Keeping on..

There's a little danger everywhere. On Saturday I witnessed the final journey of a young woman I had the priviledge to know through my work with GLBTQ youth of color. Her journey was not easy as it is with most of the young people I have come to love through this incredible job I have been given . The battles with intolerant families , the creation of new ones , the struggles toward self actualization. All makes for a rocky road. There are times I question if the work we do makes a difference for them as they walk in this world. On this day I saw a glimmer of the good. We had a memorial service at GLASS for this young woman on Wednesday. It was as much for her as it was for her 19 year old partner who was left behind. The partner who had known her since fourth grade , the partner who had been with her through all the ups and downs, the illness, the homelessness etc., was left off the obituary and told by "the family" that there was no reason for her to be on it as they had no " papers". I can only assume they were referring to a marriage certificate. This non-person the one who took her to the hospital, the one who was there when she died, the one "the family" asked, Do you know when her birthday is? Do you have any pictures of her?, was told by the family that what the two of them experienced did not count enough for her to be included as one of the people this young woman was leaving behind. We invited "the family" to the memorial we held . And they listened as person after person described the young woman who was a part of the GLASS family and what they as young people learned from her and her partner about loyalty and faith and most importantly love. Somewhere , some how something must have clicked.. On Saturday at the funeral between holding and hugging some of the over 40 young people of her GLASS family I looked at the program and there it was "survived by her life partner" and the young woman's name. I could then no longer hold my tears as they were not only for the life gone and the life left but for the lives changed by the work we do. There's a little danger everywhere but most times it's worth the risk.