Providing a safe and protective environment for LGBTQ persons is essential to preventing exploitation. When LGBT persons are ostracized, discriminated against, forced out of their homes or other safe environments, they are at an increased risk of being trafficked and exploited. LGBT youth comprise approximately 40% of runaway and homeless youth and are often forced by circumstances to engage in survival sex. Males who may not identify as LGBTQ engage in commercial sex with men and women are especially vulnerable because they are often invisible in public debate and policy.
Resources and Organizations
Local Resources and Organizations in the Toledo Area
Equality Toledo EqualityToledo works to eliminate discrimination in our region based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression through education, activism, and other anti-defamation efforts.
Spectrum is an LGBTQ Student organization to create a positive, supportive environment for all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and ally students at the University of Toledo.
Vision is Bowling Green State University’s leading Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Intersex, Queer, Asexual, Questioning and Ally student organization. Vision welcomes any and all BGSU undergraduates who are interested in LBGT issues.
Owens GSA is Owens Community College’s Gay Straight Alliance.
Mercy College Gay-Straight Alliance is an LGBTQ and Ally support group for Mercy College of Ohio students, faculty and staff. Contact email@example.com for more information.
RAY, Rainbow Area Youth, is a peer group for self identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning teens (ages 13-19) living in the Toledo, Ohio area.
Outlines Toledo aims to give a voice to the Toledo LGBT community and provide you with local, national and international stories, as well as information on social, cultural and political events that pertain to your life. We are here to inform, support, entertain, and educate.
TAGALA is your key to the network hub of a vibrant and active gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (including gender identity and gender expression) and allied community in Northwest Ohio, including the major cities of Toledo, Bowling Green and Findlay.
Ozone House, located in Washtenaw County, Michigan, is an agency that provides free, confidential, and voluntary shelter and support services to runaway, homeless and high-risk youth ages 10-20 and their families.
PFLAG, Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, is a national non-profit organization with over 200,000 members and supporters and over 500 affiliates in the United States. The PFLAG Toledo Chapter is here to serve the greater Toledo area.
State Resources and Organizations in Ohio
Equality Ohio advocates for the LGBTQ community, promoting equality, diversity and inclusiveness in Ohio families and communities.
TransOhio serves the Ohio transgender and ally communities by providing services, education, support and advocacy which promotes and improves the health, safety and life experience of the Ohio transgender individual and community.
National Resources and Organizations
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.
The Advocate is the world’s leading gay news source.
Ballot Pedia is an interactive almanac of state politics.
Bisexual Resource Center envisions a world where love is celebrated, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. Because bisexuals today are still misunderstood, marginalized and discriminated against, the BRC is committed to providing support to the bisexual community and raising public awareness about bisexuality and bisexual people.
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively.
GLBT National Help Center offers free and confidential telephone and internet peer counseling, information and links to local resources, throughout the United States.
Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students, envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training.
Human Rights Campaign seeks to improve the lives of LGBT Americans by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law and increasing public support among all Americans through innovative advocacy, education and outreach programs.
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Centers exists to support the development of strong, sustainable LGBT community centers and to build a unified center movement.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation was created in remembrance of Matthew Shepard. The Foundation supports diversity programs in education and to help youth organizations establish environments where young people can feel safe and be themselves.
The Anti-Violence Project The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within LGBTQH communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs, affiliate organizations and individual affiliates who create systemic and social change. We strive to increase power, safety and resources through data analysis, policy advocacy, education and technical assistance.
National Youth Advocacy Coalition is a social justice organization focused on servicing the needs of young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning and ending discrimination against them.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up, by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, building the organizational capacity of their movement and generating groundbreaking research through their Policy Institute.
PFLAGParents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays promotes the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights.
The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The Trevor Project provides information on support groups, and resources for someone who is suicidal.
Trans Family provides support, education, advocacy, and outreach for the transgendered community, families, friends, partners, and allies of all ages, through meetings, presentations, seminars, media outreach, and an emergency resource hotline.
Publications Related to Youth and Adults
National Resources for LGBTQ Youth
Out, Safe & Respected Your rights at school
Out, Safe & Respected A Guide to LGBTQ Youth in Schools for Educators and Parents
Out of the Margins A Report on Regional Listening Forums Highlighting the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth in Care
Fighting Anti-Trans Violence
Survival Tips For Trans Youth
When Health Care Isn’t Caring Lambda Legal’s Survey on Discrimination Against LGBT People and People Living with HIV
Transgender Prisoners in Crisis
15 Ways HIV Criminalization Laws Harm Us All