Impact Stories
Pride Month Resource: One Colorado
June 23, 2023
Alex Floyd on the strength of the LGBTQIA+ community and how to support grieving folx within the community.
This month, in honor of Pride, Judi’s House/ JAG Institute is sharing conversations and resources for grieving LGBTQIA+ individuals and those who want to support them. This week, we spoke with Alex Floyd, the Health Equity Director of One Colorado.
One Colorado is our state’s leading advocacy organization working to advance equality for LGBTQIA+ individuals. The organization monitors policy changes and moves coming at the federal, state and local levels, and how they impact our communities.
Colorado One is working towards a fair and just Colorado by lobbying the General Assembly, the executive branch, and local governments on issues like safe schools, transgender equality, relationship recognition, and LGBTQ health and human services.
Alex spoke with us about the strength of the LGBTQIA+ community, and how we can better support grieving youth by letting them show up as their whole selves and reminding them they they are not alone.
What would you like our community to understand about the intersection of queer identity and grief?
One of the challenges that comes up around grief for the queer community is that unfortunately for many of us our queer identity comes with a lot of loss and grief, loss of family members or friends, religious or faith communities, and loss of rights and privileges. So, when we experience a major grief event that grief and loss is compounded by the complex grief we may have had to experience due to our identities. For example, if I lost my faith community due to my queer identity and then I experience a major grief event I am now moving through that grief event without the support of my faith community.
What have you observed regarding unique aspects of grief and loss in the LGBTQIA+ community?
One of the strengths of our community is the ability to lean on each other and establish a strong chosen family. We really develop a deep sense of community and can lean on each other, especially in those incidences when individuals have lost their biological families due to their identity. I think that strengthens our resiliency and ability to move through challenges such as major grief and loss.
How can our community support LGBTQIA+ folx, especially LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults?
Understand that the state of things can be overwhelming, the news is rough for a lot of us right now, so if you’re LGBTQIA+ and trying to process all of the anti-LGBTQIA+ news and a grief event right now that is a lot. If you’re wanting to support someone you care about who is experiencing this, go back to basics, check in, offer support, don’t be afraid to just name “man this sucks”, bring by coffee or food, be a listening ear, and stay up to date on the news that is impacting us it’s nice to know we’re not alone in holding this.
Are there myths/unhelpful assumptions about grief in the LGBTQIA+ community that you would like to debunk/challenge?
I’d say we shouldn’t make assumptions about anyone’s grief journey, LGBTQ+ or not. Grief is such a beast to walk through regardless of the identities you carry, and everyone’s journey is going to be unique. There’s no set timeline, there’s no right way to grieve, just allow people to show up as their whole selves with however their grief is impacting them in that moment.
Learn more about One Colorado their resources, advocacy, and how to get involved by visiting their website.