LGBT Program

Though LGBTQ people are increasingly visible and active in rural communities throughout California, discrimination, violence, and unwelcoming school and health care systems remain acute problems. CRLA is responding by providing legal services, leadership and community advocacy to counter these problems. CRLA regularly represents LGBTQ clients in a variety of types of legal cases, including immigration, employment discrimination and education matters, as well as legal name and gender change petitions. In addition, CRLA conducts community legal education, promotes leadership development opportunities for LGBTQ people, builds sustained partnerships with rural LGBT community centers and other community organizations, and monitors the activities of local public entities that directly impact LGBTQ people who are most vulnerable.

CRLA Fast Facts
LGBT Program

CRLA’s LGBT program is dedicated to advocating on behalf of low-income lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and their families in rural California. The LGBT program works to improve access to justice and expand civic engagement opportunities.

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LGBT Youth and Parent Summits

At each LGBT Youth Summit, parents learn about their children's rights at school. Guest speakers also discuss the importance of family acceptance and their role in preventing suicide, drug use, homelessness, and other behaviors disproportionately affecting LGBT youth.

At a recent CRLA-hosted summit, 30 parents and 40 youth gathered in a classroom in the Central Valley to pose some difficult questions: How can we protect our children from being bullied? What are their rights at school? How can we help our children survive their teenage years? All the participants were parents of LGBT youth, for whom these issues are particularly urgent: as LGBT people continue to become more visible in rural areas, they are also more at risk of harm, from others and themselves.

Through its LGBT program, CRLA is working to change that. Research has found that when families are proactive about asserting their LGBT children's rights, they can play a leading role in making school safer for students, and ensuring their community prioritizes the civil rights of all its children.

At each LGBT Youth Summit, parents learn about their children's rights at school-and how to ensure those rights are being protected. Guest speakers also discuss the importance of family acceptance and the role family can play in preventing suicide, drug use, homelessness, and other behaviors disproportionately affecting LGBT youth. Parents have an opportunity to interact with other parents, and to discover and share established LGBT resources where they live.