Did you know that the Center serves people from all walks of life?

Your support provides life-changing care to people who otherwise couldn't afford services!

The 24th annual Women Helping Women

raised a record-breaking $223,000!

On May 20th we gathered at Embassy Suites with about 500 people to celebrate a record- breaking fundraising total! Funds will provide services for women, children, and families who otherwise couldn't access the mental health care they deserve.

The energy in the room was palpable -- it was wonderful to gather after a few years apart! We enjoyed a dynamic program with inspiring messages from our 2022 honoree, Sharon Goldford, and our keynote speaker Jacquie Easley McGhee.

We are grateful to all our generous sponsors and donors!

View a complete list of donors

Monthly recommendations or reflections for parents, kids, and teens from the Center's C.O.O.L. clinicians

Pride Month Focus: The powerful impacts of accepting versus rejecting parent behavior on their LGBTQ+ children’s health & well-being

It’s probably no surprise to anyone that parents have a profound impact on how their children develop, grow, and function in the world. However, research on the LGBTQ+ population has traditionally been scarce, and research related to the youngest members of that population and their families has been even more so. The Family Acceptance Project (FAP) of San Francisco State University began to shed some light on that, though, with some groundbreaking research over a decade ago. Their findings show just how powerfully parent and caregiver responses to their LGBTQ+ children really do impact their children’s mental and physical health and well-being now and into adulthood.

The researchers have conducted interviews with hundreds of families over the years and identified more than 100 types behaviors exhibited in response to their LGBTQ+ children’s identities. They found that about half of these behaviors could be categorized as accepting and the other half as rejecting. Then they evaluated the effects of these behaviors to see how they impact their LGBTQ+ children, and what they found was striking.

The study found that often the parents who were engaging in responses categorized as rejecting were actually motivated by care and concern for their children. These parents often reported being afraid for their LGBTQ+ child’s safety and concerned that their child’s identity would result in a more difficult life. In other cases, how closely the parents’ identities were tied to their children’s drove parental rejecting behavior. Parents with high levels of such identification felt personal shame and embarrassment regarding their children’s LGBTQ+ identities. They also felt intolerable distress over how it challenged the parents’ views and beliefs.