[Editor’s note: Members of the Colorado State House and Senate voted to suspend activities in the current legislative session due to public health concerns. The session is tentatively schedule to resume Monday, March 30th. While our legistlators aren’t  meeting at the statehouse, work continues in district offices and communities statewide.]

State Representative Brianna Titone is a breath of fresh air in Colorado’s political community. Titone took the Colorado government by surprise as the state’s first transgender legislator, defeating her opponent with an unbelievably narrow 50.4% of the vote to win her election with 24,957 votes out of 49,475, a margin of 439 (and they say your votes don’t really matter).

Along with shattering Colorado statehouse’s trans-glass ceiling, Titone is only one of four transgender officials nationwide; woefully inadequate representation for a very large and underrepresented community. While tirelessly working on bills that focus on Colorado residents, it is clear that Brianna Titone has her sights set on improving Colorado for future generations. We sat down and got to know the real Brianna Titone. She opened up about her history, her work, and the identity box people want to confine her to.

Baby Brianna riding George, ca. 1980

Origins

Titone spent her childhood in Hudson Valley, New York. She grew up in what she describes as a loving and attentive family; one that prioritized educating their children on the value of finance along with the value of human relationships. For college, she attended the University of New York at New Paltz, where she earned her BA in Geology, followed by studies at Stony Brook University to earn an MS in Geochemistry. From there Titone turned her sights to Western Michigan University for a Hydrogeology summer program, which led to work in Environmental Counseling.

Eventually she found herself set on moving to Colorado. Clearly Titone’s first passion wasn’t politics, but the earth. She turned to politics – another arena of stony concerns – after her move to colorful Colorado.

A brief history: in 2016 Titone was elected as a delegate at the County Assembly for then presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, giving us a view into her political leanings. She then joined the LGBTQ+ Caucus for Jefferson County in February of 2017, and was appointed Secretary/Treasurer later that year.

In November 2018 Titone was elected to serve as State Representative to Colorado’s 27th House District. The importance of that moment cannot be understated, but let’s be very clear: Brianna Titone is so much more than just a trans person. She is a daughter, a wife, and a politician. We don’t call other elected officials “straight/cis representatives”; there’s a clear issue with confining Titone to a single identity box when her work – and her – are so much more than that. 

Pushback

“Hello my name is Brianna Titone and I am a transgender person, now let’s get down to business because that is what I am here for.” 

“My identity is important to a lot of people,” Titone tells us. “I always make it a point to talk to people about it in order to inspire the next generation. If you feel like you are different and you are feeling your future will be difficult because of who you are, don’t worry about it. People like me are working to pave the way for you to be accepted and allow you to get the work you want to get done [sic].” Titone no longer feels the need to explain her identity to the individual’s stuck on the subject; actions speak loudly and her actions for the people speak for themselves. 

Colorado’s Jefferson County Republican party has set their focus on Titone’s identity, along with her liberal politics, rather than on her progress over the last year. In 2019, the Jefferson County Republican party attacked Titone’s menstrual hygiene bill on social media. Titone explained, “They attacked my menstrual hygiene bill. They are upset that I won and that I took away one of their seats. Just like anyone, if you want to win something back, you try to fight for it. They did not read the article about the bill. They started stating that the government is trying to force this bill onto everyone and that the government is going to supply everyone and give away all this free stuff,” a clear misreading – however willfully – of the proposed legislation. “Everyone began to get in an uproar about something that is not even true. So I had to come along and post on their social media post stating, ‘I am the one running the bill, let me tell you what it does, because obviously they didn’t read it.’” 

Titone had to explain even the most simplistic of points to those determined not to understand. Talk about identity politics: “It is not about me being trans. It is about me being a Democrat. Perception bias is a huge problem in politics right now… I believe in a lot of the same things that Republicans believe in. I look at the facts and data, I vote on the concept of the bill, and make sure the things we are doing are what is right for the people that we represent.”

In a more recent issue, just this past January, Denver Post licensed columnist Dan Caldara was fired for his rejection of appropriate pronoun use and his “politically incorrect” [read: unwillingness to show respect] opinions on trans rights; that is, he was fired for refusing a directive from a superior. He was dutifully corrected for his antiquated, bigoted, and scientifically illiterate pronoun antagonisms. This can’t be understated. The columnist publicly insisted, “there are only two sexes.” 

