Chosen Family Project seeks stories from LGBTQ+ community for forthcoming book

Desert Sun staff
·3 min read
LGBTQ+ people have historically relied on the support of their “Chosen Families.”
LGBTQ+ people have historically relied on the support of their “Chosen Families.”

The Chosen Family Project is a nonprofit dedicated to advocating, protecting and advancing the health, safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ families throughout the United States.

To help meet its mission, the Palm Springs-based nonprofit is embarking on a fundraising campaign to publish a large-format book that will memorialize the history of LGBTQ+ families with stories and photographs that illustrate how these “chosen families” found one another.

LGBTQ+ people have historically relied on the support of their “Chosen Families” — families not defined by gender, ethnicity, sexuality, parental status or the partners they love, but by the people they’ve chosen to walk with through life’s journey.

Unfortunately, these Chosen Families are under attack in the United States.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, there have been 815 bills introduced since 2022 that stigmatize and roll back the rights of LGBTQ+ people; 565 of these were introduced in 2023 alone.

Proceeds from the book as well as donations will benefit organizations that provide essential services for disenfranchised families within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as grants to support housing, health care, food and education.

Founding partner Steve Rossetti says the book is important because “no one can aspire to a life that’s not visible to them. Our efforts will showcase the diverse ways of living in the warmth of family.”

“The political and cultural drumbeat limiting LGBTQ rights rages on,” co-founder Bruce Purdy said. “Threats of violence and harassment against the LGBTQ+ community are on the rise and intensifying. I for one find myself more cautious and aware of my surroundings than I have in decades.”

The nonprofit’s social justice campaign will include a book tour, film screenings and podcasts that will take people deeper behind the scenes as they hear stories of Chosen Families.

“We must document the history of the LGBTQ+ community, while some groups are trying to rewrite and erase our history,” Purdy said. “In response to the legislative and personal attacks, we are working to build families, make them stronger and more resilient, while others are trying to tear them apart. As a gay man, I thought my community had been making good progress. I never imagined that I would be fundraising for this critical cause in 2023.”

The Chosen Family Project will kick off its 2023-24 “Freedom to Love Campaign” at a gala exhibition at Melissa Morgan Fine Art in Palm Desert on Nov. 9. The invitation-only event will contribute a portion of the proceeds from art sales to the foundation.

“There are governmental and political forces trying to falsify history,” Co-founder Steven Drew Auerbach said. “We believe the history of the LGBTQ+ community deserves to be memorialized, and each of us can play a part — we all have a story to tell provided we are brave enough to tell it.”

To contribute to the book, visit thechosenfamilyproject.org/storysubmissions. Auerbach said: “You do not need to be a writer to have a compelling story, just the passion to tell it.” For more information, call (760) 823-7111 or visit thechosenfamilyproject.org.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Chosen Family Project seeks stories from LGBTQ+ community for book