Pride season is here!!!! Check out these awesome tips from our VP of Digital Marketing!

•stay hydrated!

•wear sunscreen (reapply often)

•watch your drinks and food (date rape drug tastes salty, if your drink tastes too salty stop drinking immediately. never leave your drink alone, and keep an eye out on your drink in crowds. never accept an already open drink)

•watch out for your friends (you’d want them to do the same for you)

•be nice (but not TOO NICE it could come off as creepy or give some people the wrong idea)

•don’t judge “straight” couples (pride is inclusive of bisexuals, asexuals, aromantics, polysexuals, polyamorous folks, trans couples can look straight, some with non binary couples, etc. don’t forget straight allies are welcome. you never know)

•don’t judge others for what they’re wearing

•don’t assume anyone’s gender or sexual orientation

•be prepared for the weather (pack an umbrella if it’s supposed to rain, or a jacket if it’s supposed to be chilly, etc)

•be welcoming

•ask questions (pride is a great place to learn more)

•don’t go alone

•don’t let the homophobes and protesters get to you

•have fun!

Talk Leader Tuesday:

SAFE HAVENS WEBSITE CHAT IS NOW ACTIVE. 

I REPEAT SAFE HAVENS WEBSITE CHAT IS NOW ACTIVE.

this means you can come and chat with us about anything you’re struggling with and get advice from our amazing, inclusive, lgbtq+ talk leader team. no matter what the problem is, we will have someone who can help you out, and listen.

spread the word, and check us out. 

https://safehavenlgbtq.com/

https://safehavenlgbtq.com/

https://safehavenlgbtq.com/

https://safehavenlgbtq.com/

By Katie Sullivan

If you have not heard the GREAT news yet, then here you go:

INDIA DECLARES HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A MENTAL ILLNESS

This isn’t just a huge success for the community but for the country as well! The news broke yesterday on Facebook when the President of the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), Dr. Ajit Bhide, by posting a video & explaining why homosexuality should not be treated as an illness.

The battle now is to inform all practicing conversion therapies that homosexuality is no longer a term of therapy for homosexuality. Yes, this should have been done many years ago, but it is done now, so lets celebrate.

Congratulations to India & their continued progress! You can find the full video & more on our Facebook Page.

2017 was the deadliest year for the LGBT community. There was an 86% increase from 2016 – 2017. Hell, Mr. Trump didn’t even recognize Pride month & he was the first President to do is for many years. Are we moving forward or backwards?

At what point is it no longer violence in the community but a war on the community instead?

According to the FBI, here are the violence statistics for 2016:

Of 7,227 single bias hate crimes, 16.9% were sexual orientation based & 1.8% were gender identity.

Hate crimes are underreported for the fear of outing themselves.

Sexual assault is high within the community.

44% of lesbians experience rape

26% of gay men experience rape

61% of bi-women experience rape

37% of bi-men experience rape

How can we as individuals work towards lowering these numbers? Here are some ways:

If you are witnessing someone being harassed in any way, call 911. NEVER OUT SOMEONE. Simply say you are witnessing a form of harassment, labeling never helps anything.

Watch out for your friends when at the club or bar. Don’t accept drinks from strangers.

Speak up. If you hear someone talking bad, correct them. Explain that using gay in a negative connotation only makes it worse. A lot of people are just simply unaware.

Always educate. In any way you can.

Carry a Taser. Take defensive classes. Learn to protect yourself.

If you don’t feel safe, bartenders & managers are always up for walking you to your vehicle

Share this blog post for those who need educated

Why aren’t issues like this being discussed in the news? We should be educating everyone on what to do in situations like these to work towards prevention. Don’t turn your head because you don’t want to get involved. Do you know how many times I hear that phrase? Someone is being harmed and feels unsafe and you don’t want to be involved, so you let it happen? That makes you a part of it. You could have done something to help stop & you chose to let it continue. Don’t be that person. EVER.

By Katie Sullivan

A question that I receive many times within a weeks period is, “What does the + stand for in LGBT+?”. That is a simple question enough to answer.

When people think of LGBT+, they think of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual & Transgender.

Here is what the + represents:

A = Asexual – Someone who normally has little to no sex drive and is attracted to someone for more emotional reasons.

P = Pansexual – A fluid term to cover those who are attracted phsyically, emotionally & sexually to more than one gender identity. You often hear pansexuals refer to themselves as “gender-blind”.

I = Intersex – Making up a small percentage of the population, they are born with variations of their sex characteristics. These characteristics include, chromosomes, sex hormones, or genitals that don’t match either male or female.

GF = Gender Fluid – Someone who can move between identifying as either male or female or somewhere in between.

C = Cisgender – Someone who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth.

A = ALSO stands for Allies – Anyone who is a supporter of the LGBT+ community, normally referred to as “Straight Allies”. They are instrumental in helping bring political change.

N = Non-Binary – Someone who has a gender identity that is not exclusively male or female.

A= ALSO Agender – Someone who doesn’t identify as male, female, or otherwise.

A= ALSO Aromantic – Someone who experiences little to no romantic connection to other people – DIFFERENT than asexual.

B= ALSO Bigender – A person for identifies as two genders, they can be expressed simultaneously or not.

12,000 teens aged 13-17 feel depressed or down at school, while only 1/4 of those say they feel safe at school.

95% report trouble sleeping due to depression

Only 31% of trans teens are able to express themselves at school.

Just sit there for a moment & let these facts sink in..

If you are a parent of a 13-17 year old, take the time to research how you can help them without seeming like invading their privacy. There is a GREAT website, reachout.orgit is a parents version of Safe Haven. Anon peer to peer chat for parents to ask for advice with their children.

People get caught up in life & forget that it is okay if you are unaware of how to handle a matter with your child. No one is a perfect parent, always ask for help. Ages 13-17 are hard for people & they are quick to think that parents are against them, when in reality parents are all for their children. They just don’t know how to approach certain topics, I think. * I am not a parent, I am speaking from a daughter perspective when I had trouble talking to my parents* When you are 13-17 years old, you usually end up doing things that your parents frown upon, I promise you, that if you are responsible about it, your parents will be okay. Its okay if you are having sex & experimenting & learning about yourself, that is what you are supposed to be doing at those ages. Parents know this because they were there once too. I think my parents were just sad that I was growing up & didn’t need them as much.