Caldara refused to use appropriate pronouns for Titone even after being told to. “When people lack empathy they cannot see that their words and actions are hurting others,” Titone lamented, after learning of the dismissal. Caldara posted an insensitive statement on Facebook to shore up his position: “To force us to use inaccurate pronouns, to force us to teach our children that there are more than two genders, to call what is clearly a man in a robe, well, not a man in a robe, violates our rights to speak.” Legally speaking there isn’t a right “to speak”; you have a constitutionally protected right to speech, safeguarding you from government interference or censorship. In no way are you free of consequence at work or in life for speech that is false, breaks company policy, or is clearly hateful. 

Speaking of hate: January 15, 2020 marked a grim day for the trans youth of Colorado. Colorado introduced the House Bill 20-1114 that is set to restrict multiple forms of medical treatment physicians are able to administer to transgender youth statewide. The LGBT+ rights organization, One Colorado, warned Colorado of the dangers of interfering with transgender youths’ medical care. Trans adolescents are five times more likely to consider suicide than their peers. Trans adolescents that have access to hormone and gender reassignment medical care have 52% less of a chance of completing suicide. Executive Director of One Colorado, Daniel Ramos, pleads with Colorado’s legislators:, the “Medical care of transgender people should be determined by health professionals, not politicians.” 

Through the pushback, Rep. Titone has pushed forward. Colorado state representatives are elected to two year terms. The second year of her term began this past January 8th when the session was called to order. In her first year’s time Titone has successfully passed multiple bills, specifically with a focus on improving all Colorado resident’s daily lives. Titone has protected Colorado renters’ interests with her Rental Application Bill, which is another effort to protect tenant rights, and also covers several areas of interest to renters. Titone also successfully passed the Tax Credit Allocation Bill, which increased the tax credit for affordable housing up until December of 2024. In fact, let’s take a deeper look at some of her more pressing – and impressive – legislative work.

Titone to the Future: Bills in Progress

Titone is working to answer the needs of her district and, in doing so, is serving all of Colorado. With eighteen bills proposed, seven of which she was the prime sponsor and eleven co-sponsored in her first year, her second year is shaping up to be another stretch of incredible achievement and great work for the community. Her second year is set to focus on protection and wellbeing for the residents in her district. Let’s take a look at what she’s working on for 2020. 

Student Menstrual Products Bill

Students at Arvada West HS at the Capitol for a National Period Day rally on Oct. 19, 2019. (Photo provided by Julia Trujillo)

.Titone has been hard at work to improve the safety and quality of life for the students in Colorado schools. She has taken the time to sit down with Colorado students Julia Trujillo and Jocelyn Gotfred to join their fight to make menstrual hygiene products available to all students in public schools. 

“When it comes to the Menstrual Hygiene Product bill, it was a perfect opportunity to allow the students to show their leadership skills and show them how the process works,” she tells us. “It was also a great way to help kids in need around the state.” Rep. Titone communicates with the students via email and monthly meetings to spitball ideas and to discuss the bill’s progress.

A Colorado high school senior, Jocelyn Gotfred explained, “I honestly couldn’t imagine running this bill with any other representative. When I first heard we were sitting down with a state representative I was honestly a little nervous. Immediately this fear went away when we met with her for the first time. Brianna made it clear from the beginning that this is our bill, and she is just running it. This has made the experience so impactful on all of us, knowing that we truly are the ones designing this bill.” 

Discussing the importance of the bill, and recognizing what students have been dealing with, historically, without access to these products, Gotfred says, “When we started this project back in January of last year (2019) I had no idea how far we would have come. After we undertook this project at our own school, I think all of us started to realize that this is a fight that no high school girls should have to put up with… That’s when the bill became all the more important to this whole project. If our bill passes,” a promising prospect in our democratic party controlled state legislature where Titone has many allies, “we would be able to not only get free and accessible products to girls all over the state, but also, in doing so, I believe we would be putting a huge dent into period stigma in high schools. The fact that you spend four years in a place that doesn’t even provide for your basic health needs is outrageous, and of course that only furthers the idea that a period is something to feel shameful about.” 

Julia Trujillo adds that, “Our club has put a tremendous amount of work into getting accessible menstrual products in our own school restrooms. From convincing our administration to fundraising to going through countless logistical constraints, the process has taken a lot of work. Through this undertaking, we realized no other students should have to fight this hard for access to a basic necessity. We wanted Colorado students, especially [the less privileged], to have the access to period products that we believe is essential to being comfortable, safe, and dignified in the learning environment. Working alongside Brianna Titone has been so incredible. She has been so down-to-earth and truly passionate about doing what is best for us and all the people she represents and we’re so grateful for her support for our dream.”

Titone explained that she is attempting to work with the hygiene product manufacturers directly to create a cost effective process. The remaining details are set to be worked out this upcoming year. 

