Are
you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe
you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum
for you than MileHighGayGuy? MileHighGayGuy
is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and
events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces
from a gay perspective. These
are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in
Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver
2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience.
There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert
tickets, music, books and other cool stuff. If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson atdrew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.
In the time frame of terminating my last relationship and my current dating-my-boyfriend status I made some really bad choices. You can see this reflected in my lack of blogging as well. It was a time of re-thinking and reflection of what made Steve, Steve.During this time I was also doing traveling for work, and I needed some sort of comfort. Now, a more exotic man would have turned to drinking. Or, maybe an investment of a tattoo. As many people have demonstrated in life, getting inkinjected into their skin is a perfect way to come to terms with change in their lives. If I would have been more cleaver, I would have inked a dragon onto my bulging upper arm. Instead, it turned to something much worse and self-destructive.
Audiobooks.
Okay, not just your standard audiobooks; Gay. Romance. It pains me to even admit it here, but yes.I was addicted to Audible.com and their painfully wide selection of gay romance novelas. I can’t really remember much about this time span. It was thankfully short-lived.I also cannot re-tell any plots, other than that they were painfully formulaic.It would typically be a straight identifying hockey player who owned a farm,or maybe a cop who had his wife die. Sometimes it would be a ranch owner, maybea ranch owning cop that played hockey in college. In these stories there was alsowas a buddy; maybe they played together on the college team, or went through the academy together. The buddy was always heterosexual identifying as well. Long story short (pun intended) never knew…. feelings…. explore… implied betrayal…. reconciliation….adopting a stray yellow lab (so fake, like a yellow lab would ever be a stray) and then the most perfect Christmas would happen. Anyway, these books taught me to love again. Blah.blah.blah.
I have recovered from my days of dark habits. And have gone on to become a functioning member of society. But, it seems my choices will never be free of me. As I skim through my Audible account I am constantly reminded. See,with an Audible account you can delete books from your phone, or table, but they will never be truly gone. They are always list under “Your Account Books.” The only way to destroy any trace is to delete my account and start over. But,this means I will delete many good books. To remove The Truth as He Knows It I must also delete all of my Aldous Huxley.
I would have kept this my private shame. But, then I borrowed my Boyfriends car. Well, he was out of town and I was driving it to get detailed. I synced by phone via Bluetooth to listen to some tunes while driving. This meant that when he returned and we hopped into his car, months later. My phone somehow usurped his phone. My phone did not start playing Rammstein, no. It decided to play chapter twelve of The Heart as He Hears It. A touching scene of Chad coming to terms that a hockey player/cop can really love his best friend on many levels including a level based upon anal.
I have not heard the end of it. A constant reminder of how I have gay romance at my fingertips is fed to me on a daily dose from many friends. It may have been easier if I had just covered my arms with ubiquitous and played-out tribal tattoos.
Luna have unveiled their dazzling video for their take on The Cure's "Fire In Cairo." The video stars Rose McGowan and was directed by the Academy Award and Emmy-nominated Keven McAlester (Last Days In Vietnam, You're Gonna Miss Me). Of the track the band's Dean Wareham says, "those first three albums by The Cure made a big impression on me as a teenager and 'Fire in Cairo' is one of the first songs I learned when I started playing guitar. We are so happy Rose McGowan decided to do this video."
On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men. When his chatting and webcamming intensify, he begins meeting men at a nearby cruising beach while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling toward irreparable consequences. Eliza Hittman’s award-winning Sundance hit Beach Rats is a powerful character study that is as visually stunning as it is evocative.
The Raver Stories Project is the book that reveals the rave scene as it really was and is, compiled and edited by one of the ultimate rave insiders—dance music photojournalist Michael Tullberg. Having worked for virtually all the major electronic music magazines of the period, such as URB, MIXER, BPM Culture and Insider, Tullberg has long been dissatisfied with the mainstream public’s negative perception of raving. In late 2016, he put out a Call for Story Submissions to the electronic music community, asking for their most memorable, exciting and even transformative experiences in the rave scene. The response he got was nothing less than phenomenal.
