Offers safety, fun for LGBTQIA+ youth

凯特·布兰尼夫

Growing up in a small town in northern Colorado wasn’t always easy for Kimberly 钱伯斯.

“I knew I wouldn’t be accepted for who I was, so I couldn’t come out,” she says. “I didn’t have a safe place to drop in.”

For those who identify as lesbian, 同性恋, 双性恋, 变性人, 酷儿, 双性, 无性, 或其他(LGBTQIA+), there are few safe spaces where an individual can be completely open and honest with others, Alyssa Wright解释道, a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Integrated Counseling & Wellness in Fort Collins. “When someone can’t feel their most authentic and genuine self, they’re at extreme risk of mental health struggles like depression, 焦虑, 自杀倾向, 以及药物使用.”

事实上, LGBTQIA+ youth experience much higher instances of suicide, 药物滥用, and homelessness than heterosexual youth in the United States. Having support decreases these numbers.

“LGBTQIA+ youth in supportive families are 50 percent less likely to think about suicide than kids in unsupportive situations,赖特说。.

As a parent, educator, activist, and 酷儿 woman, 钱伯斯 understands these dangers well. 填补空白, she created 飞溅 (Supporting Pride, 学习, and Social Happenings) Youth of Northern Colorado, 一个志愿者, community program connecting young people 5-24 years old and their families to safe spaces, 保护规划, 资源, and referrals to pre-screened specialists. 飞溅 offers weekly age-specific and peer-led support groups, 活动, and leadership opportunities.

Organizations offering this type of support exist in bigger cities, 但并不总是更小, 农村地区. 钱伯斯, 谁担任董事?, describes 飞溅 as similar to a community-based 同性恋-straight alliance, specifically for LGBTQIA+ youth in Larimer and Weld counties.

COVID封锁

Like many nonprofit organizations, demand for 飞溅’s services skyrocketed when the COVID-19 global crisis hit.

“When COVID really started affecting our young people in late March, our numbers jumped over 500 percent from the year before,钱伯斯说。. “We saw huge increases in need when kids were isolated from their safe social networks.”

钱伯斯 added multiple online support groups and social events to keep up with demand, but she does try to host in-person events with proper COVID-19 safety protocols whenever possible.

“To a certain degree, online doesn’t fill the gap of in-person connection,”
解释了赖特. “For this time specifically, with everything being online, it’s even more important to have these safe spaces.”

让青年

钱伯斯 believes that to be relevant with kids, adults need to meet them where they are, and not the other way around. From social media outreach to planning events and making decisions, 飞溅 youth are encouraged to be involved and take on leadership roles.

说我疯了吧, and sometimes it’s difficult, but I encourage our board to have youth in voting, 板位置,钱伯斯说。. “It keeps us accountable, empowers youth, and it keeps our goals and strategies relevant.”

The 飞溅 Ambassador program provides training in suicide prevention and other peer interventions, giving youth tools to identify peers who might need help but don’t feel comfortable going directly to an adult.

“在我的成年生活中, family and friends have given me space to discover and be my authentic self,钱伯斯说。. “I feel it’s worth returning that empowerment, to make sure kids can stay alive.”