Visit the Family Ties website for full information about the project!
Welcome to the Family Ties Project, a joint undertaking by Cara-Friend and The Rainbow Project.
The aim of the Family Ties Project is to provide practical advice, guidance and support to parents who are perhaps coming to terms with a child who has revealed themselves to be LGB, or for parents who perhaps suspect themselves that their child is LGB and do not know what to do.
Research carried out for the shOUT Report (published by YouthNet) has shown that 77% of the young gay, lesbian or bisexual people interviewed realised their own sexual orientation before the age of 17. Sadly the research also showed that 63% of the young people did not feel they could tell their parents when they first came out, and 29% had attempted suicide.
This is a shocking and alarming statistic! To face up to the fact that almost a third of young lesbian, gay or bisexual people have attempted suicide truely is a wake up call.
What is family?
Who do you think of as your family? Is it only your relatives? Most people have a lot of friends and colleagues, and would consider these as important to them as their immediate relatives!
Family is important! We all need our families, large and small. We rely on each other, care for each other, love one another. Family is precious to everyone, even to LGB people. Unfortunately, many LGB people feel that they cannot share an important part of their identity with their families.
Clearly, the feeling that your child, friend, relative or colleague is not who you thought is distressing, for all concerned. No-one can be fully prepared for such an event, however, the aim of the Family Ties Project is to try to prepare parents, children, relatives, friends, colleagues and just about anyone for what might happen, or to help you come to terms with it if it already has.
The Family Ties Project has produced a variety of literature, available on the website in both PDF and Microsoft Word format. The link is at the top of every page on the website. Inside, you will find a thought-provoking document, discussing the issues of family, particularly of parents, when someone tells you they are LGB. Personal testimony from the families of LGB people is included.
Visit the Family Ties website for full information about the project!
