(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . ‘Now I have a voice’: Franklin High School grad works to create LGBTQ youth support groups [1] ['Claudia Lorena Silva', 'More Claudia Lorena Silva', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-06-20 Throughout most of the time Aurelio “Lio” Valdez Jr. attended Franklin High School, he didn’t feel like there was a space for LGBTQ students to build community or discuss the issues that affected them. That was until he restarted the school’s Gender and Sexualities Alliance club in 2021. He was 17. “I remember it being around my freshman year when I was in football and then I just never really heard about it anymore,” Valdez told El Paso Matters. “Once I came out, my junior summer going into my senior year, I definitely saw now I have a voice. So, I want to speak for those who don’t.” By the time Valdez graduated in 2022, he branched off and founded the El Paso GSA Board and the Texas GSA West Coalition — organizations that offer support to student clubs. Valdez said there are about 30 student-led GSA clubs in schools throughout El Paso, though the number fluctuates as students graduate. Valdez said he faced bullying when he was younger, which worsened when he opened up about his sexuality. That inspired him to start the club and form a community to stand up to bullying of LGBTQ students. “I was always more of a chubbier kid, I had anxiety. On top of that it didn’t help that I was kind of like a nerd. When I came out as gay that was just, you know, the third time’s a charm,” Valdez said. “That was the turning point for me. Once it was starting to get a little bit crazy I was like, ‘no, I’m done. It’s time to start fighting back.’” Now Valdez, 20, is looking to create the El Paso, Texas, LGBTQAI+ Youth Legal Aid Fund and expand the grassroots organizations he started in high school into official nonprofits to help youth who have experienced harassment or discrimination based on their gender identity or sexuality. He said he plans to use the nonprofits to raise money for the legal aid fund, which would be used to hire an attorney to help students and their parents take legal action in cases where their civil rights were violated. Lio Valdez, 20, president of the El Paso-area Genders and Sexualities Board, recalled needing someone to call for support as he was coming out and strives to be that person for others. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters) Until then, the young activist plans to continue standing up for the LGBTQ youth of El Paso. “I’ve been wanting to go to law school to fight for the kids and especially become a civil rights attorney, but I realized while growing up there won’t be anyone to defend them if we don’t start fighting for the kids now,” he said. “I do plan to go back within the next year, but until we create the legal aid fund and we have that as the 100% safeguard, I will still be fighting for the kids.” Valdez can sometimes be found at school board meetings advocating for bias and inclusivity training for teachers or calling for policy reforms to make it easier to file civil rights violation complaints. In February 2023, he called for El Paso Independent School District Superintendent Diana Sayavedra to step down after what he categorized as an inadequate response to an anti-LGBTQ protest outside El Paso High School earlier that month. “El Paso ISD is dedicated to creating a fair and inclusive learning environment for all students, including the LGBTQIA+ community,” the district said in a statement when asked about the incident. After learning about cases where LGBTQ students dealt with bullying or harassment at school, Valdez — with the support of other LGBTQ groups in El Paso such as the Borderland Rainbow Center — managed to successfully campaign for EPISD administrators and counselors to take part in the Diversity and Resiliency Institute of El Paso’s LGBTQ+ Sensitivity and Best Practices in an Educational Setting training program. “I saw a lot of genuine curiosity and desire to make sure students are safe and I think that is highly encouraging,” said Ashley Heidebrecht, director of the Diversity and Resiliency Institute of El Paso. “While the climate of Texas is not friendly to ensuring that LGBTQ youth are safe, it was very encouraging to see these leaders within the school recognize, ‘Hey, I don’t know enough about this, and I know that I need to learn more so I can make sure that my school is a safe school,’” Heidebrecht added. The institute is a program of the Borderland Rainbow Center, which offers workshops to the public in the hopes of fostering diversity and inclusion in El Paso. “We went from the school district not working on anything and there was no luck. Now they’re starting to listen to us,” Valdez said. One of Valdez’s biggest duties is to connect LGBTQ students who have faced discrimination with resources and organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Borderland Rainbow Center. Though it may come with a lack of experience, Valdez’s young age has made it easier for him to connect with students and advocate for the issues they face at school, Borderland Rainbow Center Executive Director Amber Perez said. “We will offer support if a youth comes to us and asks for help, but we’re all adults and a lot of times, they may not feel comfortable,” Perez said “They have to speak a certain way, they can’t be 100% themselves. But when they get to speak to somebody who’s closer in age like Lio, they can be their true selves and not worry that ‘I have to act more grown for the adults to take me seriously.’ They can talk in their language and feel heard and validated by someone who they know gets them.” Perez said the organization has also helped build a community for LGBTQ youth throughout El Paso. Valdez recalled how that community seemingly sprung up overnight when he restarted the GSA Club at Franklin High School. “I was pretty shocked when we had like the first or second meetings we had around 60 or 70 kids,” Valdez said. “They almost ran into the room and packed it full. … I definitely remember getting goosebumps.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/06/20/el-paso-gsa-aurelio-valdez-lgbtq-youth/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/