of visible shows of support, whether in person or online.
When GLSEN began its work in 1990, people were only beginning to be out in K-12 settings—whether as LGBT themselves or as allies to LGBT people. Over the years, we’ve learned what a huge difference visible support at school makes in the lives of LGBTQ students. Indeed, GLSEN’s most recent National School Climate Survey shows LGBTQ students who are able to identify supportive school staff feel safer at school and have better educational outcomes.
A visible show of pride in our identities and communities, whether LGBTQ, Latinx, Muslim or others under attack, has rarely been more urgent. Equally urgent is the need for action, to address the needs of those affected by violence and hate, and to fight back to eliminate those damaging forces in our society.
Take action and read more on the GLSEN Blog!
Ally Week is about identifying and supporting allies to LGBT youth. Why? Because our research shows that when LGBTQ students can identify supportive educators and peers, their school experience is better.
This year, we want to make sure it’s absolutely clear: Ally Week is about learning to be better allies and recruiting more folks to step up to the plate. Whether you’re a lesbian adult working to make schools safer for today’s youth, or a gay student organizing to create safe spaces for your trans* friends, everyone has an opportunity this week to recognize their allyship and take action to become better at it.
Are you organizing? Get resources and register at glsen.org/allyweek
Have you heard? Sean Hannity calls LGBT youth “not normal” while discussing the Adrian Peterson case.
Reblog if you won’t stand for hateful comments like this!
Safe spaces and supportive schools matter for LGBT youth. We love this story from GLSEN National Student Council Member, Val!
While walking down her school’s hallway, [Val] saw a GLSEN Safe Space sticker stuck to her social worker’s door. “When I saw the sticker that said this is a safe space, it was like a sign that this was my time to be open about who I was,” she said.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Before we get on with the post, it’s important to note that these are two groups of diverse people who are very unique in many ways! However, in light of the month, (and mainly due to the fact that a lot of the resources available online are for both groups), here is a compilation of resources for Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ people! Other masterposts can be found here (and don’t hesitate to add anything if you have resources to contribute)!
GLSEN Pages:
Other organizations:
Historical information from the US National Park Service:
Some LGBTQ+ Asian/Pacific Islander Creators:
Other Helpful/Informational Links:
worriesconstantly
boykeats
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Before we get on with the post, it’s important to note that these are two groups of diverse people who are very unique in many ways! However, in light of the month, (and mainly due to the fact that a lot of the resources available online are for both groups), here is a compilation of resources for Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ people! Other masterposts can be found here (and don’t hesitate to add anything if you have resources to contribute)!
GLSEN Pages:
Other organizations:
Historical information from the US National Park Service:
Some LGBTQ+ Asian/Pacific Islander Creators:
Other Helpful/Informational Links:
