Making Your Home a Place Kids Want To Be

For many kiddos, the start of school is the perfect time to meet new students, expand their friend group, or connect more fully with their classmates. As a parent, it can be nerve-wracking to let our kiddo spend time in a new friend’s house. As a parent of an LGBTQ+ human, it can be terrifying. One of the best ways to ensure our kids and their LGBTQ+ friends are spending time in a safe environment is to open our home to them after school and on weekends. Being an ally is the first and most important step to creating a safe space for our kiddos. This guide focuses on the second most important thing: creating an inviting and awesome physical space. 

Co-create a space to hang out.

Kids these days are all about the aesthetics. They want to spend time in a space that feels really good to them, even if it wouldn’t be your design choice. Think of your kid as a partner in curating the space and give them some freedom to be...

Starting the School Year Off Right: A Guide for LGBTQ Students and Their Allies

For LGBTQ students and their allies, the start of the school year can be both daunting and exciting. There are new classes to take, new people to meet... and – for some students – a new locker room to get used to. For many LGBTQ students, this time of year can also be stressful, as they navigate what it means to be “out” at school and deal with potential discrimination or harassment. Luckily, there are things you can do to make the school year go a little bit smoother. This guide provides tips for both LGBTQ students and their allies on how to make the school year a positive experience. So read on, and let’s make this school year the best yet!

For LGBTQ+ Students:

1. Find your people. Whether it’s joining the Gay-Straight Alliance, connecting with other out students, or simply making friends with someone who is supportive, it’s important to find your...

Create a Safe Space for YOU 

So You Can be a Safe Space for Your Child

Media messaging would have you believe that back-to-school is a time of jubilant celebration for parents. But for many, it is stressful, beyond hectic, and anxiety-producing. For parents of LGBTQ+ kiddos, there are unique concerns each new school year and the current political climate makes this year especially troubling for many. 

We know that one of our most important jobs as a parent is keeping our children safe - physically and emotionally. We strive to do everything in our power to ensure that they have the best possible opportunities for success (however we measure it). But as parents of LGBTQ+ children, we worry about whether school - the classroom, the bathroom, the locker room, the sports field, the cafeteria, etc. - will be safe spaces for our LGBTQ+ kiddos.  

We stay vigilant as school boards and local and state legislators debate our children's rights, perhaps even their existence. We...

When Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” back in March, my heart dropped and I felt ill. Although not a parent, nor a resident of Florida, I am a proud “Titi” to my sister’s four children who range from age 3-11 and they all live in Florida. I also volunteer with LGBTQ+ youth in the state of North Carolina, where similar bills have been proposed. 

Last October, my sister showed me a letter sent home to parents discussing how some of the textbooks in a 5th-grade class needed to be replaced for violating the Florida Department of Education’s new requirements around Critical Race Theory. I witnessed firsthand how quickly the ban on Critical Race Theory went into full effect in my twin nephew’s schools and was appalled. As a nonbinary/transmasculine person with close friends who identify in the BIPOC community, and LGBTQ+, I was scared to know what my nephews and nieces would be taught in their foundational education...