Mental Health & Educational Resources Bill

Titone also launched a mental health and suicide prevention bill with a focus on providing mental health resources Coloradans. “We started to do these large stakeholder meetings to hear from the people about what is going on with them personally, what we are missing, and how we can do better,” she explains. “The problem is no one is taking the initiative to spread the word about what resources we have available.” That’s where her bill comes in.

The goal of the Mental Health Educational Resources bill is to have mental health services readily available to all qualifying residents. In addition to providing the mental health courses, the bill is set to ensure each resident is aware of the benefits that are available, county to county. The national suicide rate is cureently sitting at about 25 percent. Titone feels that if people have access to appropriate information and classes on coping skills to manage their mental health, that progress will directly lowering our state’s suicide rate. 

Natural Organic Reduction Bill

State Senator’s Rodriguez and Titone joined forces at a press conference this past December 2019 to announce their Natural Organic Reduction bill. What is that? Well, until recently, Colorado residents have had two options after death: burial or cremation. Pretty standard stuff, but with land being scarce and cremation being energy intensive, in addition to changes in opinion about how we deal with the dead, other options have been developed and are available around the world. Dealing with dead bodies, it turns out, is regulated by the state. 

The Natural Organic Reduction bill provides an affordable third option for Coloradans. The process involves placing the deceased into an accelerated decomposition vessel that can easily be returned to loved ones. “The process contains wood chips, straw, and alfalfa. It takes 30 days for it to break down into a dirt-like state. It is an accelerated process. It is the same exact thing that would happen if you were to die in the forest and were never found. It would take longer due to the fact that it is out in the open. We want to give people the option to do it because it’s better for the environment. The process takes one eighth of the energy used for cremation. There is a 76% cremation rate in the US. Most people do it because it is a lot cheaper than burial. The natural reduction will be a lot more affordable. Most people think cremation isn’t bad for the environment. You have to burn gas to get the fire up and it’s a lot of energy.” 

Titone says that she would prefer the natural reduction option for herself as well as her loved ones. Considering the remains are turned into a form of soil, she says, “If I were to do it I would want to become an orchid; they are beautiful and delicate plants. Orchids grow on trees. I like the idea of becoming a tree; all my flowers would be out of harm’s way.”

Right to Repair Bill

Have you ever broken your phone, gotten a virus on your computer, or had mechanical issues with essential equipment? There is a consumer protection bill in the works just for you. “Manufacturers don’t make devices fixable for the public. They don’t want you to fix it, they want you to throw it out, and then get a new one. It also affects how easily the item is recyclable. A Lot of resources go into making phones,” Titone reminds us. The cellphone you may be reading this article on is made up of multiple minerals such as gold, tin, lithium, and silver that are mined all over the world. “There are over 200 minerals that are mined world wide just to make our phones. We are going through all these resources and harming the environment in a big way. The manufacturers are putting profits over the harm of the environment and over the rights to their consumers. We need to do better.” 

The right to repair bill isn’t just for cell phones, but for all electronics and even major mechanical equipment. “Another issue is farming equipment,” Titone points out. “John Deere farming tractors, in particular. You cannot replace a part with an electrical component and restart your tractor until you call in for a code from the manufacturer. You then need to wait for the code or you need to wait for their employee to come and get your tractor started. No one has time for that; these people have things to do. Some farmers have turned to the dark web to get hacked software from places like the Ukraine just to get their tractors to work again. They are getting exposed to all sorts of hackers and viruses. It’s pretty ridiculous!”

As a State Representative, Titone is flooded with the community’s questions and concerns on a daily basis, and it is up to her to determine how she can best serve the district. “I take all requests seriously. I do research to find out what the impact of the issue is, how it is going to help, and how much it is going to cost. I welcome people to come talk to me, to tell me whether or not they like what I do, because that is how I become a better representative. It’s when I hear from people, that is what helps me solidify what people in my district really think.”

Final Thoughts

Rep. Brianna Titone has served just over one of two years in office for House District 27 and, we reminded her, re-election is just around the corner. She smiled at the subject and laid out her game plan: “We are going to keep knocking on doors. We hope to be the number one house district in door knocking this year. Last election I believe we came in third. I knocked on 8,700 doors personally,” she points out. “My team knocked on close to 50,000 doors total. We want to talk to more people. This year I have earned a track record. I have some accomplishments I can talk about. I can talk about what I want to do in the future. I want to ask the people what they want me to work on. We want to reach out to more conservative people, to see if they could [sic] see the work that I’ve done, maybe they’ll give me a shot and vote for me.” 

