Sarah Rutledge Fischer

3 min
88

Dear Allie: When Your Family Member Needs Financial Help

Before you offer your brother financial assistance, take an honest look at your relationship. If you can, ask for perspective from someone who knows you both and won’t sugar coat things. A financial exchange between two people can change the balance of power in their relationship, and if power is already an issue, the results can be explosive.

Individual in peach color shirt with black sunglasses and backpack slung over right shoulder standing against a white background

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3 min
205

Ask Allie: LGBT+? You Deserve Nurturing Self-Care

It is a hard gig to be a thinking, caring LGBTQ+ person in this world. It is even harder if you feel as if everyone—your family and your society—treats you as if you are less worthy of basic human dignity than others.

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3 min
735

Domestic Partner Violence: Is Your Safety Plan Ready?

I’m a 23-year-old transman married to a 30-year-old woman. I adore her, but I am such a disappointment to her. It has to do with my family.

My family lives across the country and doesn’t know that I am trans. They think I’m a lesbian. The thing is, they are fairly supportive about that, but they’ve made statements about transfolks . . . I just can’t tell them. Not yet…

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5 min
456

Ask Allie: Handling a Loved One’s Dementia

Not answering questions truthfully may be a less stressful response for both LGBT+ adult children and their affected parents

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5 min
679

Ask Allie: Starting a Gay-Straight Alliance: What the law Supports

Dear Allie, I have a friend at a different school that has a Gay-Straight Alliance, and they get to do so much interesting stuff. I want to start one at my school, but the administration seems pretty conservative. I’m not sure it’s even allowed. Where do I start? Do I have the right to a GSA?

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3 min
650

Ask Allie: Quiet Your Negative Self Talk

Dear Allie, I have this constant voice in my head telling me how awful I am. If I make one choice, the voice shrieks at me for being a total queen. If I make the other choice, it tells me I’m a fraud. There is no winning. I know the voice comes from my critical homophobic upbringing. I keep trying to ignore it, but it just keeps getting louder. I’m exhausted. Help.

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3 min
632

Ask Allie: Making Office Space LGBT+ Welcoming

Dear Allie, I’ve noticed that some of our new LGBT+ clients seem uncomfortable or anxious about entering an environment that screams old-world-values. What can I do to make our office a more welcoming and supportive space?

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3 min
583

Ask Allie: Letting Go When a Transgender Child Wants to Change Their Given Name

Dear Allie, How do I tell my daughter that I don’t want her to change her name? I want to support her fully, but I don’t know if I can.

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3 min
662

Ask Allie: Gender Spectrum Defined

Dear Allie, The other day, I overheard my son describe his new boyfriend as non-binary. So, help a Gen-Xer out. What does this millennial speak mean?

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10 min
543

Special Report: Hate Crimes Part Three

This is the third and final installment of a three-part series by Focus® Middle Tennessee magazine. We have developed this series in the hope that law enforcement and citizens will have a better understanding of the intricacies of our nation’s hate crime law…

Sarah Rutledge Fischer

Dear Allie: When Your Family Member Needs Financial Help

Ask Allie: LGBT+? You Deserve Nurturing Self-Care

Domestic Partner Violence: Is Your Safety Plan Ready?

Ask Allie: Handling a Loved One’s Dementia

Ask Allie: Starting a Gay-Straight Alliance: What the law Supports

Categories

Ask Allie: Quiet Your Negative Self Talk

Ask Allie: Making Office Space LGBT+ Welcoming

Ask Allie: Letting Go When a Transgender Child Wants to Change Their Given Name

Ask Allie: Gender Spectrum Defined

Special Report: Hate Crimes Part Three

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