🌈Happy Pride!🌈

Happy Pride! 🌈 We extend gratitude to the LGBTQ+ advocates that have shaped today’s Pride movement, and created space for national recognition of diversity, inclusion, and authenticity. Their legacy of unwavering dedication to equality, community, visibility, and equal access for the queer community is emphasized and highlighted every June. 

As we celebrate Pride and continue the work of Sylvia Rivera, Harvey Milk, Marsha P. Johnson, and others that came before and after them, there are several resources that may be of value to you and the youth in your community. 

LGBTQ+ Youth Services

• Pride Toolkit | LGBTQ+ Education & Resources. In this toolkit from Partners in Prevention, you’ll find links to educate communities and provide resources for prevention and treatment professionals, schools, youth-serving organizations, parents, and anyone looking to become a better ally.
• Housing Discrimination and Persons Identifying as LGBTQ. In this guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), learn details about the Fair Housing Act Protections from Sex Discrimination Including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; HUD's Equal Access Rule Protections for Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Marital Status; and more.
• Creating Safer Spaces for LGBTQ Youth: A Toolkit for Education, Healthcare, and Community-Based Organizations. This toolkit from Advocates for Youth has been developed to assist individuals, community-based organizations, providers, healthcare staff, educators, and others that see the value of incorporating key safer space components into their organizations so that young people survive and thrive.
• Behaviors of Supportive Parents and Caregivers for LGBTQ Youth.  Across multiple studies, a strong parent/caregiver-child relationship has been found to support good mental health among LGBTQ youth. Among other things,  this research brief from The Trevor Project shares that “for transgender, nonbinary, and gender questioning youth, eleven of the twelve supportive actions were significantly associated with lower odds of a suicide attempt in the past year, ranging from 42% to 16% lower odds.”  
• Helping Families Understand Their LGBTQ Kids. The My Kid Is Gay organization’s website sources voices from across the world to help answer the many questions that parents (and family members, and even teachers!) have about the LGBTQIA young people in their life, including advice from parents, youth, and experts on a variety of topics related to sexuality and gender identity.
• Toolkits from True Colors United. In the United States, 4.2 million youth experience homelessness each year, with (LGBTQ youth 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ peers. True Colors United implements innovative solutions to youth homelessness that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQ young people. 
• Lambda Legal Help Desk. Lambda Legal's Help desk provides information and resources relating to discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and HIV status.
• National Center for Transgender Equality. An organization that advocates to change policies and society to increase understanding and acceptance of transgender people, NCTE offers self-help guides, ‘Know Your Rights’ information, and more!

Blogs & Videos from the Youth Collab Team

• Blog: Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Religion. Youth Catalyst Team member, Evelyn, shares their reflections on experiencing dissonance between their gender identity and sexual orientation, and their religion.
• Blog: Let's Celebrate Black Queer & Trans Lives this Pride. Youth Catalyst Team member, Demetrius, shares about the importance of celebrating and honoring Black Queer & Trans Pride all year round.
• Youth Collaboratory team members have shared resources and reflections during Pride Month. Check out the videos below and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay connected with us this month and throughout the year!  

Learn about LGBTQ+ History

• LGBTQ History from GLSEN. In these resources from GLSEN, access inclusive curriculum as part of fostering safe and affirming learning environments for all students. This compilation of resources includes links for students, educators, LGBTQ+ History Cards, and an LGBTQ History Timeline Reference. 
• The Black and brown activists who started Pride. In this blog for Brookings, Kristen Broady and Carl Romer write about the piece of history that frequently gets lost during Pride Month celebrations,  “defining moments in queer history that sparked activism and progress toward equality - made possible by Black and brown LGBTQ+ activists fighting for their liberation.”
• How Did the Rainbow Flag Become a Symbol of LGBTQ Pride? Learn about the origins of the first rainbow flag, including the meaning of each of the colors in this Britannica article. 
• How 19th-Century Drag Balls Evolved into House Balls, Birthplace of Voguing. “From its inception, ballroom houses offered security for Black and Latinx queer, gay and trans people.” Learn more from this article where Thaddeus Morgan traces the origins of House Ballroom back to the late 1800s. 
• A short history of trans people's long fight for equality. In this video, TED Resident Samy Nour Younes shares the remarkable, centuries-old history of the trans community, filled with courageous stories, inspiring triumphs -- and a fight for civil rights that's been raging for a long time.
• Billy Porter Gives A Brief History of Queer Political Action | them. Academy award-winning actor and singer Billy Porter explores the more obscure political actions that have changed the course of LGBTQIA+ history in this video for them.