“This job as an elected representative is as difficult as you want to make it,” she says, firmly ensconced in her small office on the third floor of the state capitol, across the hall from Rep. Singer’s office. It’s his last year in office for House District 11, given term limits, and Titone has expectations of being here doing the people’s work just as long as Singer was. 

“I make it difficult because I want to do the most amount of work that I can with the time that I have. The problem is I can never make everyone happy. That is the nature of politics,” Titone says. “Everyone has their own opinion. I don’t want people to think that what they see on Fox News is what is happening on a state level. The state level gets stuff done. The state level is where the real work happens. When the federal government fails, we do it here. Get to know us,” she suggests. “We are real people.” 

Far beyond identity boxes and expectations, Representative Titone was the prime sponsor of 7 bills and sponsored eleven more bills in just her first year. With a second year in office to go before the election in November, working on efforts that affect all Coloradans – across identity and ideology – and with a heart firmly planted in seeing good things happen all across the state, we fully expect the people of her district to step up, once again, to support Brianna Titone. Her re-election means she can continue her work. Our work. The people’s work. 

To connect with Representative Titone you can visit her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. 

All images courtesy of Rep. Titone, used with permission.

The post Rep. Brianna Titone: Building Colorado’s Future Today appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Alana Chen. All photos courtesy of the Chen family.

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The recent death of 24-year-old Louisville local Alana Chen has many in the local LBGTQ community and their allies concerned about a link between Chen’s death and the faith-based “conversion therapy” her family alleges she underwent in Colorado. “My daughter wrote in her journal, ‘I have a story to tell, but nobody will listen,’” says Joyce Calvo-Chen, Alana’s mother.  Calvo-Chen is determined to keep her daughter’s life and struggles in the hearts of the public through telling her daughter’s story. 

She is a mother with a mission. 

On December 9, 2019, Chen’s body was found at Gross Reservoir after an intense search and rescue effort was launched. She had been missing for several days and the efforts to find her reached from law enforcement into regional hiking groups on social media. Her death was ruled a suicide on January 9, 2020, by forensic pathologist Dr. Meredith Frank. According to the autopsy report, Chen hanged herself and left a suicide note.

During the coordinated effort to find her, Alana Chen’s conversion therapy past and her relationship with her family’s church leaders was brought to the forefront of the conversation. She had attempted suicide three years prior, after years of attending conversion therapy sessions with members of her family church. What is conversion therapy? 

Conversion therapy is the practice of treating being LGBT as a mental illness that can be treated through repetitive emotional and traumatic techniques. It has many names, such as “talk therapy,” “reparative therapy,” and “sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE).” According to The Trevor Project, all of the terms mean the same thing, and distinctions are superficial. 

Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed HB19-1129, a bill banning conversion therapy, on May 31, 2019. California was the first state to ban the practice, making it the first state to protect LBGTQ youth from the abusive practice. Colorado’s bill specifically prohibits state-licensed mental health professionals from engaging in efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of anyone under 18 years of age. 

The passing of HB19-1129, however, did not save Alana Chen’s life, and now her family wrestles with the complicated aftermath of her struggles. They are specifically concerned that people do not know what conversion therapy is, or how deeply it can change a family forever. 

 “I feel like I was fooled by a church that was very safe and liberal, and I’m usually not fooled. I am devastated. She was amazing, and beautiful. She really did want to be a nun, but at a cost. She was told by the church that God loves you only if you don’t act on your sexual attraction,” says Joyce Calvo-Chen. “I know a lot of open and inclusive Christians, including Catholics. It seems to start with the Bishop and their leadership. These people aren’t saying what Jesus said.”

According to Calvo-Chen, Alana began a series of secret meetings with high ranking members of the St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Boulder when she was 14-years-old. These meetings continued almost until her death, with various members of the local clergy. Calvo-Chen believed Alana was using the bus to go see friends. However, she soon found out her daughter was seeing church staff members.

Calvo-Chen says that although she rebuilt trust with Alana, she believes the church already had an emotional hold on her daughter. She also believes the church has absolved itself of any responsibility. One member of the clergy, Father David Nix, has been removed from the church proper and has been allowed to raise money for himself as a “hermit” priest, according to Calvo-Chen. 

Calvo-Chen, who is trained as a spiritual leader, wants the community to be wary of other people calling themselves “spiritual counselors” or “spiritual leaders.” She believes the term has been co-opted by religious fanatics who target college and university campuses. 

“As a spiritual leader, you listen. You do not give advice. You might talk about a higher power. We have a code of ethics. And they have broken the ethics,” she says of the Sisters of Life, who met with Alana after Father Nix was moved away from the church. 

