Local
Catholic University LGBTQ student group remains unrecognized
CUAllies formed in 2009
The only on-campus queer student organization at the Catholic University of America, CUAllies, is still fighting for official recognition.
Despite operating “underground,” the club’s roughly 10 members meet regularly to talk about issues facing LGBTQ college students, to create friendships and to connect LGBTQ students and allies with one another. Since the formation of CUAllies in 2009, the administration at Catholic University, most notably President John Garvey, has denied the club official recognition multiple times.
“Just the act of having the university recognize us would be a huge step because it would make people feel way more welcome,” said CUAllies President Ash Samuels. “The nature of having a club that operates under the radar makes you feel like they have to operate under the radar and so just being recognized would make people feel a lot more welcome.”
Additionally, without recognition CUAllies does not have access to the same resources as official student organizations. For example, they cannot rent rooms on campus for meetings, receive funding for events, and are prohibited from advertising club meetings or events on fliers on campus. According to Samuels, the club uses space at the Center for Cultural Engagement, where Director Javier Bustamante allows the club to meet and advertise events.
According to Samuels, CUAllies has been advised by the Dean’s Office to wait until next year to reapply when a new university president will replace Garvey. Until then, Samuels said the group still plans to hold meetings in-person, and he hopes to bring in speakers to talk to members about mental health and issues facing LGBTQ college students.
The last attempt by CUAllies to gain recognition was in March 2021, when the Catholic University’s Student Government Association passed a resolution after hours of public comment from students to support a resolution for the club to request official status. The request, however, was denied by Garvey.
“It was an interesting SGA meeting,” said Samuels. “A lot of people came to public comment and spoke their minds. There was a lot of homophobia.”
Catholic University is one of the 180 campuses deemed unsafe for LGBTQ youth on Campus Pride’s “Worst List.” Campus Pride, an organization that advocates for safe and inclusive college campuses for LGBTQ students, stated on their website that “Catholic University of America has qualified for the Worst Life because it has an extensive and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination.”
In addition to repeatedly depriving LGBTQ students of the right to have an official student club, the university has also displayed its homophobic ideology by filing an amicus brief in the 2019 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County. In the brief, the university argued that the campuses should be allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“This campus has repeatedly proven that they do not support LGBTQ rights, LGBTQ equality,” said Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer.
A 2021 survey by the Religious Exemption Accountability Project, an organization that promotes equity for LGBTQ college students at Christian colleges, said that students at Christian colleges are 15 times more likely to report that their gender or sexual identity has prevented them from being accepted by others on campus compared to LGBTQ students at non-Christian colleges.
The pandemic has increased this sense of isolation, as students were forced to attend classes online and did not have access to the same social networks that were once offered in person on many campuses. Although mental health struggles have increased overall for college students overall throughout the pandemic, research has shown that LGBTQ individuals were more likely to have struggled with depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts than people identifying as straight.
Attending a university that already has limited resources for its LGBTQ student population, combined with the isolating effects of the pandemic, makes the Catholic University increasingly worrisome for LGBTQ students from a mental health perspective.
“It is a pretty awful environment from the standpoint of mental health if your campus did not have inclusion or had limited inclusion for LGBTQ policies, programs, or practices before the pandemic, the pandemic has only worsened that because of the isolation that these students feel,” said Windmeyer.
Samuels said that CUAllies has served as an important place for students at the Catholic University to meet other queer students, with many members making their first contact with other LGBTQ students through the club. However, Samuels said that operating remotely during the pandemic made it difficult to feel the same level of connection, despite the fact that the group was still meeting routinely over Zoom.
“The feeling of isolation is amplified for LGBTQ students, especially on this campus,” said Samuels. “You might not have friends who you are out to or you might not have friends at all. If you don’t have [club meetings] in person in order to make those connections, and you are already isolated, it makes it a lot harder.”
Despite not having an officially recognized LGBTQ student organization, the Catholic University offers groups orientated towards LGBTQ students through its Counseling Center and Campus Ministry.
