It’s Pride Month, and there’s always a lot happening, so let’s round things up! Read on for news and resources you may have missed.
Recognizing Our Families
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—the Mormons—is updating its massive genealogical database so that it can include “same-sex parents and same-sex couples.” The Mormon Church still will not perform marriages for same-sex couples, however.
- In Israel, the Haifa Family Court ruled that both partners in a two-woman couple will be able to legally register as the parents if one of them gives birth.
Raising Our Children
- Patricia D. Wellenbach, president and CEO of the Please Touch Museum, an awesome children’s museum in Philadelphia, explains why they are committed to their scheduled programming for Pride Month, despite some people’s objections. She writes: “In the end, we may have lost some members and we may have sacrificed revenue, but at no time did we consider canceling the program. We held fast in our commitment to create a day that children and families would experience with joy and openness.”
- Portland, Oregon, “is a haven for LGBTQ families,” reports the Willamette Weekly. We can’t all live there, of course, but perhaps articles like this will help leaders in other locales to understand the positive effects of inclusion.
- The latest episode of the Outspoken Voices podcast from Family Equality Council is all about the names our children call us—and I’m thrilled they give a shout-out to the list of nearly 300 names I’ve been collecting from readers here for many years.
Resources and Training
- HRC Foundation’s All Children – All Families program has launched a new set of resources for child welfare agencies to better serve LGBTQ children and youth in foster care. They include assessment tools and a comprehensive webinar series to help agencies assess their policies and practices around working with youth and prospective parents, and to help them meet HRC’s benchmarks for providing fully LGBTQ-inclusive services.
- The Biden Foundation and YMCA of the USA have announced a three-year effort to foster LGBTQ inclusion and equity at YMCAs nationwide. A pilot cohort of Ys will develop and implement locally focused strategies designed to engage and support LGBTQ individuals and their families, such as staff training, member outreach and engagement, program innovation for LGBTQ people and families of all ages, and community collaborations. The best practices and tools will then be scaled to reach Ys nationwide. Sing it with me now….
