Identity, coping skills, and health and wellness are among the subjects participants are invited to talk about with the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu’s new LGBTQ+ Support Group, which will start sessions today, Oct. 7. The group is scheduled to meet 5 to 6:30 p.m. every Thursday via Zoom.
The LGBTQ+ Support Group is a peer-led group open to all students across the UH System to provide a safe space to connect with others who identify within the LGBTQ+ community.
The group is facilitated by mental health professionals with the UH West Oʻahu Counseling Center.
“The LGBTQ+ Support Group was created through our dedication of building awareness, visibility, and advocating for diversity in our ever-growing university and community,” group co-facilitators Dorthea W. Caldwell, Shantel K.T. Rita, and Tracii Wraith said in a joint statement. “College is a time that we may come to explore ourselves like our sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as our lived experiences within these identities.”
They continued, “With this group, we hope to provide a brave space for connection, curiosity, exploration, and discovery; a place where all the diversity of one’s identity is embraced and appreciated; a space of radical and unconditional acceptance and support.”
To sign up for the LGBTQ+ Support Group, scan the QR code below. To get more information, contact uhwotalk@hawaii.edu.
