Lone Star Legal Aid joins the National PRIDE celebration throughout the month of June. LSLA recognizes the importance of connecting to our client populations in a respectful, culturally competent manner. With recent expansions in LGBTQIA+ legal rights and protections, it is important that members of the community are offered direct legal assistance and opportunities to learn about their rights through education and outreach. In order for this to effectively occur, it is critically important that our staff have a framework for understanding this community’s needs, as well as the appropriate language to engage in these discussions.
LSLA Milestones in LGBTQIA+ Advocacy
Cultural Sensitivity Training
Towards this effort, LSLA participates in firm-wide LGBTQIA+ Cultural Sensitivity Training. This training focuses on educating our staff on the glossary of LGBTQIA+ terms, teaching them how to create a welcoming environment, and guiding them through intake and case handling for LBGTQIA+ clients.
Equal Justice Conference Presentation
On May 5, 2023, our Directing Attorney of Program-wide Units, Victoria Smith, presented alongside Ming Wong of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Michelle Garcia of New Mexico Legal Aid, at this year’s annual Equal Justice Conference in Dallas, Texas. We are proud to be part of such an inspiring panel of experts sharing their knowledge and experiences.
Partnership with Trans Legal Aid Clinic Texas
Lone Star Legal Aid works alongside Trans Legal Aid Clinic Texas (TLACT) to provide information to trans and non-binary people in Texas looking to update their name and/or gender marker on their identifying documents (driver’s license, state ID, passport, bank accounts, Social Security, etc.). These outreach events have been hosted virtually and in-person.
The next Virtual Name and Gender Marker Correction Clinic with Trans Legal Aid Clinic Texas will be held on Thursday, June 15 at 6:00 PM. More details to follow.
Learn more about gender markers and name changes for trans and gender nonconforming Texans here.
LGBTQIA+ Supreme Court Case Video Series
In October 2021, we created a National Coming Out Day series to educate those in our service area and beyond about the U.S. Supreme Court cases that have impacted the LGBTQIA+ community.
- One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958)
- Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board (2020)
- Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
- Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (1996)
- United States v. Windsor (2013)
- Masterpiece Cakeshop, Limited v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
- Romer v. Evans (1996)
- Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
LGBTQIA+ Resources
PRIDE without Prejudice
On July 22, 2021, we launched PRIDE without Prejudice, a virtual outreach series aimed at providing legal information and resources to the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. This series now occurs quarterly.
- Everything You Need To Know About Gender Marker and Name Changes in Texas
- Disaster Resilience in the LGBTQIA+ Community
- What is Black Trans Intersectionality in Housing Discrimination
- An Overview of LGBTQIA+ History
- Sexual Exploitation in the LGBTQIA+ Community
- LGBTQIA+ Student Rights and Protections Against Bullying in Texas
- LGBTQIA+ Military Discharge Upgrades
- LGBTQIA+ Issues in Teen Dating Violence
- Combatting Legal and Other Healthcare Hurdles for LGBTQIA+ People
- LGBTQIA+ Protections Under the Fair Housing Act
- Mental Health Resources for the LGBTQIA+ Community
- Addressing LGBTQIA+ Student Needs
Mark your calendars for our next PRIDE without Prejudice presentation on June 22, 2023 at 1:00 PM to celebrate LGBT Pride Month.
The Safe Space
Every quarter, The Safe Space series provides information and resources to survivors of sexual assault. These presentations regularly feature LGBTQIA+ inclusive community partners and focus on pressing topics in the LGBTQIA+ community. For Pride Month 2021, we partnered with Catholic Charities of Dallas and Pride Houston to have a serious discussion on human trafficking in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Printable Material and Guides
- Federal Nutrition Programs For LGBTQ Individuals & Families Fact Sheet
- Federal Nutrition Programs and Emergency Food Referral Chart For LGBTQ Individuals & Families
- DD214 Name Corrections for Transgender Veterans
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
