The celebration and support of LGBTQIA individuals continues well beyond Pride Month in June. There are many resources available to help individuals further educate themselves and support the LGBTQIA members of our community. The following are just a few.
Anyone interested in joining or learning more about the College of Pharmacy LGBTQIA affinity group is encouraged to visit the website and connect with the group’s facilitators. Visit the affinity group website to learn more about all of the affinity groups available at the college and about how to become an ally.
Resources on-campus:
- The Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life offers student support services and advocacy programs for those who identify as queer and/or trans. Some of the programming the Center engages in includes inclusivity training, support for LGBTQIA student housing, and hosting lecturers - among other events and the general opportunity to engage in like-minded communities.
- The Queer Student Cultural Center, housed in Coffman Student Union, provides a space for identifying and allied students to gather and share in mutual support.
- The University manages a 3,500 linear feet repository of LGBTQ-specific material. The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection contains all types of media - from audovisual to zines - with a concentration on Minnesota-specific LGBTQ life and history.
- Boyton Health offers some LGBTQIA-specific and -directed care, including the potential for transitional support and for group therapies for those struggling with the challenges of their identities (generally, and also specifically for those who identify as LGBTQIA).
- University of Minnesota’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Health is one of the largest clinical, teaching, and research institutions in the world specializing in human sexuality.
Resources off-campus and elsewhere:
- The history of the LGBTQIA community in Minnesota, has been recounted by Twin Cities PBS in a two-hour long news-documentary, Out North.
- Twin Cities Pride will be held on July 17 and 18 at Loring Park.
- Duluth/Superior Pride is scheduled for September 4.
- OutFront Minnesota is one of the many - and one of the largest of - the state's LGBTQIA advocacy groups, often hosting educational and organizing events.
- A podcast for better understanding the importance of the role of pharmacists in the healthcare of LGBTQIA patients.
- A guide from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on providing LGBTQIA care in a pharmacy setting.
These resources are not the full extent of possible ways to become more intentional and involved with those who identify as LGBTQIA. At the College of Pharmacy, we encourage going beyond these resources to better appreciate the lives of our colleagues, friends, and family. Understanding is the first step in reciprocating appreciation, love, and vibrancy.