Weekly LGBTQA support group starts again for the fall

When LuAnn Helms first came to Utah State University 12 years ago, students noticed an absence of support groups for LGBTQA students.

“It was actually started because a few students asked me if I would start a support group,” said Helms, a psychologist and training director for Utah State.

She said these students were advocates in the community who noticed there was no place to talk about coming out issues.

But through their combined efforts and Helms help came the LGBTQA Program Brown Bag Support/Discussion Group. This semester’s group meets on Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Taggart Student Center 310.

Brown Bag is intended for students who identify as LGBTQA — which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and asexual or ally — to “get together, learn from, and support each other,” as written on the promotional banner.

But students do not need to be intimidated by labels when trying to determine if this is right for them. Anyone who is interested can attend.

“[It’s] a welcoming and open discussion group,” wrote the program coordinator for the Brown Bag, Brooke Lambert, in an email. “Anyone is welcome to attend Brown Bag.”

First-time participants of Brown Bag start by signing a confidentiality form, said Lambert. This form directs participants not to bring the identities of participants or what is discussed outside of the group. This helps ensure that Brown Bag remains a safe outlet.

At the start of every discussion, participants decide on what to talk about.

“At the beginning I ask, ‘Is there a topic you would like to focus on?’ And usually they generate a topic at that time,” Helms said.

Brown Bag relies on peer interaction, Lambert wrote. Discussions are driven by the students that show up year to year, semester to semester and even week to week.

“Every year, every semester, the group is different depending on who shows up, which is kind of exciting,” Helms said. “It really depends on the personalities and the desires of the participants.”

Even with this unpredictability, some topics tend to be popular.

“Most common topics range from coming out to meeting people, finding a social group, study habits, stress management and family matters,” Lambert wrote.

Another common topic in Brown Bag discussions is advocate burnout.

“Sometimes they get pretty frustrated and disappointed, feeling like, ‘Wow, we’re really making some changes in the world when it comes to acceptance and compassion,'” Helms said. “And then something very homophobic will happen, and it feels like one step forward, two steps back. So having to deal with that sometimes can be pretty hard.”

While some of these topics are exclusive to LGBTQA students, many are relevant to most college students.

“Sometimes students just want to talk about dating and how you balance dating and school, or stress management, or issues that any college student has,” Helms said.

Lambert noticed that since she started coordinating Brown Bag, more students are seeking acceptance for who they are and are grappling less with their identity.

“The biggest change I think has been that a lot of students are already ‘out’ when they come to college, at least to themselves,” Lambert said. “When I first started we had a lot of students who were exploring their sexuality, and I think now it’s more like ‘I want to meet people like me.'”

Lambert adds that support groups are important for LGBTQA students to find support, advice and acceptance.

“It’s really important for LGBTQA students to help them find a community and be able to talk to people who have maybe gone through something similar and can help them,” Lambert said.

Helms agrees, adding that the resources offered by USU not only help the students’ individual well-being, but also contributes to a better campus.

“I think offering students different opportunities to get support is really helpful. If people aren’t burnt out, then they are more productive and able to contribute to the environment around them,” Helms said. “I think having a variety of sources of support for students helps Utah State be a healthy environment.”

— whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu