Rainbow Families Great Lakes (RFGL) is an organization dedicated to the development, promotion, provision and support of programming for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) parents, those interested in becoming parents, and children of LGBT and/or non-traditional families, youth who are themselves LGBT, and their allies. We're comprised of volunteers and open to all persons that support diversity and rally against discrimination within their local communities. Committed to social justice and economic accessibility, we work from the principle of education and empowerment through family time.
Rainbow Families Great Lakes (RFGL) provides leading programs for children, youth and families in, or allied with, the LGBT community and those working with them. Rainbow Families Great Lakes is committed to:
Those that are a part of Rainbow Families Great Lakes (RFGL) share in this commitment, and the important work reflects what we value most:
Children, youth, parents, and families in the LGBT community face challenges unique to their minority status, in addition to facing all the common challenges affecting every American family. LGBT- headed households are often denied the social support given to heterosexual families, resulting in LGBT families being excluded and isolated within their communities, places of employment, religious homes, and schools. Their relationships are denied legal recognition in most US jurisdictions-many states have taken steps to deny legal recognition. LGBT parents must take exceptional, and often costly, steps to establish minimal legal protections for their children, such as second-parent adoption. LGBT parents must also protect the physical and emotional safety of their children and themselves in an often-hostile public environment. Children, youth, and parents in LGBT families frequently experience discrimination, isolation, harassment, and sometimes violence in day care and school settings, in religious communities, in their neighborhoods and even within their own extended families. With LGBT family issues taking center stage in public, legal, and legislative arenas, these challenges are intensified, placing additional stress on family members-parents and children alike.
RFGL recognizes the importance of family, the importance of having a sense of belonging-belonging to a family and a community, which is more than just fitting-in. We recognize the lack of understanding and social unjust within our churches, within our schools, within our communities to encompass all family make-ups and to accept and respect our differences. The burden of our youth today is overwhelming, having a lack of understanding and acceptance of one's family by others ought not to be a burden they have to bear. Family is not just a mother and father, two children, a dog and a white-picket fence-it's having someone to belong to that accepts and loves. Family is dads, it's mothers, it's mama's, it's papas, it's step-moms and step-dads, it's grandmothers, it's aunts, it's foster-parents, it's brothers, it's sisters. Rainbow Families Great Lakes understands this; we embrace, support and celebrate this diversity.
For many LGBT families throughout the Midwest, there simply isn't any network of support or activities available in their communities for them to meet others who share their family experiences. Because LGBT families are scattered throughout Michigan and the Midwest and because LGBT family status is sometimes kept hidden out of fear of discrimination, LGBT families need opportunities to build peer support systems and an extended community network.
Our biggest, annual event, Family Week Saugatuck offers a weeklong program of enriching, educational, and exciting whole family activities, including age-appropriate program for youth provided by RFGL and COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere). RFGL also provides informative workshops, educational training, and networking opportunities for parents. In addition to fun activities such as picnics, arts and crafts, pool and beach parties and other family celebrations, Family Week Saugatuck offers workshops and forums tailored to address the particular issues that LGBT families face or are struggling to address and that help parents to be better advocates for their families. Activities and workshops for youth include opportunities to develop leadership skills, to learn about their rights to safe school environments, and to talk openly and safely about the complexities of growing up in an LGBT family.
The impact of Family Week Saugatuck cannot be overstated
For children and youth, this seemingly simple act of coming together and meeting other children and youth that face similar challenges plants the seeds of self-acceptance and moves them towards a deeper appreciation for their families. This transformation has a profound affect on their parents, and also their local communities, as many youth leave Family Week Saugatuck committed to advocating for justice in their schools and other social institutions at home. Parents gain a deeper understanding of the unique perspectives and needs of their children and learn skills in family communication and conflict resolution. Family Week Saugatuck loudly and joyfully affirms LGBT families-and enables us to work with confidence to redefine family and marriage in the hearts and minds of our neighbors throughout our local communities. All who attend Family Week Saugatuck leave with a deepened sense of community support, community belonging, and community power.
Rainbow Families Great Lakes (RFGL)
P.O. Box 413
Saugatuck, Michigan 49453
info@rfgl.org