Missed the virtual rural pride in August? Don’t worry, we’ll be hosting another, in-person rural pride this December in Gainesville, Florida. All the info, here.

NCLR, with co-sponsors and community partners including Equality Florida, Southern Legal Counsel, and Come Out With Pride (see full list below), invites you to join us for a Virtual Rural Pride Summit for Florida the week of August 20-23.

The purpose of the summit is to build connections and share knowledge between local, state, and national organizations, community leaders, and community members interested in advancing issues affecting LGBTQ+ people in rural communities in Florida. The virtual summit will consist of multiple zoom gatherings over the week of August 20-23, with each gathering focusing discussion on a particular topic.

Current schedule:  

• Tuesday, August 20, 2024
  11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET           
  Access to Safe Spaces at School
  Facilitated by Simone Chriss
  
  Join us for a discussion on ensuring safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ youth within school settings in light of recent Florida laws eroding the rights of LGBTQ+ students and parents of LGBTQ+ youth, situated within the broader context of statewide policies that prevent Florida students from obtaining quality education, including budget cuts. This session will consider practical strategies for fostering safe environments at school such as developing inclusive curriculum, including culturally responsive and medically accurate education about sexual health and HIV-transmission, advocating for LGBTQ+ affirming school policies, creating peer networks like a GSA, and reimagining education for all. This session will also provide know your rights training and resources for parents of LGBTQ+ youth to best equip them to advocate for their child’s right to access a safe and affirming environment, including access to bathrooms, consistent use of affirmed names and pronouns, and more.
  
  3:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET                 
  LGBTQ+ Immigrants
  Facilitated by  Gabriella Rodriguez and Cleyver Gomez de la Rosa (QLatinx)
  
  Immigrants are a vital part of many LGBTQ+ and rural communities, taking on many leadership and support roles both informally and formally. However, LGBTQ+ immigrants often face unique and complex challenges including xenophobia, racism, exploitation, etc. Join us for a discussion on how to uplift our LGBTQ+ immigrants and ensure that all our communities are welcoming and safe places for everybody.
   
• Wednesday, August 21, 2024
  11:00 AM – 12:30 PM           
  How to be a LGBTQ+ Leader in Your Community
  Facilitated by Lacorya Lynn (Community Spring)
  
  Passionate about creating change in your local community? This discussion is designed for emerging leaders, activists, and LGBTQ+ folks interested in taking on a more active role in community organizing. Participants will discuss the unique challenges rural LGBTQ+ organizers face as well as learn about coalition building, grassroots organizing, and other methods to channel brave advocacy for the betterment of the community.
  
  3:00 PM – 4:30 PM                 
  Drag Artists: Navigating the Economic and Legal Landscape in Florida
  Facilitated by Angelique Godwin (EQFL) and Alice Marie Gripp
  
  Florida has attempted to enforce a drag ban law that could impose criminal liability on businesses hosting drag shows if any minors were present. The governor also vetoed arts funding, removing state funding for arts entirely from the state budget (over $30 million in arts funding had previously been approved). In this hostile climate, how are drag performers finding ways to thrive as artists and community leaders?
  
  
• Thursday, August 22, 2024
  11:00 AM – 12:30 PM           
  Screening of We Are Abundant
  Facilitated by TyrONE Hanley (NCLR)
  
  Join us for a screening of We Are Abundant!: A Queer Vision of Economic Justice. This film expresses a vision of economic justice through the perspectives of LGBTQ leaders, advocates, and organizers passionate about and engaged in the issue and who speak from personal experiences of living in poverty. Following the film we will discuss how to dream and cultivate an abundant world that centers love, joy, and connection over greed and wealth!
  
  3:00 PM – 4:30 PM                 
  Neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ Youth
  Facilitated by Gabriella Rodriguez and John Thompson(QLatinx)
  
  There is significant overlap in people who are neurodiverse and those who are LGBTQ+. Unfortunately, neurodiverse youths’ gender or sexual identity is often mistakenly dismissed as a “special interest” or “symptom” of a neurodiverse experience and may be denied necessary healthcare or support. This session will delve into the intersection of neurodiversity and LGBTQ+ identities and explore the experience of neurodiverse LGBTQ+ youth with a discussion on how organizations can be more welcoming to youth at this intersection, and advocate for support for these youth.
   
• Friday, August 23, 2024
  11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
  HIV Prevention and Treatment in Rural Florida
  Facilitated by Cathy Robinson-Pickett
  
  Florida has one of the highest prevalences of HIV in the U.S., and in 2022, identified 4,606 new HIV diagnoses. Those living in rural areas may face particular barriers in accessing HIV treatment and care, including difficulty getting coverage or finding a provider, as well as getting culturally relevant information and resources for HIV prevention, including access to comprehensive sex education, HIV-testing, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP) and Treatment as Prevention. This session will cover some of the rewards and challenges of working on HIV prevention, treatment, and advocacy in rural communities in Florida, and will include a discussion of how public policy and economic circumstances affect this work.
  
  3:00 PM- 4:30 PM                  
  Healthcare for Transgender Youth
  Facilitated by Simone Chriss
  
  Over the past two years, transgender individuals in Florida have been subject to a multi-faceted attack on their right to access gender-affirming healthcare. This could also lead to an erosion of trust and chilling effect, presenting barriers to accessing other healthcare for transgender people including the provision of culturally competent sexual health, HIV treatment and prevention, and fertility services.
  
  This session will provide an overview of the various rules, laws, and policies that have created barriers to accessing such care, including the Florida Medicaid ban, the Florida Boards of Medicine rules, and Florida’s SB 254, a key piece of legislation that banned safe and effective gender-affirming care for transgender minors (including criminalizing providers) and created significant barriers for transgender adults seeking such care. This session will educate local residents on the lawsuits that struck down and permanently enjoined these laws and rules, the status of access to gender-affirming care in Florida, and why the fight continues despite federal court rulings declaring the bans unconstitutional. This discussion will include strategies for advancing health equity for trans and nonbinary youth in Florida, including in accessing gender affirming care and other essential healthcare.

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