Desi Rainbow Parents & Allies

We brought 700 lgbtqia+ people and allied family members together to meet, gain support and celebrate community in atlanta, bay area, los angeles, new jersey, dallas, houston, maryland chicago,raleigh/durham nc, virginia & washington dc. Each event featured community building activities, discussions on local advocacy and local lgbtqia+ organizers & performers. Our highlights included- onam potluck in chicago, a partnership with trikone chicago to honor the onam festival; satrangi naach night at south asia institute for a night of queer and trans-affirming community circle dances from south asia; and rainbow garba night in seattle with partners king county library system (kcls) and pride across the bridge.

Core aspect of our mission is to educate the south asian community about the breadth and diversity of the south asian lgbtqia+ experience and show lgbtqia+ youth, their parents, families and community that they can live fulfilling lives, build strong relationships, have and raise children and build meaningful careers. We have created & presented a series of workshops across the country for community based organizations, schools, colleges and healthcare providers entitled breaking the silence-stepping up for our lgbtqia+ community that offers an overview of needs and resources available for the desi lgbtqia+ community. Highlights include hosting a virtual town hall on current issues to get out the vote in october; presenting on a panel for raising children in a changing world with a leading diaspora organization, indiaspora panel on strategies for parents and educators to support the health of lgbtqia+ youth;speaking on a podcast for south asians about mental health.