Hope in Homes
Despite all the work that has been done for the community, LGBTQ+ people are still discriminated against. Children are kicked out of their homes simply because of who they are. Stereotypes and misinformation is spread very easily and we want to help people learn what they can do and what can be done. We want to help those in our community understand how to be respectful, accepting, and helpful to their peers, coworkers, friends, and family.
Who We Are...
Rose Jessup McDermott (they/she)
They is a senior at Holliston High School. They are an artist and human rights advocate.
Haley Stickney (she/her)
I am a senior at Holliston High School and is planning on studying Health Sciences in college.
We chose to do this project together since both either are apart of the LGBTQ+ community or have friends that are. Because of this, we care about this community and making sure that they are safe and loved. We have also known eachother since elementary school so we know that we can communicate well and work together.
Why is this project important?
For this project , we are looking at issues involving the LGBTQ+ community, including the lack of understanding and misinformation about it and the rampant homelessness that affects the LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. With this project, we hope to inform people on how to be more accepting and let people know about issues that they should be aware of.
These issues are important and should be looked upon in the community. LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to become homeless and out of those youth 60% have reported attempting suicide. It is evident that LGBTQ+ students and youth are always given all the support that they need and we want to be able for them to get this support as easy as possible.
Project Goals and Progress
Project Goals
We are creating a website that will hopefully help inform people about different things in the LGBTQ+ community.
We want to especially concentrate on making sure teachers know how to make a safe and accepting environment in their classrooms since school is one of the first places a student can get support.
We want to raise money for programs and organizations who help LGBTQ+ youth when in a bad situation like homelessness.
Teaching people on how to be accepting is probably the biggest goal we have
Progress
We mostly have been researching about ways to be more accepting and facts about the LGBTQ+ community and then putting that information into a website that we hope to publish soon
We have contacted people in out community who are LGBTQ+ and have asked them about their experiences and what they think we should tell people
We found an organization that we would like to contact about raising money
-Picture of our groups zoom meetings
Community Partnerships
Our partnership right now are people in our community and more specifically people in the LGBTQ+ community. We connected with students and teachers about how we can make out project better. They have given us great advice on how to tell people to be more accepting and we are excited to keep on working with them
While this is not confirmed yet, we are hoping to work this an organization called BAGLY which is a youth-run organization based in Boston which has programs to help LGBTQ+ youth. Once we confirm this partnership, more information will be available on them.
How can you help?
One of the best things you can do for this project is be more accepting to the people around you, they are just as much of a human as you are and they deserve to be treated that way.
You can check out our Instagram to see what we are doing(click on the Instagram logo to get to the site)
We will set up a fundraiser soon and once we do it would really help if you choose to donate!
Links for helpful resources
For teachers: GLSEN Safe Space Kit
For LGBTQ+ students: Tips for School
Other resources:
Contact Information
Rose: jessupmcdermottros@students.holliston.k12.ma.us
Haley: stickneyhal@students.holliston.k12.ma.us