The Sisters of Life, an organization of nuns who frequent the CU campus and offer what they call “spiritual direction” to LBGTQ students, stepped in to counsel Alana when Father Nix left. Becoming a nun was a vocation which Alana made as a goal. 

“It (faith) did become important to her. I think as she became more involved, she clung to it more. Then, at the church, she was told by a priest she should become a nun – that it was her calling. This priest told Alana not to tell us about these plans,” says Carissa Chen, Alana’s older sister. 

“The Sisters of Life were hired by Bishop Aquila to come down and be Alana’s spiritual director. They wanted her to go, they are still there. They go to Denver and Ft Collins. Their teachings are very specific that these things are sins. I feel responsible for being fooled, for bringing my family there. I’m worried about other students who may be LBGTQ who may go there,” says Joyce Calvo-Chen.  

Alana and her mother

“Alana trusted them. She did want to become a bride for Jesus, but that her sexuality held her back. She thought that they could help her,” says Carissa. “In Alana’s journal entries, she wrote ‘my wires are crossed.’  She believed what they believed.” 

The Denver Mission of the Sisters of Life stated in a letter, “We spiritually accompanied Alana for approximately a year and a half (ending in September 2017) when she chose of her own accord to discontinue that accompaniment.” 

They further say, “We want to clearly state that we never promoted, encouraged or even discussed conversion therapy with Alana or her family. We absolutely respect the free will of each person uniquely created by God in His own image and likeness.” 

In a letter sent January 1, 2020, they assert that they serve mainly on university campuses, offering spiritual aid to students as they search for a life serving Jesus Christ. They write, “Our hearts and prayers go out to Alana Chen’s parents and siblings during this time of tremendous grief.”

But they weren’t the only church staff meeting with Alana. The Chen family says that a man named Father Peter Mussett also ministered to Alana. Joyce Calvo-Chen says Mussett told Alana that she (Alana) could not receive communion due to her confessed same sex attraction. Alana’s mother says the staff’s pressure on Alana to change her sexual orientation caused her daughter grief as the young woman searched for the church’s acceptance. 

Calvo-Chen questions how the church staff approaches young people during vulnerable phases of their lives. She says Father Peter Mussett’s “hipster” look may attract students who want to belong to a group, or who are isolated from close family ties.

Father Mussett has been featured in many regional news outlets as a modern relatable faith leader.

In a statement from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center and Father Peter Mussett, Mussett writes, “We do not practice conversion therapy, and reject any other practices that are manipulative, forced, coercive, or pseudo-scientific.” 

The church also writes, “We are devastated over the death of Alana Chen and cannot begin to imagine the pain and grief of her family and friends. Our prayers will continue to be with them during this incredibly difficult time.”

Of the church’s response to Chen’s struggles with being LBGTQ and her depression, Calvo-Chen says, “Bishop Aquila never helped me. He had his monsignor call me, who told me that Father Nix would never call or talk to Alana again. When Alan was receiving in-patient treatment, Father Nix still got in touch with her. The monsignor told me Father Nix is not allowed to be a priest, so the Bishop moved him around.”

“Every time there is a problem. The last move was to a convent in Colorado. Then he went out of state. He recently did an article calling himself a whistleblower, and now points the finger at the Bishop. The Bishop is now approving him (Father Nix) to return and live as a hermit. This is not the teachings of Christ, it is twisted.” says Calvo-Chen. The church has not confirmed any of these claims to us directly. 

A blog written by Father Nix, however, is available online for the public to read. In a blog post, Nix publicly appeals for donations in the amount of $250,000 as a 501(c) to live as a hermit in Boulder County. 

In response to this story and questions regarding Alana’s relationship with him, Father Nix says in a letter, “The things Alana shared with me during spiritual direction are not for me to share publicly, but in my 10 years of priesthood I have never told anyone that it is a sin to be attracted to anyone. In my 10 years of being a priest, I have never done conversion therapy with anyone, and I have never suggested conversion therapy to anyone.”

Nix says Alana was “one of the holiest people I have ever met, and her death is an incredible tragedy.”

Carissa Chen says, “She (Alana) came out to the priest in this secretive period. So, Alana was keeping these secrets, while the priest was telling her attraction to women is a sin.” The elder Chen says their mother didn’t force religion on the family, and that “it was just a part of [their] life.”  

“Her middle name is Faith, which is really interesting. She was raised Catholic and we took Catechism classes when we were younger. She was asked to go to a summer camp, around age 11 and 12 years old. The youth leaders would tell stories about God and they were very moving. She felt a sense of community and felt welcome. Looking back, while she had friends at school, I think she was struggling and didn’t feel comfortable with her sexuality at school, and that she felt comfortable at the church,” says Carissa Chen. 

