Parents speak out after Greene County Commission denies ARPA grant funding to GLO Center

Parents of LGBTQIA+ children are in distress, following the Greene County Commission's decision to not award pandemic-relief funding to The GLO Center because of language used in the nonprofit's application.

Bethanee Bartrand wrote emails to the Greene County commissioners, last week, expressing her concern with why they denied The GLO Center funding. Since the fall, Bartrand has taken her 11-year-old daughter, Winter, to The GLO Center's Rainbow Kids events. The Rainbow Kids program aims to provide family-friendly events for LGBTQIA+ children ages 5-11.

Commissioners John Russell and Rusty MacLachlan voted against a recommendation to award pandemic-relief funds to The GLO Center because the center's application requested aid for targeted group meetings it hosts, specifically those that are part of the Rainbow Kids program. The two commissioners were specifically opposed to how the application used the verbiage "target" in relation to children.

"I immediately zeroed in on the fact that they (the commission) weaponized the word 'target' from the proposal to get funding," Bartrand said. "I sent a very long email explaining how I didn't appreciate them using that word in a weaponized way about kids like mine. My child is not being targeted in this program. My child has every right to go to a program where she feels safe and comfortable and gets to enjoy herself amongst people of a like mind."

Bartrand said, as of Monday, she had not received a response from any of the commissioners. The News-Leader contacted the Greene County Commission about Bartrand's email but did not receive a response by press deadline.

The Greene County Commission began awarding American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to nonprofits impacted by the pandemic in October 2022. Most recently, the commission awarded about $1 million to six nonprofits in the county on Feb. 28.

When ARPA funding applications became available last year, The GLO Center requested $20,000 for its youth services programs, including the Rainbow Kids program, Board President Kyler Sherman-Wilkins said.

The GLO Center listed the following projects on its funding application: "Maintain day-to-day operations, hosting targeted group meetings for those disproportionately impacted, hosting vaccine clinics, education awareness," per the commission's Feb. 28 briefing minutes.

Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon recommended an award of $10,000 to The GLO Center, Sherman-Wilkins told the News-Leader, but when the News-Leader contacted Dixon for confirmation, he declined a response.

"The application from The GLO Center requested funding that included 'hosting semi-autonomous groups that target specific populations,'" Russell and MacLachlan said in a joint statement to the News-Leader, sent via email. "One of those groups is described as 'Rainbow Kids Group (ages 5-11).' We cannot support allocating taxpayer dollars for a purpose that identified and puts a label on children as young as 5 years old."

Parents, advocates say GLO Center fills a 'glaring need'

The GLO Center offers several community groups for LGBTQIA+ individuals, including GLO Youth (ages 12-17), GLO Young Adults (18-25) and Refuge, a support group for members of the transgender community.

"We learned there was a glaring need for services that catered folks who didn't qualify for the youth group, which led us to create ... Rainbow Kids," Sherman-Wilkins said.

The GLO Center Youth Coordinator Amy Hoogstraet said she created the Rainbow Kids program to provide a safe space for elementary-aged LGBTQIA+ children. Over the last year, Hoogstraet has hosted six events, including casual get-togethers at The GLO Center, a pool party at the Nixa Community Center, pottery painting at Artistree Pottery and a tour of the Springfield Art Museum.

Hoogstraet said she has received "overwhelmingly positive" responses from parents.

Michelle Creed is one of these parent. She attended the first Rainbow Kids event at The GLO Center last spring with her then four-year-old son.

Creed said she learned about Rainbow Kids around the time her son, now six, expressed interest in gender expansion. He identifies as a boy and enjoys wearing feminine clothing: pink, purple, sparkles, unicorns and skirts that twirl.

At the time, Creed was preparing to enroll her son in kindergarten, but she was anxious on how to discuss his gender expression with his teacher.

"I was able to chat with other parents about strategies and ideas, and I really found some courage to open up conversations with his teacher and feel ready to take that step," Creed said about attending Rainbow Kids events. "I would certainly say it (Rainbow Kids) is a program that is as much for parents as for kids."

