The Democratic National Convention has a record number of LGBTQ+ delegates this year, from a wide variety of backgrounds — and some even have personal stories to share about what may be the nation’s next first family.Deja Lynn Alvarez of Pennsylvania is one of the 635 LGBTQ+ delegates (up from 600 in 2016) and 30 transgender and gender-nonconforming delegates (up from 24 in 2016) at the convention this year.
A trans Latina and public health professional in Philadelphia (where she ran for City Council last year, the first trans woman to do so), she recalls encountering a member of the Biden family when her life wasn’t so good.Alvarez, who grew up in Delaware, attempted suicide while in her teens.