A joint report was published on May 3, 2022 by member publications of News is Out: Bay Area Reporter, Dallas Voice, Philadelphia Gay News, Q Voice News, Tagg Magazine, Washington Blade, and Windy City Times. It includes the voices of LGBTQ+ young people and their allies across the country.

Among the national advocates featured in this robust report is PHIMC’s own Grecia Magdaleno, Policy and Advocacy Manager for Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, who shares with the Windy City Times their perspective on “The significant impact on Black, POC and marginalized voices”:

Part of responsibly serving LGBTQ+ BIPOC students is guiding them to resources that they might not have access to in their immediate community, noted Grecia Magdaleno, policy and advocacy manager for Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, which oversees the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, a program engaging schools and students on LGBTQ+ issues.

“So often class gets involved,” Magdaleno added. “With students who are queer, we often encounter them in Title 1 schools where a lot of them are working class, and oftentimes when they are working class, they are often people of color. What I’ve been seeing is that a lot of our work is offering resources that are ‘on the ground’ and even about survival—finding mutual aid groups where they can access food and where they can go to youth-serving organizations that provide circles and groups that they can tap into for support.” 

Read the full report here:
LGBTQ+ youth are on the frontlines of massive setbacks for equality

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Illinois Safe Schools Alliance made PHIMC its home in 2019.

Learn more here about the ways in which Illinois Safe Schools Alliance supports LGBTQ+ youth.