Happy 3rd Anniversary, SLF Family!

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi

The initial vision of The Silver Lining Foundation was to do what was necessary as much as possible. Three years later, the vision remains the same; we’ve managed to do some grand impossibilities.

The Foundation was founded by a group of young, motivated individuals seeking an avenue to assist and provide a safe place for those who were plagued with discrimination and its related issues. Adversity was rampant, but our members always found, and still find, a silver lining; a fleeting moment of hope in every situation. It is with this hope that the Foundation has completed several successful events and projects geared towards our target audience, and beyond.

Since its inception, The Silver Lining Foundation has held successful Day of Silence events to observe the voicelessness experienced by many who face discrimination. In 2014, the Foundation along with other Caribbean-based LGBT organizations launched Generation Change. This is a movement to assemble young people to call on their regional leaders to consign to their promises of equality and inclusion of LGBT persons. The event was internationally sponsored and was also supported by the British High Commission.

Several projects are carded for the upcoming year:

A parenting resources collection has been compiled with general and specific guidelines for parents with LGBT children.

A National School Climate Survey has been formulated and will be implemented to gather information and provide recommendations for issues relating to bullying in schools. Alongside the survey is a proposed training workshop for teachers to deal with the prevalent issues that will be revealed through the survey. It is with great hope, and always a little shining light, that we will be able to begin and complete this mammoth project before the end of the year. (See our current petition for information on support)

We will soon be releasing our film, which captures the story of the tragic suicide of George Kazanjian who struggled with the difficulties of sexual identity. It also tells of the subsequent formation of the Foundation in his honour and the efforts of a committed group of youths to keep such a tragedy from recurring.

An ongoing project is our Safe Space initiative, providing group therapy and social interaction for youths.
For more information, visit: facebook.com/safespacett

We welcome our new members, applaud our existing members, and wish all a productive year as we move forward towards our shared goals: equality, support, advocacy and education.

Here’s to many more years! 🙂

From the Chairman and Executive of The Silver Lining Foundation
Jeremy Steffan Edwards