you belong here
Why Does Camp Fire prioritize supporting 2SLGBTQ+ young people?
BECAUSE IT LITERALLY
saves lives
39%
of 2SLGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year—and young people who are transgender, nonbinary, and/or people of color reported higher rates than their peers.1
67%
of 2SLGBTQ+ young people reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety2
50%
of 2SLGBTQ+ young people who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to access it.3
According to Trevor Project’s recent research, “LGBTQ young people who had accepting adults in their lives reported significantly lower odds of attempting suicide compared to those who did not”.
That is why Camp Fire creates safe spaces for young people to connect with not only the outdoors, others, and themselves, but also with caring, accepting adults.
Other research from the Trevor Project shows that transgender and non-binary young people who had access to gender-affirming clothing, gender-neutral bathrooms at school, and had their pronouns respected by the people they live with had lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those who did not.
Camp Fire Intentionally Invests in the Inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ Young People
Quick note: Why the do we put the 2S first in our acronym? 2S is for Two Spirit. Two Spirit is a term designated for Native, Indigenous, and Alaska Native LGBTQ+ individuals. The word came from the Anishinabe language and means having both female and male spirits within one person. Two Spirit has a different meaning in different communities (Tribal-Institue.org). Camp Fire is on a journey to acknowledge and rectify our history of cultural appropriation. Part of this journey is recognizing the harm that has been done and working to build new, trusted relationships with Native and Indigenous communities. As we move forward into new partnerships and spaces, we want to honor the significant and largely unrecognized contributions of Two Spirit and Indigenous people. By adding 2S to our LGBTQ2S+ acronym we remind ourselves that without these contributions we would not be here today and hold space in the future of Camp Fire for Native, Indigenous, and Two Spirit people to we welcome, affirmed, celebrated, and supported.
Camp Fire has made it a priority to intentionally structure programs to be inclusive of gender-diverse young people and their needs.
FROM 2019 TO 2024, CAMP FIRE DEDICATED OVER $900,000 ACROSS 15 AFFILIATES TO REMOVE BARRIERS AND EXPAND OVERNIGHT CAMP ACCESS TO YOUTH WHO HELD HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED IDENTITIES THROUGH THE C.A.M.P.E.R. (CAMP ACCESSIBILITY, MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION, AND EQUAL PARTICIPATION) GRANT.
The initiative aimed to create safe and affirming spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ staff and participants. Gender-neutral cabins, bathrooms, and showers were added to camps, and program staff implemented practices such as asking pronouns and flying pride flags during camp flag time.
THROUGH THE MERGING OF HUMOR, PLAY, AND NATURE, CAMP FIRE CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH TO EXPERIENCE PLEASURE AND JOY.
One young person shared with us,
“Meadow games [at camp] are fun, because it really took me back to my childhood, feeling like, you can be yourself completely, and you’re just having fun running around in the meadow playing hide and seek or tag or balancing on a balance beam or making friendship bracelets. It was nice to not have to worry about the sort of things that you would worry about in an everyday situation like “oh, no, my chest is protruding a little bit”, or “oh, no, my voice sounds a bit too high pitched.”
Read more about Camp Fire’s equitable programming in action here!
Camp Fire’s Efforts Have Been Proven To Impact Youth Thriving
Camp Fire made it a priority to research the impact of our intentionally inclusive practices in a first of its kind study, focused on assessing the impact of creating gender-affirming spaces at summer camp.
Camp Fire asked the question:
WHAT IMPACT (IF ANY) DO GENDER-AFFIRMING MEASURES HAVE ON YOUNG PEOPLE, THEIR CAREGIVERS, AND THEIR CAMP EXPERIENCE.”
This question led to a year-long study at two of our camps, which engaged transgender and non-binary youth and their caregivers following their summer camp experience.
We partnered with Dr. Kia Darling-Hammond (she/they) for this study, a leading educator, psychologist, and researcher with a focus on thriving and human development.
WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT BECAUSE CAMP FIRE INTENTIONALLY SET UP CAMP TO MEET THE NEEDS OF GENDER-DIVERSE CAMPERS, YOUTH, AND THEIR CAREGIVERS REPORTED EXPERIENCES OF BELONGING, RELIEF, COMMUNITY, PLEASURE, AND JOY IN THE OUTDOORS.
Download a full copy of the report and/or the executive summary here.
Camp Fire Inclusion Efforts are Ongoing
Camp Fire released a practices guide that accompanies the study report that outlines best practices when working with gender-diverse youth. We continue to support the expansion of 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion across the country.
READ MORE AND REQUEST THE GUIDE:
Bringing This Work to Our Ecosystem:
Creating Camp Magic: Gender-Affirming Practices to Welcome All Youth
PODCAST: Gender Affirming Practices at Camp – on CampWire
Partnering with Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Camp Fire National is a member of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Out-of-School Advisory Council.
THE GOAL OF THE COUNCIL IS TO ADVANCE LGBTQ+ INCLUSION IN OUR-OF-SCHOOL AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS
Project THRIVE is a collaborative effort of many national organizations, each committed to identifying opportunities within their own sphere of influence to increase awareness about and provide resources to address the unmet needs of LGBTQ+ youth, and to highlight best practices and success stories from their respective professional fields.
Project THRIVE is committed to an intersectional approach in the work, and to ensuring that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) LGBTQ+ and those who are system-involved or have a history of homelessness are a priority focus.
The Future of 2SLGBTQ+ Inclusion at Camp Fire: Focus on 2Spirit Youth4
Camp Fire formally launched a partnership with the National Indian Education Association in 2023.
THE CAMP FIRE/NIEA EQUITABLE PARTNERSHIP WILL HAVE A DISTINCT FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND TWO-SPIRIT YOUTH.
By creating identity-affirming spaces for Native youth to thrive, the partnership will amplify youth voice, build resources and support networks, and provide cross-training for leaders, educators and community members.
Seeking Training or Professional Development? Reach Out!
Camp Fire offers a range of professional development options for organizations existing outside our network. If your organization is interested in exploring training opportunities offered by Camp Fire, please reach out!
2SLGBTQ+ AFFIRMING PRACTICES: WHAT YOU CAN DO
This session is designed to introduce participants to the basic terminology and unique barriers faced by 2SLGBTQ+ young people and what they can do to support them.
2SLGBTQ+ AFFIRMING PRACTICES: WHAT YOUR PROGRAM CAN DO
This session focuses on program design, structure, and practices to further support and affirm 2SLGBTQ+ young people in OST and camp programs.
Let’s Partner Together to Support Young People!
If you are interested in partnering with Camp Fire and amplifying support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, please email training@campfire.org with your interest.
To learn more and partner with us, contact training@campfire.org.
References
- https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/#support-youth ↩︎
- https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/#support-youth ↩︎
- https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/#support-youth ↩︎
- 2 or 2S if for Two Spirit. Two Spirit term refers to Native American/Alaska Native Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) individuals. Two Spirit has a different meaning in different communities but is reserved for people holding both LGBTQ+ and Native identities. ↩︎
