This month, we're shining a spotlight on the program we’re running at the Rensselaer and Lansingburgh schools, with support from Project AWARE and Capital District Connect. Both have received five-year federal grants to reduce suicidality and mental health disparities in target populations across the Capital Region. Through these partnerships, we've provided dozens of hours of training, technical assistance, and in-person groups in Rensselaer County—the first LGBTQ+ groups available for kids in this area.

Our work doesn’t stop there. Over the coming years, we will continue partnering with these schools to bring training on LGBTQ+ experiences and mental health disparities, with a focus on improving environments to prevent issues like system involvement and substance abuse. We are using materials created by the Family Acceptance Project, which helps identify affirming and rejecting behaviors towards LGBTQ+ children. Their research shows that rejecting behaviors increase risks like depression, anxiety, suicidality, and even long-term PTSD. These are very real dangers, even in our own Capital District, where some school board members openly express biases against LGBTQ+ existence.

We are committed to making schools safe and supportive spaces for all children. Recently, we held an all-day in-service training for teachers, covering topics like empathy building for LGBTQ+ experiences, knowledge sharing, and tangible allyship strategies. One key discussion centered on whether supporting LGBTQ+ rights publicly is a political stance. The very notion that acknowledging our existence is political—and somehow equated with extremist messaging—needs to be challenged.

Our work continues with plans to expand to five schools over this next school year. We welcome any school districts across the four counties of the Capital Region to reach out to our Executive Director, Nathaniel Gray, at ngray@capitalpridecenter.org to learn more about how they can get involved. We also extend our thanks to the Boys and Girls Clubs of both Rensselaer and Lansingburgh for hosting these groups, helping to build what will become a thriving youth group for queer kids in Rensselaer for years to come.