Greetings, OutSupport friends!
We hope that this letter finds you well…it’s hard to find the light in all of this that we are all going through, but we hope you are trying to stay safe, stay healthy and stay well. We miss you all and hope that one day we will be able to meet in person again. Until that time, here is some news!
Our big news is that OutSupport was selected by the FirstEnergy Foundation and their LGBTQ Resource Group, Alterrnate Current (isn’t that a great name??) as the 2020 recipient of their annual grant! Amy and I met with Mike Cranston and his husband, Michael last week to accept the gift! We are so happy and excited that this will help keep us being able to offer support to our area with our UnderSupport program, which offers gender diverse teens and young adults binders and gaffs, and numerous other ways we try to support the LGBTQIA community here in the Medina/NEOhio area! WE ARE SO GRATEFUL and HAPPY!!! THANK YOU FIRSTENERGY FOUNDATION!!
While we can’t celebrate in person, it makes us happy to know that OutSupport is celebrating 7 years of support this month for the LGBTQIA Community here in Medina and NEOhio. 7 years ago, as our teens were coming out to us, we realized that there was no support group of any kind in Medina, and from our first meeting, it was clear that there was, and continues to be, a need for support and information for those who are coming out, for their families and friends. We also noticed that society had a long way to go to be enlightened about the wide variances of gender and sexuality. We hope that we helped move the conversation forward in our area.We are so happy that in this time period, many new medical options are now available to those in transition (adults AND children)and with other medical needs, specific to LGBTQIA. Same sex marriages are now legal throughout the US, and more of the world. There are now Federal protections for LGBTQ employees. Ohio still has a ways to go, but in 31 communities around Ohio (including MEDINA!!!), LGBTQIA folks are legally protected in employment, housing and public accommodation! Even today, the Pope(!) made a big step forward in supporting same sex civil unions! Changes are happening at all levels of society. While we are thrilled with the advancements made, there is still plenty of work to do to make this world a much better, safer, and happier place for LGBTQIA. For our little corner of the world…OutSupport will keep at it in the ways that we can to make that happen.
If you want to help celebrate….here is an ask: PLEASE VOTE FOR CANDIDATES WHO ARE GOING TO HELP MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR LGBTQIA PEOPLE!!! Vote for a judge or representative who will change the law in Ohio to let Transgender people change their names on their birth certificates!! Vote for Representatives in Ohio’s House and Senate who will pass the Ohio Fairness Act, bringing EQUALITY to ALL LGBTQIA Ohioans. Vote for a President who will support Transgender Military Service people and will not allow hard fought marriage equality to be rolled back. Vote for Judges who will support the laws that bring EQUALITY closer. This election is too important to not participate in. PLEASE VOTE!!
Sending you all our love and support,
Sandy, Amy, and the OutSupport Team