.gay Community Spotlight on COLAGE
This week's .gay community spotlight focuses on COLAGE, an organization looking to create a supportive and unified network where people with LGBTQ+ parents can openly share experiences and find tools, resources, and support to develop and maintain a just society.
Check out our interview with them below.
How would you describe your organization’s mission?
COLAGE unites people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer parents into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities.
Tell us about how that mission is brought to life through your work?
COLAGE facilities connection amongst queerspawn (a word a lot of use to describe ourselves) through 1:1 conversations, peer support groups, affinity spaces, and virtual gathering spots like our Discord. Racial and social justice is central to our work, which is why we practice transformative justice throughout every sector of our community and use an abolitionist lens for all of our work. We also deeply value youth leadership which is brought to life through our Youth Action Board - a team of highschool-aged queerspawn who advise on decisions and lead their own projects. Lastly, our in-person gatherings make up some of the most important work we do. Family Week is the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ families in the world which COLAGE co-hosts every year in Provincetown, MA. This coming year, we are hosting our inaugural Family Weekend in Atlanta, GA. Through our educational, artistic, and recreational programming we facilitate at such events, queerspawn from around the country get to build life-long connections with each other.
What would happen if your organization suddenly did not exist?
If COLAGE suddenly did not exist, people who have LGBTQ+ parents would feel much more isolated. We would no longer have a central community of people to turn to who truly understand our experience. We wouldn’t have the opportunity to make deep friendships, to develop our activism skills, to learn about LGBTQ+ family issues/histories, or to receive support with tough but unique situations we experience.
What can people do to get involved and help make sure that never happens?
There are several ways people can get involved. If you also have an LGBTQ+ parent, fill out our COLAGE Connect form on our website. We want you to be part of our community and benefit from our programs. If you are interested in volunteering and you have an LGBTQ+ parent, fill out our volunteer form at colage.org/join-us. If you are interested in volunteered but you are an LGBTQ+ parent or an ally, feel free to email me. And, lastly, we are a very small organization, operating on tight budget. Any donation, single or recurring, that you can make to COLAGE is so greatly appreciated. You can donate here.
Why does LGBTQ+ visibility matter to you?
LGBTQ+ visibility matters to me because the more visible our families are, the more we will be normalized in mainstream culture which will make us safer, give us more rights, and allow us to be more authentically ourselves. I grew up in rural America in the early 2000s. At that time LGBTQ+ families were not visible, especially where I lived. For safety reasons, I had to hide my family from my friends and lie about my mom's identity and about who her partner was. It is a terrible feeling when your best choice is to be dishonest. Unfortunately, many queerspawn growing up today are still experiencing similar things which is why we all need to keep fighting for LGBTQ+ visibility.
In your own words, what does “LGBTQ+ safety and support” mean specifically?
LGBTQ+ safety means that LGBTQ+ families have access to housing & food security and adequate mental & physical healthcare. It also means LGBTQ+ families do not face any threat of violence including hate speech and physical violence. LGBTQ+ support means that LGBTQ+ families have solid community who understand our experiences and have allies who love and cherish us.
Who are some of your LGBTQ+ heroes?
My mom is my lesbian hero. Not because she has done anything groundbreaking for the movement, but because she had the courage to come out in a conservative family/town and live a more free life. She did all of this while being an excellent parent to my brother and me and that takes a lot of courage and strength. Marsha P. Johnson and all the unnamed trans and queer folks who were on the front-line of the Stonewall Riots and Gay Liberation Movement are also my heroes. Without them, we would not have made nearly as much progress in the movement. Lastly, my heroes are all the queerspawn who have come before me.
If you could give “queerspawn youth” one message, what would it be?
My one message for queerspawn youth is: you get to control your narrative! You get to decide when, if ever, to come out about your family. You get share your story how you want to and not how anyone else wants you to.
Tell us about a time when you felt like the work you do at your organization really mattered or made a difference for the communities you serve?
Every time we have our COLAGE 101 workshop at Family Week, I can tell that the work we do really matters. During this workshop, for each age group, the facilitators get to introduce what COLAGE is and explain the everyone in the room has LGBTQ+ parents. At these workshops you can see kid’s eyes light up with excitement. This moment is also usually powerful for our adult facilitators who are new to the community as well. The moment of realizing that you are not alone and being in a space that is only for queerspawn is so special. It feels like you are finally home.
Anything else you would like to share with the .gay audience?
We are a “for us, by us” organization, meaning most of our programs are exclusively for queerspawn and facilitated exclusively by queerspawn. This is important to us, because our identity is often erased and it is rare that we just get to be together. It also creates a sense of safety where we get to speak openly and honestly about our experiences.
Learn more about COLAGE and get involved here.
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