Lean on Leslie: Protecting Queer People with Policy

What do LGBTQ+ youth need now more than ever?

They just need to be seen and heard as they are.

Envision:You will recognize Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod (D-Denver) with their first Lean On Me award scheduled to be presented at their Annual Garden Party on August 1. Each year, Envision:You selects an individual and organization for their work as a demonstrated ally to the LGBTQ+ community and their mental health and wellbeing.

Envision:You co-founder Jerry Cun-ningham spoke of Representative Herod fondly: “Leslie is a forceful advocate and champion for the community, especially as it relates to behavioral health concerns. She is persistent in her work to increase access to care for everyone, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.”

Since her election in 2016 as the first LGBTQ+ African-American in the Colorado General Assembly, she has passed 52 bills addressing important issues including criminal justice reform, mental health, addiction, youth homelessness, education, and civil rights protections. Herod is also dedicated to improving the quality of care for underserved communities, particularly those in the public health system or with serious and persistent behavioral health concerns..

Herod stated that it is an honor to be receiving this award from Envision:You. She added that she has supported Envision:You from their launch in 2018. “I’m happy to have been involved in helping to build the road map.” She also explained her experience as being a fly on the wall. “There were a lot of experts in the room doing the work, some of whom have worked for decades in mental healthcare.” She recognizes the various opportunities for Envision:You to collaborate with partners, including Caring for Denver. Herod championed the successful 2018 ballot initiative and now sits on its board of directors. “We hope to clear out some of those gaps that exist for LGBTQ+ people and mental health care.”

Related article: Talking Racial Disparities with Rep Leslie Herod 

November 6, 2018 was the launch of the Caring4Denver Foundation. This foundation makes funding possible through Denver’s sales tax. For every $100 spent in Denver, 25 cents goes toward addressing the mental health and substance misuse needs in our city. This amount raises nearly $30 million every year.

Regarding the significant change these funds can address in relation to behavioral health needs, Herod said, “We are now the second-largest foundation in the state of Colorado. As far as how things have changed through the COVID-19 response, we put out funding for nonprofits who are working in health and substance abuse who needed emergency funding. We have been working very closely to figure out who gets funding and how we can quickly move that resource into the community as the need is so great.

As far as reaching out during the pandemic and beyond, Herod named Denver’s best resources which have persisted through COVID-19. “We wanted to make sure that people have access to them; Delores House, Mental Health Center of Denver, and others are doing really great work right now, obviously remotely. People have different needs because of COVID-19, and we are doing our best to be responsive to that.”

Herod is known to get out there and speak directly to LGBTQ+ youth and often tells her own story as an LGBTQ+ person of color, sharing her own vulnerabilities. She told me what she thinks LGBTQ+ youths’ most vulnerable issues are.

Queering Mental Health- Envision:You 2020

“I think it’s really along the lines of coming out or questioning their sexual orientation, but adding that on top of all the normal things that any youth is facing, that just compounds it. I think, for LGBTQ+ people specifically, it’s about finding your place and being able to be authentic with who you are in your story, and then navigating all the land mines that come along with that.“

Now, more than ever, she feels what LGBTQ+ youth needs is, “…to be seen and heard. I think with the social distancing happening right now, people are stuck at home and on computers, and what’s really important is that we see LGBTQ+ youth as they are and celebrate them.”

Herod recognizes that the older, LGBTQ+ population has different needs in relation to those of queer youth, adding, “The older, LGBTQ+ population are different in their growth. Older, LGBTQ+ folks have grown up from being teenagers, and some are more comfortable in themselves. Other issues in the community, like substance abuse challenges and healthcare, still have stigma and shame.” Another issue with the older, LGBTQ+ population, she noted, is, “The additional burden of having traumatic experience around whether it’s about coming out or being closeted for a long period of your life; those are things that are still there and things that need to be dealt with.”

To bring attention to the isolation one can feel, Herod thinks that more acute feelings can bring up tough memories and tough times. “We have to remember that a lot of the older, LGBTQ+ people have lived through the AIDS epidemic and watched so many people die. Right now, there are a lot of similarities being drawn between COVID-19 and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and although we haven’t seen that level yet in Colorado, my fear is that we will. And, so while we can look to our seniors for support, we’ve got to ensure that we are supporting them.”

To learn more about the Caring for Denver initiative, visit caring4denver.org.

Photo provided by Leslie Herod