WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Biden Foundation today announced it has collected almost 500 stories of family and community acceptance and rejection as part of its "As You Are" campaign, many of which can now be read on a new online story map.
In August, the Foundation launched "As You Are," a family and community acceptance campaign to raise awareness of the importance of family acceptance in the lives of LGBTQ young people. Despite unprecedented gains in legal protections by the LGBTQ community over the last decade, LGBTQ youth continue to be among the most at-risk youth populations in America. Specifically, LGBTQ young people are disproportionately more likely than their non-LGBTQ peers to experience homelessness, suffer from depression, and experience suicidal ideation.
As part of the launch, Vice President Biden and a diverse group of LGBTQ movement leaders, organizers, and social service providers filmed a series of videos calling forstories from LGBTQ young people, parents, educators, coaches, siblings, allies, and friends. Because stories like these have incredible power, the Foundation is sharing some of these narratives with the hope that they will serve to inspire, to create communities, to heal families, and to change the broader culture to ensure a bright future for all LGBTQ young people. In addition, one new video released today features Rio's parents discussing how she transitioned while her dad was away on a trip.
In addition to viewing these stories, interested parties can visit the Foundation's growing resource library and share information on additional resources or organizations doing good work on behalf of the LGBTQ community and those who love them.
About the Biden Foundation
Building on Vice President and Dr. Biden's commitment to equality, the Biden Foundation is working to leverage existing networks and institutions to support, serve, and advocate for LGBTQ communities. The Biden Foundation is dedicated to working toward a future where all people are treated with dignity and respect, including LGBTQ people.
Visit bidenfoundation.org or follow the Foundation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