Tullberg received stories from around the world, ranging in time from the original UK rave explosion in the late 1980s until the present day. The scope of the stories is impressively wide, including warehouse parties, desert raves, mansion parties, underground clubs, and much more. Tales came in about the over-the-top lunacy of Electric Daisy Carnival, the elite VIP room at Ministry of Sound London, and the desert wastes of Burning Man, among many others.
“There’s never been an American book about electronic music like this one,” said Tullberg. “Never before have fans of electronic music banded together to tell their stories of what the rave scene is really like, and why it means so much to them. For the first time, their voices can now be heard as a legitimate and productive counter to the negatively-tinged narrative found in much of the mainstream media.”
Do
you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s
the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is
with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
Following a head-spinning seven Emmy Award nominations for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season nine, VH1 today announced “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” will return for a third season, serving viewers another taste of some of the series’ fiercest queens. The returning court will battle it out on the runway in all new and unforgettable challenges as they compete for the crown and position in the "Drag Race Hall of Fame" alongside past “All Stars” winners Chad Michaels and Alaska. The network also greenlit the popular behind-the-scenes after show, “RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked,” which is also nominated this year for an Emmy Award in the Unstructured Reality Program category.
“The world is calling out to see more of these beautiful queens and I am going to give them every bit of it they can handle,” said executive producer and host RuPaul. “These All Stars represent the best of the breasts, legs and thighs. They are giving everything and you’re not going to want to miss it!”
“The massive swell of new and longtime fans of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is nothing short of incredible,” said Pamela Post, SVP Original Programming & Development at VH1. “We are motivated now more than ever to ensure ‘Drag Race’ remains a shining example of inclusion and community, as well as fierce fashions and legendary lip-syncs.”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” follows a jaw-dropping season nine of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which was the most-watched in series history. The finale trended across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and was the #1 most social program the day of broadcast as viewers watched Sasha Velour crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar.
“RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked” provides viewers a raw, behind-the-scenes look as the competing queens as they await to find out who will lip sync for their life. The companion series will return just in time for the milestone 10th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” debuting in spring 2018.
One hundred and forty years ago, Cherry Creek North
was part of a small town called Harman. Since then, Cherry Creek North
has emerged as a staple in the fabric of Denver and Colorado, blossoming
into a very special mixed-use district. What
sets it apart? Perhaps it’s the walkability of the area, or lodging
that provides all the comforts of home. Maybe it’s the laughter spilling
out of a gallery during a nightly wine tasting, or alfresco dining on a
patio laced with flowers. When you’re in Cherry Creek North, you can
sit back and exhale. Life feels good here.
At this moment, there are about 12,300 Coloradans who are living with HIV - including 9% who are undiagnosed and unaware of their infection. And anywhere from 325 to 400 more of us are newly diagnosed every year. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that HIV infection in Denver is down about 60 percent overall since 2005 thanks to strategies like the Fast-Track Cities Initiative (did you know the city of Denver has pledged to end AIDS by 2030?) and the use of antiretroviral drugs. These antiretroviral drugs do an excellent job of treating people with HIV, driving their viral loads down to the point where they are undetectable. And an undetectable viral load makes it very, very difficult for people who are HIV-positive to spread the virus to anybody else.
And now for the best news of all. Right now it’s easier than it’s ever been for those who are currently HIV-negative to stay that way. It’s called PrEP.
What is Prep? PrEP is Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis - the process of taking daily medication to prevent HIV infection. That medication is Truvada, currently the only medication currently approved for PrEP by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When taken daily, it is over 90% effective in preventing HIV transmission. Pretty amazing.
Compare that to condoms, which, while up to 99% effective in laboratory conditions, can be much less effective in the real world - especially for gay men. At a 2013 conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections results were presented that showed that the effectiveness of condoms for MSM who use condoms can be as little as 70%, according to an article at POZ.com. Yikes. Not to mention that condoms aren’t always at hand, can be used incorrectly or hinder sexual performance, and, of course, there are plenty of guys out there who just don’t like them. For those men, a daily Truvada pill is an easy, effective solution.
