Danielle Beale

Danielle was raised as an only child by two adoptive parents in a very religious home. They attended church regularly as a child and felt a disconnect from their family because of their sexual identity. They left home at an early age to find a family in the LGBTQ+ community, only to face constant struggles and many disappointments in trying to find their sexual identity. Their journey took them through many bad situations, landing on the wrong side of the track for several years. Now they are using the lessons learned from those struggles to better themselves. Given the dire need to support LGBTQ+ community members behind prison walls, Danielle is currently volunteering for a nonprofit organization that provides services and resources to inmates who are being released back into society. Since 2019, Danielle has provided numerous incarcerated LGBTQ+ inmates with resources and support. Danielle will be attending Reynolds Community College in the Fall of 2021 and they hope to graduate in the Fall of 2022. They will further their education at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). They hope to be involved with the LGBTQ+ community at VCU and be able to network with many people in their field of study. Danielle aims to build a strong network that can provide them with guidance and knowledge to provide better services to their community.