Area and national LBGTQ organization leaders suggest shame and guilt are large obstacles for LBGTQ youth to overcome. They have statistics to support that belief. 

“No young person should ever be shamed by a mental health professional into thinking that who they are is wrong. Mental health professionals should provide care that is ethical and affirming for all people — including LBGTQ young people. Depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal ideation and attempts are epidemic in minors in Colorado,” says Sheena Kadi, Deputy Director, One Colorado. 

Kadi says, “Based on One Colorado’s 2018 health survey, Closing the Gap: The Turning Points for LBGTQ Health, almost one in five LBGTQ respondents said that someone – whether a counselor, therapist, or religious advisor – had tried to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. Colorado was proud to lead the successful efforts to ban conversion therapy for LBGTQ youth in Colorado by a licensed medical or mental health professional during the 2019 legislative session with HB19-1129.”

Kadi explains conversion therapy is based on the false claim that being LBGTQ is a mental illness that needs to be cured – a view that has been rejected as scientifically invalid by the American Psychiatric Association, and every major medical and mental health group. 

Senator Steve Fenberg (Senate District 8) shares condemnation of Alana’s struggles with the practice and her subsequent trauma. “It’s incredibly heartbreaking to read about the trauma that Alana experienced as a result of so-called conversion therapy,” Fenberg said in an email to Yellow Scene. He says that, despite last year’s bill banning the therapy on minors, “Alana’s story makes clear that much harm still happens in the shadows.”

“I was the prime sponsor of the bill. It started in my chamber – we were very grateful we were able to pass the bill,” says Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who represents District 30. 

“Our bill would not have protected Alana or anyone getting conversion therapy, as we have separation of of church and state. I am devastated by her loss. She was a bright light that we lost, and we will continue to fight in her name.” She emphasizes that educating families about the practice is key to avoiding similar tragedies in the future. 

LBGTQ community and church leaders see this tragedy as another reason to rally to educate the public on the illegal practice. Chen’s therapy, depression, and suicide is a triggering and traumatic reminder for many LBGTQ people.

“As a survivor of a form of so-called conversion therapy, called reparative therapy, the death of Alana Chen ripped me at my very core,” says Tobi J. Cahill, President of PFLAG Boulder County. 

Cahill immediately organized a public event named “The Greatest of These is Love,” which focused on conversion therapy and took place on February 14, 2020. The panel included Mathew Shurka of Born Perfect, which he created after undergoing conversion therapy. Shurka flew into Longmont from New York to speak at the event, and he was joined by area clergy of open and affirming churches. Carissa Chen also spoke to the audience about her sister’s struggles with faith and sexual identity. Few in the audience were left with a dry eye.

Cahill understands the emotional toll that what some see as manipulation between church and LGBTQ identity can take on a person. 

“When you are told repeatedly that you are going to hell if you choose this lifestyle, it starts to take a toll on you. The mental anguish and internalized homophobia that you have been fed start to make you question your very existence and worth,” says Cahill.  They remind the community that there are several affirming churches that open their doors to LBGTQ people. 

Samantha Gerson of www.unbroken-survivors.com adds that the practice is still overlooked by news outlets and the LBGTQ community due to simple lack of knowledge. “The problem with institutional abuses including conversion therapy is that people think it is a dark age practice, yet somehow, it is still a widespread epidemic that is a six billion dollar industry.” Gerson was sent to a youth camp in Utah at the age of 12 for behavior problems.

Gerson alleges she was kidnapped, taken to the camp, stripped and underwent abuse at the hands of camp staff. She says physical and sexual abuse occurred, along with long periods of complete isolation. As an adult, she still has PTSD and has a hard time building healthy relationships due to the trauma she endured while at the Utah location (details of this camp are not disclosed as Gerson is pursuing legal action currently). Gerson began Unbroken Survivors which offers free legal and therapeutic services to survivors of similar situations. 

Gerson now advocates for survivors of what she sees as a billion-dollar industry —“troubled youth” camps and conversion therapy sessions. She is recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 and as a L’Oreal Paris Woman of Worth for her work educating families about conversion therapy and “troubled youth camps.” Gerson says she was already out as a gay young person, and that her mother was overwhelmed by Gerson’s rebellious teenage behavior. 

Another hazard LBGTQ youth face if rejected by their church or home is homelessness. Of the homeless youth in Colorado, 40% identify as LBGTQ. All LBGTQ youth face serious high numbers of suicide attempts and or ideation. 