“Current data suggests that most people in the gay community in Denver know about PrEP but that only a small number of people are actually on it,” says Mark Thrun, a Denver-based MD who is the Associate Director of HIV Medical Sciences for Gilead Sciences, the makers of Truvada. “It speaks to an enormous gap that hopefully getting the word out about will help us all remedy. There are thousands of people in the Denver area who could benefit from PrEP or at least a discussion with their medical provider about going on PrEP.”
So how do you get on PrEP? It’s pretty easy. Just bring it up to your healthcare provider. Doctors and medical professionals sometimes don’t know we exist or know a lot about our specific concerns as gay men but the more we come out, the more we start talking about our issues and concerns, the more these providers will become comfortable talking about the things we want and need to talk about. Advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to shop around a little bit, because Colorado has a number of PrEP-friendly providers.
Currently, very few Colorado insurance providers do not pay for PrEP. So if you’ve got insurance, payment should not be much of a barrier. For people without insurance it is a little more challenging but there are financial assistance options available, so don’t give up. For more information on financial assistance and PrEP, visit http://www.proudtobeprepped.com. You owe it to yourself, your partner, and your community to learn as much as you can about PrEP and HIV prevention.
Mitchell Green is a Hollywood star on his way to the A-list -- if he can only keep that pesky “recurring case of homosexuality” under wraps. When Mitchell falls for a young call-boy while in New York for a premiere, his acerbic, fast-talking Hollywood agent, Diane, takes matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, the call-boy, Alex, is trying to figure out what he wants: Mitchell, or best friend/lover Ellen. He is torn between his desires for glitter and money and his longing for love, with all its requisite complications. Throughout all this, the tabloid-mad public keeps at everyone’s heels, waiting anxiously for someone to fall.
Vintage Theatre presents the Denver premiere of “The Little Dog Laughed” September 8 through October 22*. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays and Monday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at the Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010. Tickets are $15 - $30 and available online at www.vintagetheatre.com or by calling 303-856-7830.
From
Senate Republicans to Hillary Clinton, there is a rare and growing
consensus across the political spectrum that, with the highest
incarceration rate in the world, the United States’
criminal justice system in need of reform. However, one population has
been largely absent from the discussion: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) people.
A
major report offers the most comprehensive analysis to
date of how LGBT people, and particularly LGBT people of color, face
higher rates of incarceration and unfair treatment and abuse
in the criminal justice system. Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People
documents how pervasive stigma and discrimination, biased enforcement
of laws, and discriminatory policing strategies mean that LGBT people
are disproportionately
likely to interact with law enforcement and to have their lives
criminalized. LGBT people are also treated unfairly once they enter the
system; the report shows how they are disproportionately incarcerated
and face abuse while incarcerated. Finally, the report
sheds light on the fact that LGBT people face unique and considerable
challenges in the struggle to rebuild their lives after experiences with
law enforcement—and particularly after time spent in a correctional
facility.
To
illustrate the real impact of these failures in the criminal justice
system, the report highlights personal stories of LGBT people impacted
by the criminal justice system and spotlights innovative programs,
initiatives, and organizations from around the country. Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People
was co-authored by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) and the
Center for American Progress (CAP), in partnership with Forward
Together, JustLeadershipUSA, and Advancement Project. It is available
online at
www.lgbtmap.org/criminal-justice.
A video about the report is available here: http://lgbtmap.org/lgbt-criminal-justice-video
“It
used to be a crime to be LGBT in the United States, and while police
are no longer raiding gay bars, LGBT people, especially LGBT people of
color, are still disproportionately pushed into the criminal
justice system. They are treated unfairly within the system and in
correctional settings, and face extraordinary challenges in rebuilding
their lives,” said Ineke Mushovic, Executive Director of MAP.
The
report synthesizes the latest research and analysis to make the case
that LGBT people, especially LGBT people of color and low-income LGBT
people, pay an extraordinarily high price for the failures
of the U.S. criminal justice system:
·According to
the National Inmate Survey, from 2011 to 2012, 7.9% of individuals in
state and federal prisons identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, as
did 7.1% of individuals in city and county
jails. This is approximately double the percentage of all American
adults who identify as LGBT, according to Gallup (3.8%).
