Dear Allie

Dear Allie is the pen name for Focus LGBT’s advice columnist. Dear Allie has great ideas for solving all kinds of issues whether they be for LGBTQ persons or allies.

Sarah Rutledge Fischer

Ask Allie: Cohabitating During Covid

by Sarah Rutledge Fischer Dear Allie, I’ve had the same housemates for years. We’ve been through it all—illness, breakups, job changes—and we’ve always been able

Read More »
Sarah Rutledge Fischer

Ask Allie: We Must All DO. BE. ACT. BETTER

To fail to actively include BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) in the conversation about LGBTQ+ issues is to perpetuate a culture that discounts not only the trauma and injuries of BIPOC in this country, but also their voices, accomplishments, and basic humanity.

Read More »
Sarah Rutledge Fischer

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.

Read More »
dear allie domestic partner violence
Sarah Rutledge Fischer

Dear Allie: 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…

Read More »