Oakland County
Affirmations Showcases Variety of LGBTQ+ Support Groups and Programs
Affirmations showcase a wide range of LGBTQ+ help teams and packages
(Crystal A. Proxmire, February 8, 2026)
Ferndale, MI – Affirmations is called a protected area for everybody – with folks of various ages, backgrounds and personalities discovering widespread floor throughout the partitions of Michigan’s largest LGBTQ+ group heart. However simply because the guests are different, so are the teams and providers the middle has to supply. On January 29, they took the time to showcase a few of these choices on the Wigtacular Open Home, with the theme of sporting wigs.
There are a number of teams and packages at Affirmations, together with Senior Koffee Klatch, Incapacity and Dialogue Group, BOLD (Black, Open, Loving, & Defiant): Black Queer Help Community, Queer Yoga, Bixexual + Group Help, Narcotics Nameless, Coming Out Group, Yallah Discuss, Brownbaggers AA, and extra.
An essential a part of the work Affirmations does is supporting queer youth.
There’s a Teen Drop-In Middle on Fridays from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM the place teenagers can play video games, make artwork, watch one thing or simply hand around in a casual, supportive atmosphere. There’s additionally a ten-week youth management and job readiness program known as Lavender Management Academy, for folks ages 12 to 22, the place members study matters comparable to resume writing, interview abilities, teamwork, monetary training, identification and extra to arrange them for future success.
Packages like these are created with enter from the Youth Advisory Council. Emi and Shae from the Youth Council have been current on January 29. Emi shared that Affirmations created the council to be extra youth-led in order that youth can have a voice.
“I present enter behind the scenes,” stated Emi. “I even helped conduct interviews for workers.”
Along with offering enter, the members of the Youth Council act as mentors for youthful guests. “I get pleasure from being there and serving to folks really feel snug,” Shae stated. “We’re how we will prioritize this area as a spot to be protected.”
For Emi, Affirmations have led to extra self-confidence and friendships. “I began coming three years in the past, simply earlier than I turned 18,” Emi stated. Rising up, the one brazenly queer individual they ever knew was a trainer. “That was my gateway to this aim. I used to be form of a hermit. I had fears. Then I received a hyperlink to youth ball and that jump-started this journey of group constructing and belief constructing. It was a chance to create my very own group.”
There’s even a bunch for folks of transgender kids. TransParent is a nationwide group dedicated to supporting mother and father and caregivers of gender-expansive kids via group, training and assets. Christina West began the SE Michigan Chapter final yr and Affirmations was the proper place for the group to satisfy.
Whether or not somebody is an enthusiastic advocate or simply has a whole lot of questions, TransParent supplies an inviting area for conversations, assets and help.
West stated the commonest challenges for folks of transgender or non-binary youth are discovering entry to well being care and making certain their little one is revered and guarded in school.
The University of Michigan in August stopped providing gender-affirming hormonal therapies to sufferers below age 19 in response to strain from the federal authorities. “When U of M stopped caring for minors, our group was hit laborious,” West stated. “There have been so many households who out of the blue did not know tips on how to get the hormones they wanted.”
West and different mother and father labored with organizations like Affirmations and Equality Michigan to determine suppliers and curate these assets.
Faculty acceptance is one other problem, as districts have completely different approaches to inclusivity. Some districts refuse to make use of most well-liked names and pronouns and even look the opposite approach when bullying happens. Whereas others welcome transgender and non-binary kids with open arms.
“If a toddler who’s transgender shouldn’t be acknowledged for who they’re, it’s detrimental to their well being. They’re extra vulnerable to bullying, miss out on training and really feel remoted and rejected,” stated West. “To me it’s a type of bullying, and I do not assume colleges ought to do something that’s intentionally dangerous to their college students.”
It was truly a pupil’s suicide that prompted West to launch a TransParent chapter. “I did not know the coed personally, however it hit laborious,” West stated. “My son has supported me on this, and my household has supported me in making this occur.”
Blake Harvey was excited when he heard concerning the TransParent group. Harvey is a transgender man with a transgender little one, and he’s a social work pupil who lately started interning with Affirmation’s psychological well being program.
On the time of the occasion, he had solely been with Affirmations for 3 weeks. “I am nonetheless studying all the things they do right here. A few of their clinics are actually cool. The unhoused clinic is such an essential want proper now. And the meals pantry bridges the hole for people who find themselves struggling. Entry to meals is a core element of well being.”
“I’m personally changing into a social employee as a result of I wish to work with LGBTQ+ youth in Macomb County,” Harvey stated. “What would I like folks to find out about transgender folks? That they’re folks. They’re simply folks. It would not matter what my genitals are or who I sleep with. Folks need to be handled like folks.”
Though he has not skilled violence or discrimination, concern is a part of his life. “I undoubtedly strive to slot in. I strive to not make any strikes that draw consideration to myself, or gown like I in all probability would if I used to be tremendous open,” West stated. “One of the best ways I can describe it’s I’ve this proud lanyard for my keys,” Harvey stated. “I stroll round right here at Affirmations and I haven’t got an issue with my lanyard hanging out. It isn’t an issue. But when I am procuring or one thing, I be certain I put it in my pocket as a result of I simply do not feel protected.”
Whereas assembly primary wants like shelter, meals, security, psychological well being, and group are core elements of Affirmations, there are additionally teams that assist folks overlook these challenges and expertise moments of freedom, creativity, and pleasure.
Bella Borruso is a dance trainer who began what was initially known as Rooted in Rhythm, a music and dance group. Now that group has branched out into one chain: Rooted in Motion and Rooted in Music. “The explanation we created these teams within the first place was to make use of music for group and self-care,” says Borruso. “We’ve got improvised methods to attach thoughts and physique. We’ve got somatic actions that can assist you unplug and assume.”
The teams discover many motion and music types, and folks of all ranges are welcome to take part.
Affirmations is situated at 290 W. 9 Mile in downtown Ferndale. Be taught extra about their numerous packages, providers and teams at www.goaffirmations.org.
