Jul 1, 2020
Pride events are often a rite of passage and an important life cycle event for young LGBTQ+ individuals. And in 2020, young people had to see those events, along with many others, cancelled. It was important to Visions to provide a day in which our LGBTQ+ clients and staff were celebrated. In true Visions fashion, we brought Pride to the kids. We spent the day together in community, reflection, and fun. We started the day with reflection of what gives us pride and how Pride started, not as a parade, but as a protest against police brutality with trans women of color being at the forefront of the movement. We wrote letters to our loved ones who couldn’t celebrate pride with us in person, we tie-dyed shirts, swam with glitter filled pool toys, and ate lots of rainbow desserts. Music of LGBTQ+ artists filled the day while we spent time laughing and creating stronger bonds with one another, because that is how we build resilience, with community. So many rainbow tattoos were applied (temporary of course!) and we finished off the day with popcorn and a LGBTQ+ movie.
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The LGBTQ+ programming at Visions is like no other. Our goal is to address the nuance of LGBTQ+ identity alongside our clients mental health and/or substance use struggles. We at Visions assess, identify, and affirm gender and sexuality from the beginning. We offer specialized services and groups for our clients and their families to walk through these foundational pieces of one’s self. Visions LGBTQ+ programming is innovative and responsive to the growing needs of each client that walks through our doors.
For more information about the LGBTQ+ program or the abundance of services provided at Visions, please reach out to Beck Gee-Cohen at [email protected]
