Stories From the NEAT Community
Explore recent highlights from our blog, including a visit to an LGBTQ+ youth camp, a volunteer profile, and a tribute to a pioneering activist.
Brave Trails: A Summer of Belonging
On August 13, NEAT Executive Director Brian Silva traveled to the mountains of central Maryland to address more than 60 LGBTQ+ and allied youth campers at Brave Trails during its Passion to Action program. Reflecting on the invitation, Brian said he imagined how different his own youth might have been with a camp like this, and knew he had to accept.
Brave Trails began in Los Angeles to meet the growing needs of local LGBTQ+ youth, and this marked the second year of its first East Coast camp. The camp provides acceptance, mentorship, and leadership development for LGBTQ+ kids and teens in ways other camps may not. In its prior year, the camp welcomed 214 campers from 30 states and 9 countries, and also hosted its first Family Camp for LGBTQ+ parents and their children.
Brian recounted growing up Catholic and explained that, though he is no longer involved in the church, the social justice he witnessed there first inspired him to volunteer. He shared his coming-out story, his experience as a camp counselor, and his early outreach work at 16 helping people living with HIV and AIDS in California, as well as building homes for families in Mexico.
Brian also led a Queer Trivia game about historical queer events before Stonewall, emphasizing that knowing our history shows how long the fight for LGBTQ+ rights has continued. His favorite part, he said, was the free time afterward with campers, including one gender nonconforming camper who felt freer and more accepted at Brave Trails than at other sleepover camps.
Research indicates LGBTQ+ youth face a 40% higher suicide rate and are half as likely to report being happy compared with their non-LGBTQ peers. Brave Trails offers a safe space to thrive and build belonging and self-worth, and NEAT was proud to help make their summer welcoming.
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Volunteer Spotlight: Angelika
Volunteer Spotlight is our monthly feature on NEAT volunteers, who are the backbone of our work from the Core Team to Communications.
- Name: Angelika
- Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
- Age: 52
- Location: Texas
Outside of NEAT, Angelika is a wife, mother of three adults, grandmother, and dog lover. She also volunteers at Planned Parenthood and the Montrose Center in Houston, enjoys weekends with friends, puzzles, scrapbooking, and making bath bombs, and is passionate about history. She plans to return to college for a bachelor's degree in political science or humanities.
Her connection to LGBTQ+ justice work stems from always wanting to serve minorities, the oppressed, and the marginalized. Having felt marginalized as a child, she developed a passion for helping others be treated equally. She describes being mentally and physically abused by her parents, bullied at school, and made to feel small and worthless, which led to severe depression. As an adult, she wanted to give back to those sidelined because of things beyond their control, whether race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or social class.
At NEAT, Angelika is a phone banking volunteer. She was inspired by a college psychology professor who came out as a transgender man during a discussion of gender identities; his story touched her heart and motivated her to help however she could.
One memory that stands out is a campaign call with a grandmother raising her transgender grandchild because the parents no longer wanted to be involved. Angelika found the story moving and was glad the woman felt grateful to share it and to know organizations like NEAT advocate for equality.
To anyone considering volunteering, Angelika says it is a way to give back and make a difference in others' lives as well as her own, an opportunity to grow and overcome personal struggles, and a chance to meet people across the United States who share the same passion. It is also a good way to learn new skills that may help later in life.
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The Life & Legacy of Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson is widely known as a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall Riots, but her legacy extends far beyond that night. Born August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, she was the fifth of seven children; her father worked on a General Motors assembly line and her mother was a housekeeper. She grew up attending a Methodist Episcopal Church and continued to visit various places of worship throughout her life.
After graduating high school, she moved to New York City with, as she put it, "$15 and a bag of clothes." She lived in extreme poverty throughout adulthood, often experiencing homelessness. To earn money she did sex work and performed with a drag group called the Hot Peaches; her sex work led to frequent arrests, and she was even shot in the 1970s. Of her arrest record, Johnson said she "stopped counting after the 100th time."
Johnson was also a devoted activist. At just 23, she played a major role in the Stonewall Riot. On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn in lower Manhattan, a common occurrence since public same-sex dancing was illegal and the State Liquor Authority barred bars from serving LGBTQ+ people alcohol. That night, patrons fought back, throwing bricks and resisting arrest. Some say Johnson threw the first brick, a claim she adamantly denied.
Her activism continued throughout her life: she worked on behalf of homeless LGBTQ+ youth rejected by their families, advocated for people with HIV and AIDS, and spoke for prisoners' rights. She co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which housed, clothed, and fed young transgender people, supported sexual liberation, and pushed to align gay rights with other social movements.
Sadly, on July 6, 1992, her life came to an end. Her story remains a vital part of LGBTQ+ history.
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