According to the 2017 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, nearly half (44.8%) of lesbian, gay, or bisexual students had considered suicide in the past 12 months, a prevalence more than three times higher than that among heterosexual students. Among transgender youth, 58.9% had considered suicide in the past 12 months, while 16.3% of cisgender (straight) considered suicide in the past year. In total, 19.9% of lesbian, gay or bisexual students had attempted suicide in the past year compared to 5.1% of heterosexual students. 6.3% of cisgender youth reported attempting suicide compared to 32.5% of transgender youth. 

To lower these numbers, getting the word out about safe places for LBGTQ youth and their support networks is key. Many LBGTQ youth who are excluded from church or home may simply not know there are many open and affirming churches in Colorado. There are also distinctions to make between churches about what “open and affirming” means. 

“Affirming churches exist and gladly welcome those who identify as LBGTQ. Folks need to get past the idea that being LBGTQ and being a person of faith are exclusionary identities. They are not. Many in the LBGTQ community identify as people of faith. It’s important to share stories of those who are, to demonstrate that these two worlds can and do co-exist,” says Kadi. Community church leaders are reaching out to LBGTQ people through events like “The Greatest of These is Love,” in which Rev. Sarah Verasco, Senior Pastor of Longmont United Church of Christ, spoke to attendees. 

Verasco explains the differences between words churches use such as “open and affirming” and merely being “open.”

“It has become common for churches to say they are ‘open’ to people of all lifestyles and open to people however they identify.  This openness can be misleading and is not the same as full inclusion or affirming the LBGTQ community.”

“If you want to know where a church stands on LBGTQ matters you must ask the following three questions: Can my partner and I be married in this church? Can I be ordained (or a clergy leader) in this church? Will you formally and ritually acknowledge my transition by offering me sacraments (Baptism in particular) with my new name?” says Verasco. 

Concerns about a church’s authentic inclusion of LBGTQ people is of special concern to Carissa Chen. She is concerned that churches near the young people at University of Colorado use coded language and a relatable style to entice LBGTQ youth to join their congregation. She worries that words like “spiritual direction” may emotionally hook people into changing their sexual identity at the guidance of church leaders. 

According to a 2009 report of the American Psychological Association, techniques used to try to alter sexual orientation and gender identity include showing the patient homoerotic images, electric shock use, using shame to create aversion, and quoting Biblical passages. 

The association “advises parents, guardians, young people, and their families to avoid sexual orientation change efforts that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and to seek psychotherapy, social support, and educational services that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support, and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth.”

Sheena Kadi underwent the trauma of conversion therapy. “As a survivor of conversion therapy – both by a religious counselor and by licensed mental health practitioners as a minor – the shame and hopelessness that survivors struggle with is very real. Adding in the dynamic of being a person of faith, it caused me to question my very existence. I spent years trying to reconcile my sexual orientation and my personal relationship with God in non-affirming churches. We have to continue to share these stories,” Kadi says. 

These concerns are echoed by the Pan American Health Organization, which says the practices “lack medical justification, and present a real threat to the well-being of affected people.” Risks for youth are even greater than for adults. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are more than five times more likely to have high levels of depression and are more likely to use illegal substances compared to those from a supportive family. 

According to the Trevor Project, “Conversion therapy… ’ is any of the several dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation nor gender identity. More than 700,000 LBGTQ people have been subjected to the horrors of conversion therapy. Estimated 80,000 youth will experience this unprofessional conduct in the coming year, often at the insistence of well-intentioned but misinformed parents or caretakers.” 

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LBGTQ young people. It runs Trevor Space, a safe space social network site for LBGTQ youth and runs educational, research, and advocacy programs. 

Casey Pick, Senior Fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at the Trevor Project, says the 50 Bills 50 States campaign works to introduce and promote legislation to protect LBGTQ youth from conversion therapy in every state. The aim of the campaign is to “educate lawmakers and the public about the dangers of conversion therapy,” and by building a grassroots campaign of volunteers to get the mission accomplished by email, calls, and meeting with elected officials.   

The repeating theme of “support” is of utmost importance to organization leaders. Even Psychology Today lists a national search bar on its website for trans, non-binary, and all LGBTG people who want to find a supportive network and therapists who do not condone conversion therapy. 

scott 

Scott McCoy of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) represented several young men and two of their mothers in a landmark case against conversion therapists in New Jersey. The suit was brought under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA). The clients were awarded the amount they spent on conversion therapy which totaled around $1,000 for individual and group therapy sessions, and included the amount for a program called Journey Into Manhood. This program involved weekends in the woods with others struggling with same sex attraction in the hopes of converting them. One plaintiff, Ben Unger, won over $17,950 because he was reimbursed for what McCoy calls “legitimate” therapy Unger needed after undergoing conversion therapy. Which is all to say, apart from the trauma conversion therapy can wreak on a person’s emotional and psychological state, the financial implications can be devestating. 

