Family Equality

In 2023, Family Equality program focus areas included: connecting lgbtq+ familiesin a year where our families faced attacks from school boards and state legislatures alike, Family Equality provided lgbtq+ families from across the country opportunities to connect and access support. For example, we launched a new virtual peer resource group for lgbtq+ parents of school-aged children to access the support they need to face challenges in their classroom, and we hosted our reinvigorated Family weekend in the midwest, a weekend of lgbtq+ Family fun and connection in chicago, Illinois. In addition to these two new initiatives, we hosted Family week in provincetown, the largest annual gathering of lgbtq+ families in the world, lgbtq+ families are incredi-bowl in new york city, and several impactful gatherings in Washington, d.c., miami, new jersey, and more. In addition to the new virtual peer resource group for parents of school-aged children, we continued hosting virtual opportunities for lgbtq+ families to connect through our two bi-weekly peer support spaces the trying to conceive support space and the trans, nonbinary, gender non-conforming parents support space.our virtual and in-person events and activities throughout 2023 provided hundreds of families the opportunity to build connections, create resilience, share ideas, ask questions, and ultimately, support each other.sharing the stories of lgbtq+ families a key piece of Family Equality's work is acting as a bridge between everyday lgbtq+ families and their communities. In 2023, we shared the stories of our families through our partnership with equal pride, where we wrote several impactful pieces about the fights lgbtq+ families are facing. We also brought the lgbtq+ Family voice to the 60th anniversary of the historic march on Washington, where movement leaders, including our own ceo, spoke on the steps of the lincoln memorial the same spot where dr. martin luther king jr. Spoke all those decades before. Recognizing that we cannot do this storytelling and advocacy work without maintaining a clear picture of our families' needs, we launched the Family equity and justice project, an initiative that seeks to better serve all lgbtq+ families particularly those who are bipoc, low-income, and/or in geographically remote areas beginning with our data collection project. Family is the great uniter and sharing the stories about the joys and the challenges lgbtq+ families face helps foster understanding and, we hope, shifts perspectives.protecting lgbtq+ familiesin 2023, we continued our efforts to protect lgbtq+ families through our advocacy and policy work at the federal and state levels. Alongside movement partners, we pursued our tradition of leading coalitions to share subject matter expertise, provide objective education, and engage in storytelling to advance the rights of lgbtq+ people and families. Our tireless focus led movement partners, along with state and federal legislators, to rely on Family Equality for our coalition building, legislative tracking, objective bill analysis, and resource creation on matters affecting lgbtq+ Family formation, marriage Equality, and parental recognition laws in the states and federally. Due to the hundreds of anti-lgbtq+ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country throughout 2023, we created tools, educational materials, events, and resources for lgbtq+ families. Thousands of lgbtq+ parents and parents-to-be learned about their rights and then reached out to their elected officials to make their voices heard and ensure their Family's protection and recognition. Additionally, we also developed resources to empower families to take the steps necessary to protect themselves. We honored national adoption month with the launch of a robust and comprehensive state-by-state guide to stepparent, second parent/co-parent, and confirmatory adoption so that parents can ensure their parental rights are recognized and fully protected no matter what the future holds.