Welcome to my rants blog ….

Ok…so here it goes. I am just learning this blogging stuff so I can catch up to the real world! I figure a place where I can just rant about whatever comes up for me is a good way to learn. So, this blog is in no way representative of the Rainbow Health Initiative’s (RHI), MN Tobacco-free Lavender Communities’ (TLC), or any of our funders’ views, opinions, or ideas. This is totally, 100%, absolutely my own. Created by me, Loretta, so I can share with you what is on my mind.

I am the Director of Programs for RHI. We are a small agency that is seeking to improve the health of LGBT Minnesotans. I love that! That is the reason I am here. I care about our health as a community. I understand things from a public health perspective, yet also from a community perspective. As a community, we have many social norms that need to change before we can offer those questioning and just coming out young folks more healthy, happy, queer role models. It is hard to come out at any age, but to do so when you are young is significantly more challenging in my mind. We can help this by offering healthy role models and mentors, a community that cares about one another, a community that has many cultural events that do not center around drinking and getting intoxicated. We owe our youth that much. They are our future! (Ok, here I start getting mushy, so I’ll stop. You all know what I mean!)