BuzzFeed News: Florida LGBTQ+ kids are learning how to fight back

Ollie, at the 2023 Youth Pride Conference sponsored by GLSEN Collier County on March 25, 2023, in Naples, Florida.

NAPLES, Fla. — “I love Florida, but Florida doesn’t love me back.”

Those were the words of Ollie, a nonbinary high school senior in Collier County who has lived in Florida all their life, but who is now plotting their escape.

Last year, extreme bullying at school forced Ollie to switch to a dual enrollment program at a local college.

They can’t help feeling they were driven away because of their identity, cheated out of a more tolerant environment or safe space by much more powerful figures.

Read the full BuzzFeed News article here.