The Wellness Center is preparing to start their annual LGBTQ+ support group, the QscOUTs, a program formed in 2011 by Carla Goad and Michelle Cataldo in Contra Costa County, this month.

Wellness Mental Health intern Ryan Orihood will be leading QscOUTs with some assistance from Wellness Intake Specialist Liana Holcomb McCann.

“I am very excited to offer this program with Liana as a place for LGBTQ+ students at Campo to learn more about our individual identities, our collective identity as a community, and how to navigate the challenges we face as LGBTQ+ identified humyns[, which is the gender-neutral term,] with various intersecting identities and lived experiences,” said Orihood.

The group is inclusive of all students in the LGBTQ+ community, similar to the Queer/Trans Cafe that the Wellness Center hosted last year.

McCann hopes the group will build trust and community among the participants, “QscOUTs will hopefully help students to feel seen and validated in whatever identity they show up in. It is also a space to talk and learn about history and the intersectionalities that exist within the LGBTQ+ community.”

She added, “The Wellness Center wants to help Campo students feel seen, validated and supported. We also want to help students along in their journey of education and understanding of people who may have different identities or life experiences.”

The group will be Zoom on Wednesdays during Academy. “Because COVID has demanded flexibility from all of us, this may be reevaluated pending any changes,” said Orihood.