Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
While efforts to address anti-LGBT bullying have been getting a lot of attention these last few years, more and more we're coming to understand that un-addressed bullying and harassment is just one of many ways that LGBT young people—and especially LGBT youth of color—are being systematically pushed out of the education system and into poverty, homelessness, or the criminal justice system. Equality Federation Institute is proud to be working with state equality groups to address the critical issue of school pushout.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) brings about new questions and concerns for the LGBT community and access to healthcare. For this reason, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has called for information regarding the necessary inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation-based discrimination under the sex-based nondiscrimination protections included in Section 1557.
Washington, DC — On September 27, in support of National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, hundreds of organizations and individuals have signed onto a joint letter (http://www.wethelgbt.org) to re-engage with the broader LGBT community in the fight against HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gay men, bisexual men, and men who have sex with men accounted for 63% of the new HIV infections in 2010. In fact, gay men are the only group in which HIV infections are increasing.
Founded in 1984, EqualityMaine is the largest LGBT organization in Maine, with a $500,000 budget and 5.25 FTE staff. It is headquartered in Portland, ME, with a satellite office in Brewer ME. The Executive Director will lead this highly respected and historically successful organization into its new future, following the passage of marriage equality in Maine in 2012.
Too often, LGBT immigrants are forced into two closets — one because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and the other because of their immigration status. At the Federation, we believe that it’s time for all immigrants, including at least 267,000 LGBT immigrants, to be able to come out of the shadows. And we believe that our members can be a powerful voice in helping this dream become a reality.
Great organizations need great leaders — and they need them to stick around a little while. For years, the turnover rate in our statewide LGBT advocacy groups has been high, and in 2010, Equality Federation Institute identified this challenge as one of our organizational priorities. Committed to addressing this turnover, particularly among executive directors, we began tracking executive tenure and rolling out new programs to help ensure that state leaders were thriving.
In Massachusetts, 1 in 4 lesbian or gay teens and 15% of bisexual teens are homeless. Because of high rates of discrimination against the transgender population, rates of homelessness among transgender youth are even higher. These rates, coupled with the fact that the Massachusetts shelter system is not organized adequately to serve these young people, spurred MassEquality into action. The organization made youth homelessness a top priority, knowing it warranted immediate and aggressive attention.
Our third FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Vinita Chaudhry, Intern at Empire State Pride Agenda.
Our second FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Ryan Wilson, Executive Director of South Carolina Equality.
Each year our Annual Summer Meeting brings LGBT leaders from across the nation together to share ideas and forge connections. But at this year’s Meeting, we introduced a new session that quickly became a breakout star of the conference: FEDtalks.
In much of the United States, it’s hot, humid, and sticky. Back-to-school ads are starting to show up on TV. And every time you send an email, you're greeted with an out-of-office reply about someone's last-ditch-effort summer vacation.
State-based organizations across the country are making change in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins go unsung by the broader LGBT movement.
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With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.
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