The Charleston-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit We Are Family (WAF) is planning one of its largest expansions yet, utilizing a grant the organization received to provide online support and therapy-based programs. This would allow LGBTQ+ youth across South Carolina to access free resources to help address mental health.
The executive director, Domenico Ruggerio, was chosen as a member of Young Futures Innovators. As a part of the program, the organization will receive a $100,000 grant from the YF Lonely Hearts Club funding challenge.
WAF was founded in 1995 and bears the same name as the song made popular by the R&B group Sister Sledge, “We Are Family,” which skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Pop, R&B and Dance charts nearly 45 years ago. It has long been revered as a LGBTQ+ anthem, with the strong support of the group.
It’s fitting that the organiztion bearing that name is dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth and their families. The organization was initially created to offer support to LGBTQ+ youth who often faced rejection, bullying, and isolation. Over the years, WAF has evolved to provide a wide range of services, including mental health support, leadership development and advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
WAF has contracts with 21 affirming therapists in the tri-county area to provide specific help for LGBTQ+ youth — all free. According to The Trevor Project, 59% of LGBTQ+ youth in South Carolina wanted mental health care but were unable to receive it. The reason: the cost of care.
The nonprofit is planning to offer its therapeutic programming and support groups through video calling and chat-based applications such as Google Meet and Discord, respectively. These programs are already free for people to use.
Ruggerio has expressed concern about the ability to reliably access these resources due to lack of technology access, but it is currently the only way to provide statewide resources for LGBTQ+ Youth. Fortunately, WAF partners with an organization called LGBT Tech, whose program provides hardware like laptops, cellphones, tablets and more to those in need.
“Out of all the projects that we do, this (Mental Health Assistance) is the one that is the most resource-intensive and of the most need,” Ruggerio said. “We cannot expect our youth to be leaders in their communities without acknowledging that their basic needs have to be met.”