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  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Our History
    • Our Team
    • News / Blog
  • Our Work
    • Phone Banks
    • Town Halls
    • Canvasses
  • Take Action
    • Equality Act Call In Day
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      • EqualityTime - 2021
    • Host a Virtual Calling Party
    • Virtual Town Halls
  • Connect
    • Subscribe
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Intersections: Expanded and Inclusive Sex Education

5/26/2021

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Intersections highlights NEAT’s work on issues that traditionally have not been seen as LGBTQ+. These issues, while not exclusive to our community, often disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ people. Check out all our issues here.
NEAT Endorses the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act (REAHYA)

This month, NEAT was one of over 100 organizations that endorsed the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act and sent a
letter to Congress encouraging the bill to become law. The bill was introduced in both chambers with a significant number of co-sponsors as H.R. 3312 (in the House of Representatives) and S. 1689 (in the Senate). If passed the lawmakers, the REAHYA would:


  • Attempt to close the gap of sexual education in the United States, where only 29 states and the District of Columbia require some form of sex education for young adults.
  • Provide the first federal grants for comprehensive sex education programs and end investments in harmful Title V abstinence-only programs. These grants would fund programs at high schools, colleges, and organizations to support the sexual health and agency of students and young people. 
  • Grantees would be required to promote gender equity and offer instruction that is inclusive of young people with varying gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who introduced the bill in the Senate, provided this press release to express why it is important for him and the country. “By giving young people the tools to make informed, responsible, and healthy decisions, we can positively impact the health of all Americans and limit health disparities. The Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act will ensure that our young people have access to both sex education and sexual health services and are empowered to make healthy, informed decisions throughout their lives,” Senator Booker says in support of the Act.

Sexual Education & the LGBTQ+ Community


It is an easy tie to understand why inclusive sex education is important to LGBTQ+ equality. There are several studies on the negative consequences of withholding sexual education from youths, including
this one by the University of Southern California’s School of Nursing, which notes the increase in sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned births when there is a lack of education. Specific to LGBTQ+ folks, here is an interesting article by Forbes from last year describing that sexual education that excludes the LGBTQ+ community leads to worse health outcomes. The article also states that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, LGBTQ+ young people face more sexual health risks than their counterparts because of a lack of robust sex education policies. Specifically:


  • In 2018, gay and bisexual men between the ages of 13 and 24 made up 25% of new HIV diagnoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths are twice as likely to become pregnant or get someone else pregnant, according to a study of New York City high school students.
  • LGBTQ+ students also face higher rates of STIs, and transgender students specifically are more likely to report sexual risk behaviors and being tested for HIV, according to the CDC.
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Spotlight of the Month: Lisa Danz (CA)

5/25/2021

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Spotlight showcases the work of NEAT supporters who are the backbone of what we do every day for LGBTQ+ Justice.
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    NAME: Lisa Danz

    PRONOUNS: She/Her/Hers

    AGE: 33

    LOCATION: Fremont, CA



 

Tell us about yourself outside of NEAT volunteering! (e.g. work, family, hobbies):
I'm really passionate about solving climate change and social justice. Outside of NEAT, I also volunteer with Citizens' Climate Lobby (focused on passing the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act), Communities for a Better Environment (focused on environmental justice), Fremont for Everyone (focused on housing and homelessness), and Engage Fremont (focused on education justice). I work as a software engineer, and so far have always managed to work for companies that are working on climate solutions. I speak decent Spanish (which sometimes comes in handy when phone banking!), and I'm studying Mandarin Chinese.

What's your connection to LGBTQ+ justice work?
I joined the GSA in high school before I even knew I was queer. I don't really remember why; I just thought it was important. I figured out that I was pan while still in high school (although I think I was using the term "bi" more at the time). While I was in high school, I got an email saying that Sylvia Guerrero (the mother of Gwen Araujo, who was murdered for being transgender) was on a speaking tour.  Our GSA got in touch with her agent, and she came to speak at a well-attended assembly at our school.

These days, my main direct volunteering for LBGTQ equality is phone banking with NEAT, although many of my other activities are related.

For example, there's an intersectionality of LGBTQ issues and climate change. LBGTQ folks are more likely to be unhoused, particularly as a percentage of unhoused youth.  And because many shelters are religious-based and some religious denominations still discriminate against our community, it can be harder for our people to find appropriate shelter options.  And of course, climate impacts such as extreme heat and extreme weather events have more of an impact on people who don't have access to shelter.

What is your volunteer role(s) at NEAT? What inspired you to get involved?
I do phone banking for NEAT.  I got involved after the 2016 election, which was super painful and made me want to do something, anything, to help.  I got an email from one of the partner organizations inviting me to phone bank with NEAT, and I thought it was a one-time thing, but then Brian called me afterwards and convinced me to start volunteering regularly.

Share a memory from volunteering that sticks out in your mind.
A few years ago, when Brian was traveling out to San Francisco, we managed to set up a time where Brian, Hannah, and I got to phone bank together in person.  It was fun to make an in-person connection after so much remote collaboration.

What would you say to anyone considering volunteering with NEAT?
Just try it!  They'll train you and support you, and if you keep coming back, NEAT starts to feel like a family.
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Be You Events Connect Latinx, API and T/GNC to the Equality Act

5/20/2021

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Along with our co-sponsors including The National Equality Task Force, Trans Family Support Services, National Black Justice Coalition and many others, NEAT is hosting a series of events as part of the #EqualityTime coalition to educate participants about the Equality Act and what they can do to help support its passage.

Launched on May 6 with an event geared toward the Latinx community and information about how the Equality Act will help them thrive at work, school, and in their communities, the next event in the series will be held on Tuesday, May 25 focused on the Asian Pacific Islander (API) & the Equality Act. 

Guests are invited to join NEAT and our coalition partners for a night of fun, facts and action all while learning more about the Equality Act! The Equality Act is a proposed law that would add LGBTQ+ protections to current civil rights laws, as well as improve protections for people of color, women and people of faith! The first hour of the event features a panel of leaders and advocates from our community exploring how updating federal nondiscrimination protections will impact and improve our lives and those in our communities. The second hour focuses on resources for participants to take actions that will help them advocate for the passage of the Equality Act. 

To learn more about the upcoming events and to sign up, visit https://www.equalitytime.org/beyou 


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