The Counseling Center runs a weekly therapy group called MOSAIC, which “provides an environment where LGBT-identified and straight students can come together to learn about available resources, discuss various topics related to personal wellness, and build a supportive network with other students,” according to the Counseling Center’s webpage.
Samuels, who is an active participant in MOSAIC, said that both the therapy group and the Counseling Center are “very LGBTQ+ friendly.” Samuels said he routinely encourages members of CUAllies to get connected with the Counseling Center during club meetings.
According to Samuels, therapists at the Counseling Center have told him that they often get students who identify as LGBTQ, but are hesitant to join CUAllies because they are perceived as being “too liberal or not Catholic enough” despite the organization not having any political or religious affiliation and being welcoming to people of all backgrounds.
Additionally, Catholic University’s Campus Ministry offers a faith group called ‘Beyond the Labels’ which defines itself as a ministry for LGBTQ students “to support each other in their Catholic Christian life by forming holistic friendships,” according to Campus Ministry’s website.
The group was formed last fall by Father Jude DeAngelo, director of Campus Ministry.
“Because we are a Catholic school I think there is a population of students who are trying to integrate their faith with all the different labels that they have either chosen or that people put on them,” said DeAngelo to the Washington Blade. “I just want to have a place where students can come and they can be themselves and they can talk about their faith and their struggles to be Catholic Christians.”
On “Beyond the Labels,” Samuels said, “I think [DeAngelo] has the right intentions, but it still has that risk that people could turn it into a negative thing or misconstrued his words.”
Samuels said that leadership at CUAllies has expressed their concerns to the Counseling Center that “Beyond the Labels” could be potentially harmful towards LGBTQ students. Samuels said that he encourages people who are in need to seek out the Counseling Center first.
DeAngelo did not offer a comment to the Blade on whether he believed CUAllies should be officially recognized by the university, however, according to Samuels, DeAngelo has been an advocate for CUAllies to be officially recognized by the university.
Windmeyer said what the Catholic University has done with its ministry has been replicated at other campuses with harmful policies against LGBTQ students as a push to better their public image.
He said that these colleges try to, “create a narrative that shows that [they] are compassionate, that [they] recognize, underneath our ministry, our LGBTQ group, but [they] are not going to recognize them as student organizations, they have to do it through the ministry. That in itself is just telling me that they are just doing enough to pacify their students, they do not see Catholicism as giving LGBTQ people the human dignity and worth that they deserve.”
Windmeyer noted that other Catholic Universities, such as the University of Notre Dame — which has an official LGBTQ student organization — have made improvements throughout the years to be more inclusive of their LGBTQ student population.
The Catholic Church’s stance on LGBTQ-related issues has improved as well. Last year Pope Francis stated that he endorsed civil unions. However, despite these advancements, activists in conversation with the Blade have remarked church teachings on homosexuality and gender identity remain largely unchanged.
Samuels said that he hopes that the LGBTQ faith group run by DeAngelo will be a step to help the university advocate for CUAllies to become recognized. DeAngelo expressed that he is interested in getting more members of CUAllies involved with “Beyond the Labels,” specifically, he said wants to create joint day-retreat programs with the club.
In the past, “Beyond the Labels” partnered with CUAllies on a day retreat focused on forgiveness. Samuels, who was not a member of CUAllies during the forgiveness retreat, said that he would be more interested in partnering on a team-building retreat instead of focusing on forgiveness because many of CUAllies members are not Catholic.
“I am hopeful that it will lead him to be a larger advocate for us to be a club in the future, but I do also worry that they will just say ‘oh look we already have this program we don’t need you guys,’” said Samuels.
Catholic University did not return the Blade’s request for comment for this story.
District of Columbia
Bet Mishpachah participates in D.C. Oct. 7 commemoration ceremony
Wednesday marked three years since Hamas attacked Israel
Bet Mishpachah Executive Director Joshua Maxey on Wednesday was among those who spoke at a ceremony in D.C. that marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington hosted the ceremony that took place at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Northwest D.C. Bet Mishpachah is the city’s LGBTQ synagogue.
“It was a deeply moving evening, especially hearing the stories of people who knew those who were murdered and those who survived and experiencing music that gave a voice to grief and hope,” Maxey told the Washington Blade.
Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival near Re’im, a kibbutz that is a couple miles from the Gaza Strip, when it launched its surprise attack on Israel. The militants also kidnapped more than 200 people.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 74,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7.
The International Criminal Court in 2024 issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; Mohamed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, the head of Hamas’s military wing known as the Qassam Brigades; and Ismail Haniyeh, chair of the Hamas Political Bureau, after it accused them of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel.
The Israeli government has strongly denied it has committed genocide in Gaza.
An Israeli airstrike on a compound in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, on July 13, 2024, killed killed Deif, one of the alleged Oct. 7 masterminds. Israel less than three weeks later assassinated Haniyah in Tehran, the Iranian capital. Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Oct. 16, 2024, killed Sinwar in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
Hamas last October released the remaining hostages in Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement that President Donald Trump helped broker. Israel has continued to conduct airstrikes and other military operations in Gaza since the official suspension of hostilities took effect.
“For Bet Mishpachah, it was especially meaningful to lift up the names of LGBTQ+ people, those whose identities we know and those whose stories may never be fully known, who were murdered, and to honor the LGBTQ+ survivors whose resilience continues to inspire us,” said Maxey, referring to his participation in Wednesday’s ceremony. “Emily Damari’s story is particularly poignant: while held hostage, she had to hide the fact that she was gay because she feared that revealing her identity to her captors could put her life at even more risk. Yet, she survived.”
“Her story, like so many others, reminds us of the extraordinary courage it takes simply to remain human in the face of hatred,” he added. “May we continue to remember and to mourn, to honor, and to work toward a future rooted in peace and hope.”
Virginia
Campaign urges Virginia High School League to reverse stance on trans athletes
Equality Arlington and other advocacy groups behind ‘Right 2 Play’ VA’ initiative
Virginia advocacy groups have launched a campaign that urges the Virginia High School League to once again allow student athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.
Equality Arlington on Sept. 16 published an article about the “Right 2 Play VA” campaign. Amy, a group representative, spoke about the initiative with the Washington Blade.
“The primary goal is to reverse the Virginia High School League’s discriminatory ban on allowing transgender girls to play on girls’ sports and replace it with a policy that is fair for all students.” they said.
The Virginia High School League in 2025 announced the policy, which reversed a previous position in support of transgender and nonbinary athletes. The 2025 policy coincided with President Donald Trump’s executive order — “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” — that threatened to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls.”
The Arlington Gender Identity Alliance, Equality Virginia, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia have also joined the “Right 2 Play VA” campaign.
“We had a policy in Virginia for 12 years that allowed transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams, and we had not one instance — not one instance — that was brought forward demonstrating an unfair advantage or any type of safety concern,” said Amy.
Amy then discussed what they described are the benefits of trans youth playing sports.
“There are physical benefits. There are mental health benefits. There are community and social development benefits, and those are all well documented,” they said. “All kids should have the right to benefit from playing youth sports. We are talking about kids. We are talking about youth. We are not talking about Olympians. We are not talking about Division One college athletes. We are talking about kids in Virginia, and because the benefits of sports are so well documented, we think that every kid should have the ability to play sports.”
District of Columbia
D.C.’s LGBTQ homeless facilities face possible hit from Trump funding cuts
38 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, up from 2025
(Editor’s note: This article is part of our 2026 contribution to the D.C. Homeless Crisis Reporting Project in collaboration with other local newsrooms. The collective works will be published throughout the week at bit.ly/DCHCRP.)
A decision by President Trump’s administration to eliminate most federal funding for community-based programs to place homeless people in permanent subsidized housing could have a severe adverse impact on LGBTQ people facing homelessness in D.C., according to local advocates.
Officials with organizations that provide services for homeless people in the D.C. area and nationally have pointed to an executive order issued by Trump last year that calls for ending federal support for so-called “Housing First” programs that arrange for permanent subsidized housing for homeless people. The officials note that Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget calls for eliminating funding for the Housing First programs.
