Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Affirmation Portland Co-Sponsors Suicide Vigil

In Portland's vigil, balloons were used instead of candles

During National Suicide Prevention Week, Affirmation Portland and the Community of Welcoming Congregations co-sponsored a vigil to help raise awareness about suicide in the GLBT community. The event was held September 10 at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland. Since candles are not allowed in the Square, organizers used balloons instead.

“As LGBT Mormons, we have lost too many people to suicide,” says Affirmation’s Assistant Director Alyson Bolles. “Finding one’s identity as a youth in a culture that gives support to heterosexuals in issues of relationships, expectations, and intimacy, is a daunting task for those whose thoughts, feelings, and identities are not validated. The effects on one’s self-esteem and the culminating self-hatred can be too much to handle with the lack of support and near invisibility in mainstream culture.”

Since 2001, Affirmation has held suicide awareness and prevention vigils in Mexico, Chile, and across the U.S. For more information about this topic, visit http://www.affirmation.org/suicide_info.