·Sixteen
percent of transgender and gender non-conforming respondents to the
National Transgender Discrimination Survey indicated they had been held
in jail or prison, with higher rates for transgender
women (21%) and lower rates for transgender men (10%). Comparatively,
about 5% of all American adults will spend time in jail or prison during
their lives.
·In a 2015
survey of young people at seven juvenile detention facilities sites
across the country, an estimated 20% identified as LGBT or gender
non-conforming, including 40% of girls and 14% of boys.
This is about triple the percentage of all youth who identify as LGBT
or gender non-conforming (an estimated 5-7%).
The report paints a harrowing picture of the three ways in which the broken system fails LGBT people:
ENTERING THE SYSTEM: INCREASED CRIMINALIZATION OF LGBT PEOPLE
Three factors increase the chances that an LGBT person will be stopped or arrested by police and pushed into the system:
·Discrimination
and stigma in society, housing, workplaces, families and communities
leave LGBT people at increased risk for poverty or homelessness, which
in turn leads to increased risk of having
encounters with law enforcement and, ultimately, criminalization.
·Discriminatory
enforcement of criminal laws targets LGBT people, including HIV
criminalization laws, drug laws, and laws criminalizing consensual sex.
·Harmful
policing strategies and tactics push LGBT people, especially LGBT people
of color and low-income LGBT people, into the criminal justice system.
IN THE SYSTEM: LGBT PEOPLE ARE MORE FREQUENTLY INCARCERATED AND TREATED HARSHLY
Within the criminal justice system, LGBT people face two main challenges:
·Discrimination
in legal proceedings leaves LGBT people more likely to spend time in
juvenile justice facilities, adult correctional facilities, and
immigration detention facilities.
·Unfair and
inhumane treatment in jails, prisons, and other confinement facilities
puts LGBT people at risk of violence, physical and sexual assault, and
harassment by staff and fellow inmates. Incarcerated
transgender people often lack access to competent, medically-necessary
healthcare and when they are placed in facilities according to their
birth sex, transgender people are at increased risk for harassment and
sexual assault.
LIFE AFTER CONVICTION: LGBT PEOPLE FACE ADDED CHALLENGES TO REBUILDING LIVES
There are two primary post-conviction challenges for LGBT people:
·Discrimination
and a lack of cultural competency in probation, parole, and re-entry
programs mean LGBT people may not receive the assistance they need. For
example, hostile parole officers or unsafe
group housing conditions may lead to LGBT people violating the terms of
release or community supervision in order to feel safe, putting them at
risk of being reincarcerated.
·The impact of
having a criminal record is substantial and touches every aspect of a
person’s life. For people who already struggle with pervasive
discrimination, such as LGBT people and people of
color, the added challenges of having a criminal record create
substantial barriers to rebuilding one’s life and avoiding future
interactions with the criminal justice system. For LGBT immigrants,
regardless of immigration status, having a criminal record
can easily lead to deportation.
“As
the nation continues to debate how to fix the criminal justice system,
it is critical to explore solutions that will improve conditions and
ensure fairness for everyone,” said Laura E. Durso, Senior
Director of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center
for American Progress. “That includes America’s nine million LGBT people
who are at increased risk of having their lives and life chances
destroyed by the current criminal justice system.”
Energetic. Dynamic. Electrifying. These are just a few words to describe LGBT dance/pop musician Joey Suarez. A resident of San Antonio, Texas, Suarez spends most of his time juggling his multiple ventures which range from a brand new fashion line, Ravers Fantasy, to acting and of course his music.
Although his future is bright, the road he traveled had some dark moments. A family of 12 siblings, Suarez was an object of constant sexual abuse by his grandfather for 6 years in his own home.
This occurred shortly after his biological father was convicted of raping his two older sisters. “It's sad to think about it, not only myself, but also most of my siblings have witnessed or experienced some sort of sexual abuse in our past,” Suarez states. “You'd think a family so large would grow distant in this type of situation, but we’re actually closer than most families because of it. It's no mystery what has brought my abnormally large family so close together.”
Suarez was 15 years old when he first opened up about being abused and how it affected him during his childhood. “To my surprise, being able to speak out about this serious issue has helped heal my relationship with my mother, who at first did not agree with my gay lifestyle, believing it was residual of my abuse. It gave us a common ground of experience to build off of. In my mom’s words, she believes “God gave us the chance to heal one another.”
These experiences would be enough to derail anyone’s dreams and ambitions, but instead, Suarez recalls more highs than lows in his childhood. “I was very fixated on the Arts, and as a child it was the rehearsals and performances that gave me refuge. It gave me the feeling of being ‘high’ on life or ‘high’ on music. In hindsight, I know it was the few times I felt safe.”
It was about that time that Suarez began to dabble in acting and professional modeling in Texas, Los Angeles and New York. “By the time I was 18, I had a beautiful portfolio which I was able to use to book modeling gigs in Los Angeles and New York.” Due to the social media success of these photoshoots Joey went on to work with Major clients like Sony, Marvel, Dreamworks, The Next Gay Thing, HorniUnderwear And TaniUSA.
Although modeling and acting play an important role in Suarez’s life, his heart lies in creating music. “I wrote my first song when I was 6 and have not heard the last of it from my family who to this day can still recite it.”
The first real song that Suarez remembers writing was composed shortly after experiencing the loss of his beloved grandmother, who passed away from stomach cancer. “The experience of watching such a beautiful, strong, Hispanic woman just crumble under her cancer was... heartbreaking. So I felt inspired to write a song called "Memories". It talks about how we should remember each other for the love and memories we've created together. I know it's how she would have wanted me to remember her rather than in a hospital. That's truly when I began writing music.”
Today, he draws influence from his family, all of whom are blessed with a musical gift. As with most large families, they are very competitive, so each family member plays a different instrument as a means of limiting that rivalry. “By the time it fell to me to choose an instrument, the only thing left was singing. Which, for a Mormon child means singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Unfortunately for the church my voice wasn't meant to blend with others.”
To the surprise of his fans, Suarez is a classically-trained opera/choir singer. By the time he was 16, he had over 10+ years of classical vocal training. “I was so sick of getting criticized in choirs for being ‘too loud’ or ‘not blending’ that I decided to try musical theatre. I fell in love. Suddenly all the constrictions and criticisms went out the window and I could freely explore my inner urges and talents.”
Suarez didn’t begin to explore pop music until he was 21 years old. Drawing from a wide range of musical influences including Linkin Park, Miley Cyrus and Daft Punk, he has crafted a style of music truly unique to what we hear currently on the radio. “Personally I think I learned to operate in crisis for too long. My music was driven by the secrecy of my abuse. Since I couldn't talk to anyone about what I was experiencing, I bottled it up and expressed myself through music. More often than not I would ignore my school work, and focus solely on my music. I am sure it seemed impulsive and slightly odd to some people, but for me this was life. It was relief, and it fueled the person and artist I am today.”
And while most musicians tend to hide their sexuality at the beginning of their career for fear of rejection, Suarez consciously decided to flaunt it. “I lived a life of secrecy from a very young age. I was about 14 when I decided secrets weren't worth it. From then on, I vowed never to lie and never to hide who I was from anyone and most of all myself.”
His first two singles, “High in the Sky” and “Love Me Back” have generated almost 130,000 streams collectively on Spotify. A feat not easy for an independent LGBT musician. He is currently in the studio writing and recording more songs that may become part of a larger project. However, Suarez mentions that the songwriting process is not easy. “It's nothing short of self-mutilation and torture to ones emotions.” Once he finds a beat that makes him want to dance, he inserts whatever words that come to mind until he stumbles on a theme. “Themes are the toughest part, because it's a moment where you have to be real about where the music is coming from. More often than not, I find myself in a dark place where repressed emotions exist. So I will use this chance to take the music’s beat and use it to help me reshape those images, or memories. As the music comes to life, the lyrics tend to morph from a negative perspective to a more positive one. For me this is a part of my healing process as an artist. By the time the song is done, I no longer feel pain and those memories now have a new meaning. Something positive or even inspiring.”