Advocates for programs providing support for homeless people note that ending federal funding for permanent housing for homeless people will — and in some cases already has — resulted in occupants of homeless shelters and short-term transitional housing facilities remaining in those facilities far longer than in the past, preventing openings for others who need housing.
A lawsuit filed by several states and homeless advocacy organizations, including the D.C.-based National Alliance To End Homelessness, to block the Trump efforts to cut off those funds has temporarily delayed some of the funding cuts. A decision in August by a federal judge in Rhode Island declared the Trump action a violation of a federal law for failing to open the proposal for the funding cuts to public comment before putting it in place.
Court records show the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides the federal funding for homeless related programs, appealed the lower court ruling and an appeals court reversed the ruling pending further appeal by the parties that filed the lawsuit.
At least two of the five D.C. organizations that provide housing for homeless LGBTQ youth have said their funding so far has not been cut due to the Trump actions.
Cesar Toledo, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which currently provides transitional housing for 20 LGBTQ homeless youth, said his organization receives local D.C. government funding but no federal funding so his group has so far not been impacted by the Trump action.
Debby Shore, executive director of the Sasha Bruce Youthwork organization that provides housing for young people ages 18-24, including some LGBTQ youth, said her organization also had not yet been impacted but it could be impacted soon.
“We have not had that funding cut,” she told the Washington Blade. “What we understand is if HUD is allowed to go through with those changes, then we will,” she said. “Because we have one of our programs that’s funded directly by HUD,” which she said could be considered the type of “long term” housing that HUD wants to cut.
A spokesperson for the local LGBTQ youth advocacy organization SMYAL, which currently provides housing for 55 homeless LGBTQ youth according to its website, didn’t immediately respond to a Blade inquiry into whether they have been impacted by the Trump actions. Toledo of the Alston Foundation said he understood that SMYAL has received federal funding for its homeless program.
At least two other D.C. organizations that provide housing for homeless youth, including some LGBTQ youth – Covenant House and the Latin American Youth Center – also couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on whether they have been impacted by the Trump funding cuts.
The city’s only shelter for homeless LGBTQ adults, which is operated by the D.C. Department of Human Services and is D.C. funded, has not been immediately impacted by the Trump funding cuts, according to a DHS statement sent to the Washington Blade in response to a Blade inquiry. Called Living Life Alternative, the low-barrier shelter accommodates 40 individuals, the statement says.
It says DHS receives federal funding for its homeless services programs, and it was awaiting HUD approval for its annual federal funding grant for the city’s Permanent Supportive Housing program for homeless residents. It says the current funding for that program expires Jan. 31, 2027.
According to the statement, a separate federal grant DHS receives from HUD for homeless assistance services was approved for next year but included “a slight reduction in funding of $22,808.”
The annual 2026 Point-In-Time (PIT) count of homeless people in D.C., conducted in January, recorded a total of 5,363 people who were homeless, a 4 percent increase over the previous year.
The PIT count report shows 424 adults, or 12 percent of the adults counted, identified as members of the LGBTQ community, a slight increase over the 11.7 percent of homeless LGBTQ people counted in 2025. It shows that 38 percent of “Transition Age Youth” ages 18-24 identified as LGBTQ, an increase of one percent over the 37 percent of LGBTQ youth counted in 2025.
The Trump administration through HUD has said it supports housing for homeless people that lasts no more than two years and participants should be required to get treatment for the mental illness and substance use disorders such as drug addiction and alcoholism that many homeless people suffer from.
The Washington Post has cited studies showing that up to two-thirds of homeless people have a mental illness and two in five have a substance use disorder.
“Housing First has failed our most vulnerable and enabled addiction,” the Post quoted HUD saying in an email message. “HUD’s proposed reforms seek to address the root cause of homelessness and advance recovery, self-sufficiency, and competition that drives accountability,” the Post quoted the HUD statement as saying.
Shore, director of Sasha Bruce Youthwork, disputes that assessment, saying treatment for disorders should not be a replacement for longer term housing programs, which she said improves the outcome of treatments for disorders.
“I think the idea of putting more services in place – I don’t have any problem with that,” she said. “But suggesting that you do that in exchange for longer term supports for people does not seem to be the right way to go.”
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