October 11th is sometimes called “National Coming Out Day.”
The theory of the “day” being an idea that folks who actually know some gays or lesbians or trans folks among family or friends or co-workers tend to be more supportive of all such folks, and more guarded about legislation that might have a bias against lgbt individuals.
It would seem in our modern age, with gays and lesbians on mainstream tv as characters and all, such a day would have little use or meaning.
However, some older folks, including some of the ages we commonly work with, still find themselves in uncomfortable spots and go back into the closet, if they ever came out. See for example: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/lgbtq-seniors-face-discrimination-long-term-care/
And sadly, some younger lgbt folks seem to still struggle a lot. While we may not know how solid the stats are, it does seem like younger people, perhaps pressuring themselves, or feeling pressure from other quarters, still struggle greatly. Purportedly their suicide risk is higher, and they have other struggles too that seem out of whack given the relative small numbers. See for example this piece: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/left-behind-lgbt-homeless-youth-struggle-survive-streets-n157506
For the senior end of the age spectrum, there have been SAGE projects and similar programs around for a while. Here is an example from the metro Detroit SAGE section of their website: https://www.sageusa.org/advocacy/sagenet-affiliate.cfm?ID=29
And for homeless youth and others there is a project, more or less national in scope, called the Trevor project, of which you can learn more here: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Finally, a legal group that has been around a long time, called Lambda Legal, with offices scattered around the country is also a resource. Their website is here: https://www.lambdalegal.org/
Our firm also helps serve the LGBT community. You can find more information elsewhere on our website, including in our useful resources section.
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