ABOUT COLAGE

COLAGE Mission

COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth, and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) parent/s. We build community and work toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy.

COLAGE Vision

We envision a world in which those of us with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents or families are connected to a broad community of peers and mentors, are recognized as the authority of our experiences, belong to respected and valued family structures, and have the tools and support to create and maintain a just society.

We envision a world in which all families are valued, protected, reflected, and embraced by society and all of its institutions; in which all children grow up loved and nurtured by kinship networks and communities that teach them about, connect them to, and honor their unique heritage; and in which every human being has the freedom to express sexual orientation, gender identity, and self.

We envision being part of large movements to transform school systems, social services, mental and physical health systems, media, legislatures, legal systems, and all religious institutions to heal from and end all forms of oppression, discrimination, bigotry and hatred.

Values

Throughout our organization and in all of our work with individuals, families, communities, and the world, COLAGE seeks to embody these values.

We value families in all forms.

• We believe families are defined by more than blood, law, or marriage.
• Families are defined through life's shared experiences-both the joys and the challenges.
• We recognize a pluralistic definition of family and parent-child relationship(s) encompassing a variety of kinship structures including but not limited to: immediate families, extended families, multiracial families, adoptive and foster families, international and intergenerational families, chosen families, and kindred spirits.
• We value all family members, including those who are straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer; single, partnered, and/or polyamorous; who have the same and/or different racial, cultural, and/or religious background; are immigrant/refugee, and who have physical and/or mental health disabilities.
• Furthermore, we recognize that children of straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents come into (and out of) families through multiple pathways, including adoption, donor insemination, surrogacy, co-parenting, reproductive relationships of all kinds and foster care systems.

We value the power of people with LGBTQ parents as agents of social change.

• We understand that COLAGE youth and families are powerful agents of social, political, and cultural change.
• COLAGE values youth empowerment and leadership development through mentorship between people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents across differences in age, race, socio-economic status, religion, and culture.
• We embrace the knowledge and experience of our youth and families, recognizing and honoring COLAGErs' resiliency in overcoming internally and externally imposed barriers and oppressions. While directly confronting oppression, COLAGE values programs and resources that build upon COLAGErs' strengths and talents rather than portraying us as victims or passive recipients of services.
• As people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents, we are the authorities of our own individual experiences.

We value the freedom of expression.

• We support free expression in all aspects of our lives and families.
• COLAGE acknowledges all families have strengths and challenges, therefore, we encourage all COLAGErs to express the range of their familial experience in their own ways.

We value COLAGEr-only safe spaces.

• We understand the importance of COLAGEr-only space where children, youth and adults of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents can speak freely amongst themselves.
• We recognize and value wherever COLAGErs are in their experience with their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer families.
• We value the importance of other safe spaces within COLAGE where COLAGErs can come together to discuss specific aspects of their COLAGEr identities or experiences.

We value health and healing for all COLAGErs and their families.

• We respect sex-positivity and employ a harm reduction approach to mental and physical health.
• We believe in healthy families and communities and thus engage in anti-oppression and anti-violence work.

We value diversity, cultural competency, relevance and accessibility.

• We promote the healthy identity formation, emotional, and social development of all COLAGErs.
• We value accessibility and seek to make our programs and activities affordable, culturally relevant, and accessible to people with all dis/abilities.

We value coalition building.

• We seek to work in coalition with allies who proactively organize across differences according to shared goals (such as equity across race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, mental health status, immigration/refugee status, sexual behavior, religion/spirituality, geographic location, etc.) through positive action.

We value creativity.

• We engage in creative and fun means as a strategy to meet our ends.

We value youth-driven, consensus-oriented governance.

• Because our constituency is largely comprised of children and youth, and because the voices of young people are marginalized in society, we prioritize youth leadership in our programs and on our board of directors.
• We embrace a consensus-driven model of governance based on the belief that our most effective leaders are those who are able to guide decision-making processes that include, empower and reflect the voices and opinions of the entire group.

We value feedback.

• We encourage continuous and frequent organizational self-assessment and development based on COLAGErs' evolving needs, strengths and experiences.
• We engage in both internal and external evaluation processes that include feedback from many sources to guide and improve our work.