Submitted by Harry Hawkins, Field Organizer, HRC Mississippi

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a staff inservice at the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi’s Camp Bratton-Green. The camp is a summer retreat for elementary to junior high school youth.

The day was spent discussing the upcoming summer camps and ways the camp can continue to review and revise policies to support all of their campers. I spent a portion of the morning discussing HRC’s youth and family work, and best tips and strategies for working with transgender and gender non-conforming youth. As we head into the summer months, it is important that summer camps and their staff begin to engage in the process of assessing their knowledge of working LGBTQ youth.

I want to commend the staff of Camp Bratton-Green on being proactive and engaging in the dialogue of how to make their camp safe for LGBTQ youth. Knowing that we have allies who are genuine and purposeful in wanting to know the best practices for working with these youth reaffirms the camp’s mission to be a safe and inclusive space for all youth. 

Now more than ever, LGBTQ youth need to know they have support.  You can become a better advocate by attending HRC’s Time to THRIVE conference, the nation’s premier convening for K-12 educators, professional counselors and other youth-serving professionals on LGBTQ youth safety, inclusion and well-being.  The 2017 conference will be held April 28-30 in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association. 

To learn more about where the Episcopal Church stands on LGBTQ issues, click here.