In recent months, Suarez has performed at New York City Pride as well as San Antonio Pride in his home state of Texas. He is scheduled to perform in Coming Out with Pride in Orlando this October. “Performing in NYC Pride for two years in a row was an absolutely dream come true. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I find it important to stand up and speak out about what it means to be proud of who you are. I do this through my music. PRIDE has given life to my career by supporting and introducing me to a community that gives me confidence in who I am.”
A Los Angeles County lesbian couple filed suit in federal court against a Colorado-based company and its health insurance administrator for its refusal to provide them spousal health insurance coverage on an equal basis to its heterosexual employees. They argue the employer’s conduct violates federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on sex including Title VII and the Affordable Care Act. According to the complaint, Colorado-based Cherry Creek Mortgage Company told their employee Judith Dominguez that they would no longer offer spousal health care benefits to Dominguez’s wife Patricia Martinez, showing Dominguez a policy statement that said Cherry Creek only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman.
“The judge who married us said it was an honor to perform our ceremony,” said Patricia Martinez. “He told us, ‘Now you are family’. Cherry Creek doesn’t have the right to rip that apart. They can’t take our rights away from us.”
According to Dominguez's lawyers, the Colorado-based mortgage brokerage claims it does not have to provide health insurance benefits to spouses of LGBT employees—yet it markets its mortgage products to same-sex couples, and required Dominguez to attend a mandatory training for selling mortgages to same-sex couples.
Adding insult to injury, Cherry Creek continued to use Dominguez’s likeness in promotional materials even after terminating her, including her photo on their website and her forged signature underneath the “Cherry Creek Promise”—a page that was only de-linked when the company learned of today’s news conference.
“Cherry Creek recognizes same-sex marriages when it comes to selling mortgages to same-sex couples, so why won’t they recognize the marriage of one of their employees?” said Judith Dominguez. “They say they believe in family values, but clearly they value some families more than others.”
Martinez’s Covered California policy does not cover her cardiologist or her longtime primary care provider. Runaway out-of-pocket costs threaten her health. “The only thing more stunning than Cherry Creek’s bigotry is their hypocrisy,” said Dan Stormer of Hadsell, Stormer & Renick, a Los Angeles civil rights firm. “Under the U.S. Constitution, Patricia and Judith’s marriage is equal to any throughout the land. Cherry Creek’s owners can believe anything they want, but they can’t take away health coverage because of that belief.” “Cherry Creek is trying to take advantage of the current climate to move the country and LGBT rights backwards,” said Lori Rifkin of Hadsell, Stormer & Renick. “But federal law doesn’t allow employers to play politics on the backs of gay couples.”
Dominguez’s and Martinez’s complaint, filed in federal court in the Central District of California, charges Cherry Creek with discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Affordable Care Act, California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act, and the California Labor Code. The full complaint can be viewed here.
Summer is coming to a close and it’s back to school for another great year! The first days of a new school year are exciting and busy for everyone – new school supplies, teachers, and classes, reuniting with friends, and making new ones.
But for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, that excitement can be accompanied by anxiety and fear. At One Colorado, we believe that all students – including LGBTQ students – should feel safe, welcome, and empowered to make change in their schools and in their community.
Every day, the One Colorado Safe Schools program works with school districts, educators, and students to create safer learning environments by providing resources, training, and best practices to combat bullying and harassment. Joining our team this year is Keri Smith, and she is tasked with ensuring that our Gay-Straight Alliances receive the support and programming needed to afford leadership and networking opportunities for LGBTQ students, allies, and educators across Colorado. Keri has worked with One Colorado in the past and is deeply committed to education, advocacy, and protections for all LGBTQ students, teachers, and families.
In an effort to make sure all four corners of the state are covered, we are hosting four Gay-Straight Alliance Leadership Summits. Find the one nearest you and register today.
