triggerwarning #suicide

The Creative Collective September 9th Special Event at Bestsellers Books, Mason at 6pm, Proudly Welcomes State Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr. (D-East Lansing) to the Discussion Panel following our Open Mic for Suicide Prevention and Awareness where he will discuss his new bill.

Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr. has introduced legislation this past March2021 aimed at preventing adolescent suicide and improving bullying laws.

Senate Bill 192 would require school personnel to be trained in identifying the warning signs and risk factors of suicide and depression, and the protective factors that prevent suicide. It would also require that students receive age-appropriate instruction to increase awareness of warning signs and risk factors for suicide and depression.

“Many young people are suffering in silence every day,” said Sen. Hertel. “We need to equip school personnel and their peers with the tools and resources to identify when someone’s struggling and get them the help they need.”

Sen.Hertel will discuss how this bill will update and strengthen existing anti-bullying laws through a number of changes, including outlining policies for prompt parental notice, and investigations requiring schools to use Michigan’s bullying reporting app OK2SAY, clarifying cyberbullying definitions, and updating schools’ required reported data on bullying.

Thank you to Senator Hertel for introducing this critical legislation that will help save young lives in Michigan. We look forward to your visit.

🦋Youth suicide has been steadily increasing for more than a decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24, with 1 in 5 high school students experiencing bullying. Some demographics among young people are even more at risk. A 2020 survey by the Trevor Project reported 40% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(14axlrfhysvtng3kbjflnjmr))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=2021-SB-0193

The Creative Collective encourages community engagement and advocacy, creating space for purposeful dialogue.

Hello. Join us on August 25th as we discuss Sex and Assistive Technology for Disabled Women with Bethany Stevens. Must be 18 or over and identify as being a woman with a disability. Please note “woman” includes cis-women, trans-women, femme/feminine-identifying, genderqueer, and non-binary folks. ASL Interpreters and CART will be provided.

To register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ATforWomenRegistration

[Image description: Orange background with white banner at center top with dark blue text. Text reads: “Sex and Assistive Technology for Disabled Women with Bethany Stevens.” Image of Bethany Stevens wearing black boots, with a long black dress with pink accents, a smokey eye and a crown. The picture is surrounded with a white line boarder.
“August 25th 6-7:30 PM EST- registration link in description.” Three organization logos are at the bottom: HER POWER! HER PRIDE! Logo in black; LETA Solutions: Disabled Women Solving Complicated Problems logo in pink and the last logo is MDRC logo.]

Subject: Send a letter: LGBTQ Anti-Poverty Priorities for COVID Recovery

Body:

Friend,

I just wrote a letter calling on Congress to enact solutions in the COVID recovery to the crises of public health, housing, poverty, and racial injustice afflicting LGBTQ people, and to invest in solutions that can help LGBTQ communities.

LGBTQ+ people were disproportionately afflicted with poverty before March 2020, and the pandemic has exacerbated this. One in five LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. lived in poverty before the pandemic, according to the Williams Institute—including nearly three in ten transgender people. The Movement Advancement Project reports that since the start of the pandemic, two-thirds of LGBTQ+ households have experienced a loss of employment—and two-thirds have suffered one or more serious financial problems.

Can you join me and write a letter? Click here: https://bit.ly/fight-lgbtq-poverty?source=email&

Thanks!

A permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit is important to LGBTQ+ families.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) families face disproportionately higher rates of poverty compared to their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts, due to discrimination in employment and other arenas.
43% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults aged 18 to 44 raising children live in poverty.
LGBTQ+ people are 38% more likely to live in poverty than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.
Black same-sex couples are more likely to live in poverty than straight Black couples or white same-sex couples.
LGBTQ+ people have experienced 42% greater rates of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.
COVID-19 has exacerbated existing barriers to stable employment for LGBTQ+ people, who are overrepresented in industries highly affected by the pandemic—such as restaurants and food services, hospitals, K-12 education, colleges and universities, and retail.
LGBTQ+ people recovered less quickly from the Great Recession of 2009 and we fear a similar outcome following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last recession resulted in higher rates of unemployment for same-sex couples nearly every year from 2014-19 as compared to Americans as a whole.
What is the Expanded Child Tax Credit?
It is a tax relief payment for American working families that will reduce child poverty by more than 40%.
The current expansion of the CTC is only in place through 2021.
This credit is delivered by the IRS in monthly installments to eligible families (single parents earning less than $112,500 and couples earning under $150,000).
Administrative costs of the expanded CTC are low as eligibility and payments are determined and delivered by the IRS based on existing tax records and new information provided by families through on-line IRS portals.
For more information email Julie Kruse, Director of Federal Policy, at jkruse@familyequality.org

The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) protects every student from bullying and harassment in K-12 learning communities. SSIA requires states that receive federal funds under Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) ensure that local education agencies (LEAs) adopt evidence-based best practices to prevent and effectively respond to bullying and harassment. SSIA has earned bipartisan support from members of Congress since it was first introduced over a decade ago.

An LGBTQ + allies Toastmaster club
We’re now virtual.(RSVP and we will send you a link to our zoom meeting.)While we are virtual many of our friends have been joining us from outside of Ann Arbor. We love this!Join us to better your communication and leadership skills in a quasi-formal setting. We’re casual, the program is more formal: It works!We’re a supportive group to craft your skills within. Guests are always welcome. Check us out!We’ll send you a link after your RSVPTime: 7 – 8:30pm
Date: The 2nd & 4th Thursday of the monthVisit https://speakout.toastmastersclubs.org/ for more info.
Guests are always welcome! (Please try to sign on before 7pm as we start our meetings promptly.) See Less