The Rainbow Youth Project USA Foundation held its annual Bold Pathway Awards ceremony in Oklahoma City over the weekend to honor local 2SLGBTQ+ advocates, an emotional endeavor in the wave of the tragic death of Owasso student Nex Benedict. The ceremony honored those who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to promoting inclusivity and ensuring the well-being of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
“The Bold Pathway Awards presents an opportunity to give credit where it is due, acknowledging the inspirational endeavors of those who have worked tirelessly to uplift 2SLGBTQ+ youth,” said Lance Preston, executive director of Rainbow Youth Project USA Foundation. “It’s a privilege to hold this event in Oklahoma City to celebrate the local triumphs achieved in providing an inclusive and supportive environment for these youth and the city’s HIV prevention initiatives.”
Longtime Oklahoma City resident Michael Maus of Expressions Community Center received the prestigious Summit Award for Lifetime Achievement for more than 25 years of dedicated service to HIV prevention, education, treatment and support services. Houston Payne of Q-Space was awarded the Bold Pathway Standing Ovation Award, which recognizes exceptional achievements by persons new to the profession in advocacy, support services and the creation of safe spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ young people. Kris Williams of Oklahoma Diversity Center received the Bold Pathway Crescendo Award for her devotion to challenging marginalization, hate and negative political rhetoric that perpetuate harm.
Rainbow Youth Project is a national nonprofit organization committed to the health, safety and well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ youth. The organization operates a national suicide prevention hotline that has answered 29,425 calls since April 2022 and currently provides free mental health services to 2,432 young people across 46 states, including 84 individuals in Oklahoma.
The organization’s call crisis center saw a 500 percent increase in the number of calls it received in the week following the Feb. 8 death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student from Owasso. Benedict died one day after sustaining injuries in a fight in an Owasso High School bathroom. According to The Oklahoman: “Although the exact details of the fight are unclear, the teen’s family and friends have said Nex was routinely bullied because of their gender identity. Medical examiners are still completing their investigation into what killed Nex, but police have said that an autopsy determined Nex did not die as a result of [physical] trauma.”
Rainbow Youth Project’s call crisis center received nearly 1,000 calls from Oklahoma youth alone in February, a tremendous jump from the average of 324 Oklahoma calls per month. Preston said 87 percent of recent crisis center callers from across the nation report bullying with 60 percent mentioning Nex Benedict’s death specifically as motivation for bullying.
Preston says parents here in Oklahoma can take several steps to ensure the well-being of their 2SLGBTQ+ kids, as well as ally kids, including acknowledging and discussing the tragedy of Nex Benedict’s death, ensuring 2SLGBTQ+ youth know how to seek help in a crisis and showing 2SLGBTQ+ youth that they are supported.
“Make sure they know resources are available locally and nationally,” said Preston. “It’s important for them to see they have adult allies.”
According to PFLAG, impactful support can include: speaking with and listening to a 2SLGBTQ+ youth about their identity; learning about gender identity, sexual orientation and gender diversity; using a youth’s preferred pronouns; connecting 2SLGBTQ+ youth with a 2SLGBTQ+ role model; and loving 2SLGBTQ+ youth unconditionally.
Ally-ship and support can be even more important during Oklahoma’s annual legislative session. When the call crisis center launched in April 2022, the top reason for calls was a young person being outed and/or family rejection. Today, it’s feeling like their government hates them and doesn’t want them to exist.
“It’s not necessarily the policies or legislation — it’s the language, words and rhetoric surrounding them that puts fear in families and youth and can cause youth to be in crisis,” said Preston.
Here in Oklahoma, Preston specifically cites the anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric by State Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters, who has advocated for policies that block schools from recognizing a student’s gender identity if it does not match their sex assigned at birth, according to The Oklahoman, and who denied the existence of trans and nonbinary people after Benedict’s death.
“Kids are calling us and telling us what he says before we even see it, and they are concerned,” said Preston. “We can’t accept his rhetoric and have to continue challenging him on that. When a 14-year-old calls us and is suicidal because of something [Walters] has said, that should be impactful for any person. We have to let these kids know they are supported.”
Preston notes that Oklahoma is a state where there is an abundance of resources available to 2SLGBTQ+ youth and families and where anti-2SLGBTQ+ policies and legislation will be challenged.
“Oklahoma City has a powerful, unified voice,” said Preston. “Keep being that voice.”
