BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University’s Lesbian and Gay Family Building Project and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program will host the 2015 Pride and Joy Families Weekend Conference Friday, March 20 through Sunday, March 22, at the Holiday Inn Arena and University Downtown Center in Binghamton, N.Y. The conference is open to the public. Registration is required.
A pre-conference educational program will be held for health and human service professionals, students and the general community. Goldberg will address "Contemporary Families: Lesbian-and Gay-Parent Families Across the Life Cycle and Implications for Practice" at 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 20, in room 220A, at the Binghamton University Downtown Center. The pre-conference event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
"Pride and Joy Families Weekend Conferences are a wonderful opportunity for adults and children in LGBTQ* families to experience a sense of community, celebrate together, and find the support and resources they need to lead fuller, healthier lives," said Claudia Stallman, project director for the Lesbian and Gay Family Building Project.
"Conference organizers also warmly welcome LGBTQ couples and single adults of all ages and stages of life (no children required), parents of LGBTQ children, health and human service professionals, university students and other allied adults."
Keynote speaker Abbie Goldberg, professor of psychology at Clark University, will discuss how LGBTQ families navigate their identities in school. Adult workshop sessions will address health and wellness, legal and financial matters, schools, faith communities, family development, gender, race and many other aspects of living in an LGBTQ family. Children and youth programs will be provided by Camp Highlight, a camp for children in LGBTQ families. The Pride and Joy Families Conference will also include intergenerational activities, a Family Dance Party, resource vendor fair and off-site excursions to many Binghamton-area attractions.
This year’s conference will build on four previous statewide LGBTQ families conferences, held in Ithaca, Binghamton, Utica and, most recently, Rochester, which attracted people from upstate New York and beyond. The conference is co-sponsored by Camp Highlight, Gay Parent Magazine, Out for Health, Identity Youth Center, Cortland LGBT Resource Center, Sage Upstate, and Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing, Psychology Department, Health and Wellness Program, Alumni Association and College of Community and Public Affairs.
The Lesbian and Gay Family Building Project (www.PrideAndJoyFamilies.org) was established in 2000 with a grant from the New York State Health Department. The Project is dedicated to helping LGBTQ people in upstate New York attain their goals of building and sustaining healthy families.
Conference registration is available for the full weekend, or Saturday only. Children’s fees vary by age. College students may attend for only $20. Scholarships are available. The registration deadline for children and youth is Feb. 29. Adults and college students may register until March 6. The conference hotel room rate is $89 per night and is not included in the registration fee. For registration and program information, visit www.PrideAndJoyFamilies.org, or contact staff at 607-777-3717 or prideandjoyfamilies@gmail.com.
*LGBTQ families are defined as those with one or more lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer members.
