Our director of our LGBTQ Programs recently spoke with San Jose Spotlight about a petition circulating that demands the San Jose School District support LGBTQ students.

Adrienne Keel, director of LGBTQ programs for mental health nonprofit Caminar, said schools can be the only safe space for students who can’t turn to their families. Yet, districts are reluctant to make public statements or support LGBTQ students for fear of backlash from community members who don’t share the same views, Keel added.
“What is being proposed (in the petition) is, for me, pretty low-hanging fruit in terms of what schools should be doing,” Keel told San José Spotlight. “Schools have a lot of power… They’re not exclusively academic spaces."

Please read the entire article, which includes more quotes from Adrienne.