Pride All Year 

• Pride Celebrations Around the World. Find LGBTQ+ Pride Events and Celebrations throughout North America and the World on this calendar by month and city. 
• Queer Mutual Aid. In this Trans Visibility Toolkit from TransHub learn about how mutual aid and radical care ask us “to take responsibility for caring for one another and for working to change the conditions that impact peoples health and lives, not just through symbolic acts, or necessarily by political advocacy, but by building new social relations that improve quality of life.” Connect to opportunities for COVID 19 Mutual Aid and Emergency Funds with this list from the National Center for Trans Equality.
• Trans Lifeline Name Change Microgrants. Learn about how these microgrants “provide trans and nonbinary people with low-barrier funds and support to correct names and/or gender markers on identifying legal documents”.
• Black Transmen, Inc. Scholarships and Grants. Learn about the two grant programs from Black Transmen. The Brother 2 Brother Binder Grant Program and Top Surgery Grant Program are opportunities to support transmen who are focused on Black trans equality. 
• Bail Support through LGBTQ Freedom Fund. LGBTQ Freedom Fund pays bail to secure the safety and liberty of individuals in jail and immigration detention. Learn about their work to address the disproportionately high rate and harm of jailing on LGBTQ individuals.

Take Action!

• Count Me In Campaign. Actively working to advocate for the rights and lives of the transgender and non-binary community, The Human Rights Campaign has action steps you can take to join them in their movement. Can they count you in? 
• Mobilize Power Fund. This is a rapid response fund that resources gender justice organizations to adapt or pivot their work when met with unanticipated, time-sensitive opportunities or threats to their movement building work and organizing conditions. Learn more about Third Wave Fund and the upcoming application deadline of July 5, 2022.
• LGBTQ Youth Advocacy & State Policies. This page by Movement Advancement Project (MAP) contains resources addressing the challenges and strengths of LGBTQ youth ranging from challenges for transgender youth in schools, LGBTQ youth and their experiences in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and maps showing state laws that impact LGBTQ youth including conversion therapy, safe schools, and child welfare.
• T* is for Thriving: Blueprints for Affirming Trans* and Gender Creative Lives and Learning in Schools. Read this call for contributions to the edited volume. It will collect wisdom from trans* and gender creative (T*GC) communities, as well as (and including) educators, program staff, and others serving K-16 age young people, to offer models of T*GC-responsive, -celebratory, and -affirming education. 
• Queer & Now Pride Month Toolkit | Actions You Can Take. This toolkit includes a variety of resources, images, sample social media, and publications to support you in amplifying the voices and experiences of LGBTQ youth—this month, and every month! 

Crisis Resources

• The Trevor Project - 1-866-488-7386
• Trans Lifeline - 1-877-565-8860

Additional Resources 

• PRONOUNS | Online Game from Minus18. Learn about and practice using pronouns in this game from Minus18. “They, She and He are all examples of common pronouns. Some people also prefer less common pronouns. They, Xe and Ey are a few common gender neutral pronouns.”  
• Pride Month and Summer Activities from the Autism Society. This list from the Autism Society focuses on celebrating diversity within the Autism community, including LGBTQ+ intersectionalities,  Autistic Pride Day, and additional summer activity ideas for all ages.
• Resources for the Faith Community. ReconcilingWorks has created resources for faith communities to use to celebrate PRIDE and also speak up and advocate for LGBTQIA+ people. On this site from Interfaith Alliance you’ll find resources for Faith for Pride. 
• Accelerating Acceptance Study by GLAAD. This year’s study by GLAAD found that non-LGBTQ Americans are becoming more understanding that the LGBTQ community is not just one homogenous group, but rather a diverse community of various identities across gender and sexuality. Additionally, the findings show that non-LGBTQ Americans are becoming increasingly aware that there are more than two genders, with many polled also understanding that transgender and nonbinary people will continue to be a more visible and familiar part of life.
• National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health highlights several ways in which we can all support the LGBTQ young people in our lives—and help prevent suicide.