00:00Sometimes people come here in the middle of suicidal ideation and we need to drop things and take care of them.
00:25There's a lot of people in Provo that are homophobic,
00:28either because of a Mormon background or because of lack of exposure to the LGBTQ community.
00:33So there's a lot of hurt and pain that happens in Provo.
00:40Queer Meals is a program where people can come to my home and eat dinner, or any meal really, at any time,
00:56and have a place to hang out where they will be respected, their pronouns respected, their sexual orientation respected.
01:04Being queer is a nice thing here in Utah because of people like Jerilyn, but at the same time it's a very lonely and sad place
01:11because there are many people who do not understand the community and do not want to get to know us.
01:16As a gay student at BYU, it can be especially tough.
01:37It takes a lot of emotional and mental bandwidth just to survive the atmosphere,
01:42which means that I can't always devote as much energy to other things.
01:48There have been times when I wasn't sure that I'd have food to eat, but because of Jerilyn I always had a meal.
01:54We do a lot of cereal. Cereal and milk, are you kidding? It's a comfort food for college students is what we're serving.
02:01That age group really is what's coming here. People with high levels of stress.
02:12Jerilyn's place was a refuge for me when I didn't feel that I was welcome in my family members' homes.
02:22It's a safe place where we can share how we really feel, and also to build lasting friendships,
02:27because for a lot of people, this is the only time that we can be ourselves.
02:31Jerilyn, can I say that I'm a part of your family? Is that allowed?
02:33Yes, sweetie!
02:34Okay, good. I'm a part of Jerilyn's family too.
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