When she heard about the commissioners' decision, Creed said she was "alarmed and frustrated" and found their comments "offensive." For the Creeds', Rainbow Kids provides a safe space for their son to enjoy enrichment activities with kids his age and Michelle an opportunity to connect with other parents.

"I think of him as a rainbow kid," Creed said. "Kids of all ages can identify in these ways. It's just wonderful and important that there are programs out there that can help us navigate this difference in him."

Application for grant funding had been revised

Sherman-Wilkins was elected as board president in September 2022. He said while the funding application was submitted during his presidency, the background work and writing for the application was completed beforehand.

"The initial application that we sent wasn't the strongest," he said. "One of the things I did when I became president was talk to Dr. Lyle Foster on ways to strengthen it."

Foster is a contract ARPA grant and equality specialist for the Greene County Commission. Sherman-Wilkins said he worked with Foster to strengthen The GLO Center's application and answer follow-up questions provided by a funding review panel. The News-Leader contacted Foster for comment but was unable to connect with him by press deadline.

In hindsight, Sherman-Wilkins said he would not have used the word "target" in his correspondence with the commission's review panel, but he is unsure if changing his language would have made any difference.

"If we were not a LGBTQ-serving institution, if we were focusing on youth more broadly, I don't think it would have carried the same negative connotations," Sherman-Wilkins said. "There's a part of me that feels that no matter what language I used, the fact that there were 5- to 11-year-olds a part of this programming for GLO, it would have been an issue of getting funding."

Sherman-Wilkins shared a public statement about the commission's comments on social media on Thursday, March 2.

"Rhetoric surrounding the indoctrination and grooming of children on part of LGBTQIA+ adults no doubt factored into the decision to reject our funding," Sherman-Wilkins wrote. "Any insinuation that Rainbow Kids serves as a site of indoctrination or queer recruitment belies the reality, and we encourage Associate Commissioners John Russell and Rusty MacLachlan to visit The GLO Center to learn about the vital role that all our programs, including Rainbow Kids, play in helping us to create a safe and inclusive place for all to thrive."

Speaking with the News-Leader, Sherman-Wilkins emphasized his thankfulness, on behalf of The GLO Center, for the funding review panel, Foster, who advocated for the nonprofit's application and Dixon, who recommended funding to The GLO Center.

What other nonprofits received ARPA grants from Greene County?

Since the first allotment of funding on Oct. 11, 2022, 49 local nonprofits have been awarded a total of about $6.2 million. The GLO Center was one of 100 local nonprofits that applied for the funding, resulting in about $21.7 million in total requests.

In the most recent allotment, the following six nonprofits received requested funding:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks, $117,289.32 to upgrade technology used for virtual interviews and outreach, fire a part-time marketing officer and background check funding;

• City Reach Church of Springfield, $120,000 to hire two certified counselors and purchase a new van;

• Men's Chorus of the Ozarks, $9,900 to cover part-time employee stipends, office rent, venue fees and insurance coverage;

• Recovery Chapel, $35,000 to purchase a minivan to transport clients to appointments;

• Springfield Victory Mission, $250,000 to construct new water lines throughout the building;

• The Salvation Army, $475,712 to reimburse the cost of direct are in the Family Enrichment Center and Harbor House Men's Shelter.

"We have sought to appropriate ARPA funds with care and deliberation and with input from the Citizen Advisory Council in a way which addresses as many pressing needs as possible," Dixon said in a statement to the News-Leader, sent via email.

Greene County received a total of $56.9 million in ARPA funding to support pandemic recovery efforts. These funds must be allocated by Dec. 31, 2024 and all projects funded must be complete by Dec. 31, 2026, according to a Greene County Commission news release.

The News-Leader contacted each of the commissioners for further questioning but each declined to provide more than the statements in this story.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Parents of LGBTQ children upset following lack of GLO Center funding