September 17, 2019 Words by Will W. Smith During the last few months of High school I came out to one person...myself. Having had a girlfriend, I thought my attraction to guys was abnormal, physical only, and not “of god,” as my mother would later proclaim. I began talking to guys using MySpace and other [...]
September 3, 2019 Words by Clifton Walker “Are you at least Bisexual?” “No, that’s my not path bro!” This was the ending of the conversation that my brother and I just had pertaining to me “coming out” to him in the spring of 2011. I use quotations for coming out because I don’t ever recall [...]
August 20, 2019 PRIDE 2019 - Looking towards the Future… LGBTQ+ youth live in a world plagued with bullying, harassment and violence and many fears and suffer anxiety about what the future may look like for them. I’m now 53 years old and I can tell you that I had these exact same fears 25/30 [...]
August 6, 2019 Daylan Stubblefield Essay Hi, my name is Daylan B. Stubblefield, I am originally from Pittsburgh PA where I grew up on Pittsburgh’s northside. I am 31 years old I currently reside in Landover Maryland. I am currently studying Criminology at UMUC, I plan on getting into federal investigations soon. Over the years [...]
July 23, 2019 Words by William Wanzer As a Virginia native, I grew up isolated from a lot of the LGBTQ community outside of the small circles that existed. Being a youth in the community only led to a few options, being isolated and seen as weird or went on deaf ears and wasn't acknowledged. [...]
How important is an organization like Safe Space NOVA to the LGBT+ youth community? Safe Space is very important, because it gives our LGBT+ youth community a chance to socialize and identify with others like themselves. And that doesn’t just mean where you fall on the spectrum, as I honestly don’t feel that’s as important [...]
Words by Jaxson "In my childhood, I didn’t know what was going to happen. One of the things that really stood out to me is that I grew up in a generation that used slurs to damage the LGBTQ+ family. They used them on a daily basis. For example: the common “That’s gay.” You’ve probably [...]
May 14, 2019 Amy Cannava How important is an organization like Safe Space NOVA to the LGBT+ youth community? "It’s paramount. Not every LGBTQ+ youth feels safe being out at school and others who are may not have found friends who are also within the Community. This can be isolating and stigmatizing for [...]
Gabriel Sanchez April 30, 2019 Q: How important is an organization like Safe Space NOVA for the LGBT+ community? "Safe Space NOVA is very important to our community, especially at the early stages of getting to know yourself, this is the age that we need it the most. In our youth is when [...]
Brian Jenkins April 16, 2019 This week's #TellYouStoryTuesday features Brian Jenkins. Read below for the full Q&A: Q1: What inspired you to work with or be an ally/advocate for Safe Space NOVA? A: I randomly followed a member who made a post about the organization, and I wondered what it was. I looked [...]