In Tampa, a case against a well known conversion therapist named Dr. Joseph Nicolosi alleges that Kevin Shelton spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on conversion therapy. This case was settled, but McCoy says, “These conversion therapists are charlatans who take advantage of desperate people and at great cost both financially and emotionally and psychologically.”

Sharing this kind of information and networking are of equal importance according to non-profit organizations, legal counsel, and church leaders. Sheena Kadi says that people must share their stories to stigmatize it to the point that faith communities hold their leaders accountable and stop trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Kadi remains optimistic for the future and cites the passing of Jude’s Law (HB19-1039) as a step forward. The bill streamlines the process of name changing for trans people. 

“We also saw the passing of HB19-1120, allowing youth in Colorado as young as twelve to talk to a mental health specialist without parental notification. This allows questioning LBGTQ youth the chance to speak with an affirming counselor without fear of being rejected or kicked out by   a non-affirming family,” Kadi says. In the future, One Colorado wants to add gender identity to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), banning the gay and trans panic defense, mandating LBGTQ affirming trainings for foster and adoptive parents, and treating mental health days as an excused absence at school. 

Rep. Brianna Titone, who is the first openly trans person elected to the state of Colorado, says she headed a grassroots effort to get municipalities and cities to make proclamations against the practice to help raise awareness about the issue and try to sway the committee. 

“Since I’ve started fighting to ban conversion therapy, I’ve spoken to more and more people who have told me their story. I realized that there had to be more who have been keeping it to themselves, or worse, died by suicide and their secret story also lost,” says Rep. Titone, who represents House District 27.

Rep. Titone says she thinks the best way to overcome the remaining barriers is to elect more LBGTQ people. “This helps people have the courage to be themselves, accept people who are different from them, and removes the stigma of being different. We all share the same basic goals and aspirations and elected officials help to show that we really do care about everyone.” 

“I look back on myself as a kid; not being out, just being an awkward geeky kid and dealing with bullying. It makes me angry to think that kids are being told they can’t be themselves. To me, that’s bullying those kids in a different way and often by the people they are to trust the most,” says Rep. Titone. 

“Colorado is fortunate to have made a lot of progress since 1992 when we were dubbed the ‘hate state.’ Since then, we have enacted many protections for LBGTQ community including banning conversion therapy for minors and removing burdensome requirement for trans people to get their birth certificate changed. However, there are always more thing we can do to clean up statutes and fill in holes where the LBGTQ community has been left out.”

Carissa Chen remains concerned that not enough is being done to enforce legal consequences against churches or individuals, such as clergy, who practice conversion therapy. “I need to find strength in this,” Carissa Chen says of her sister’s life, struggles with her sexual identity, and ultimately, her death. 

Carissa Chen says her younger sister, Alana, “was special. She was talented in so many different ways. She got the best grades. She loved fashion. In her room, even now, there is a rack of clothes from a thrift store she was going to repurpose. She was into sustainable fashion, and she made jewelry. She was artistic in many ways.”

“I think a lot of people don’t understand that conversion therapy can be emotional and psychologically change someone through talk. My parents didn’t let or make her do anything. Alana herself at the time wanted to do this so she could be perfect for God, and become a nun,” Carissa Chen says.  

Also revealed in Alana’s journal entries, which Carissa chose to share with Yellow Scene, Alana wrote about climate change advocacy and how to help local people in need. Carissa says Alana purposefully sat among the homeless in Boulder County and became close to a woman named “Shorty.” According to Carissa, her sister helped Shorty get into a rehab facility. “Alana wanted to help people.”

Joyce Calvo-Chen is dealing with immense grief and loss. But she wants her daughter’s story to reach someone and to make a difference. “I hope my daughter’s story will save lives. I want this outlawed for everyone, not just minors. It’s wrong.”

Since her death, Alana’s family has created a foundation to further educate people on conversion therapy and what the family sees as a major injustice. On the website, Chen’s mother shares the ways she feels the church mistreated her daughter. She asks supporters to contact the church to demand justice. 

The newly created foundation’s page says, “The Alana Faith Chen Foundation is an organization that works diligently to provide mental health support and community education on mental illness and effects of trauma. The Alana Chen Foundation will be inclusive to all, including specific programs dedicated to helping the LBGTQ+ community.” 

LBGTQ youth, parents, and community members can find support at coloradocrisisservices.org, the trevorproject.org, and crisistextline.org. 

The post I have a story to tell, but nobody will listen: The Story of Alana Chen appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.