Together Alone
Embedded Files
Amy Colon, 50, is the single mother to 15-year-old pansexual Quincy Colon. When not homeschooling or playing around, Amy Colon tries to navigate life in poverty and Quincy Colon will spend time with their friends in the LGBTQ+ community.
Amy Colon, right, loves on Quincy Colon on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at their house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that she and Quincy Colon have a close relationship. “I’ve always had a close relationship with all my kids,” Amy Colon said. “We’ve just been together a lot and been through a lot.”
“We’re [Amy Colon and her kids are] used to being on our own,” Amy Colon said. “We don’t have a lot of money to go anywhere.”
Amy Colon, left, alongside Quincy Colon walk to a gas station on Friday, March 28, 2025, in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that she has not owned a car in around seven years. “It’s [walking for transportation is] painful, it’s not fun again when the weather’s extreme,” Amy Colon said.
Amy Colon smokes a cigarette while reading a book on Sunday, April 20, 2025, outside her house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that she has major depressive disorder, general anxiety, social anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. “Those diagnoses and issues have prevented me from having the self-confidence, and the attention span and the ability to stay in a job for long,” Amy Colon said.
Amy Colon and Quincy Colon became homeless, which caused them to move into a shelter in October 2021. Eight months later, in June 2022, they got into their current house. Amy Colon said that she shut down her home business after the COVID-19 pandemic started, which made her lose her income.
“I couldn’t afford the apartment anymore,” Amy Colon said. “The apartment was about $500 a month for a one-bedroom. And it went up after COVID and I just couldn’t afford it.”
“It’s different being homeschooled, because I don’t have to interact with people every day, all day,” Quincy Colon said.
Quincy Colon works on math for homeschooling on Friday, March 28, 2025, at their mother’s house in Bowling Green, Ky. Quincy Colon, who has been homeschooled since second grade, is currently in the ninth grade. “Fortunately, I don’t have the struggle of worrying about school shootings and bullying, and similar issues that people in public school have,” Quincy Colon said.
Amy Colon is a single mother to five, although Quincy Colon is the only one who still lives with her as the other four are adults. Amy Colon said she has been a single mother for at least 20 years and has been homeschooling Quincy Colon for eight years.
“It’s easier to do homework with three kids after working all day and trying to get supper started than it is homeschooling one child,” Amy Colon said. “I don’t recommend it, but it’s necessary.”
Amy Colon rides a “GoBG Transit” bus with Quincy Colon on Monday, April 28, 2025, in Bowling Green, Ky. The transportation service, GoBG Transit, provides “safe, reliable, affordable transportation throughout Bowling Green,” according to GoBG Transit’s website. “I don’t like waiting for the bus,” Amy Colon said. “My social anxiety is not like it used to be, but being on the bus sometimes is hard.”
Amy Colon, left, shops for groceries with Quincy Colon on Monday, April 28, 2025, in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that people who are experiencing poverty are very innovative. “They [those in poverty] have a lot of creative ways to problem solve because they have to,” Amy Colon said.
Amy Colon said she didn’t care when Quincy Colon came out to her as pansexual in 2021. Amy Colon is heterosexual and tries to be an ally for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m not in the [LGBTQ+] community, and they’re at risk,” Amy Colon said. “I need to look out for them.”
Quincy Colon discovered their sexuality to be pansexual when they were 11 years old. Quincy Colon said that the term they were introduced with, to describe being pansexual, is that they love the soul and not the person, but in their personal experience, it’s both.
“I didn’t think much of it [when they discovered they were pansexual],” Quincy Colon said.
An LGBTQ+ ornament reads “Proud & Loved,” handwritten by Amy Colon, on Quincy Colon’s bedroom wall on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at Amy Colon’s house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that she has always tried to be an ally for the LGBTQ+ community. “I’ve always fought for other people,” Amy Colon said. “I’m not gonna let people pick on people.”
Nine months after Quincy Colon discovered themselves to be pansexual, they discovered SOKY Alliance’s BG Teen, the organization that assisted Quincy Colon in finding their community.
SOKY Alliance’s BG Teen is a nonprofit organization, founded and directed by Crystal Akers in August 2021, whose mission is to foster community, build support and promote advocacy for the local LGBTQ+ community through “programming, educational opportunities and resource connections,” according to SOKY Alliance’s website.
Quincy Colon picks up an outfit too small at SOKY Alliance’s BG Teen “Clothing Swap” event on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at First Christian Church in Bowling Green, Ky. Quincy Colon said they are grateful for what SOKY Alliance has given them and continues to give them. “Being in BG Teen and SOKY Alliance has helped me feel better about myself and just being more comfortable around others,” Quincy Colon said.
“Being in BG Teen and just that little community of people is amazing,” Quincy Colon said. “It’s probably changed my life.”
“I think it’s always important to build community, especially for underserved populations,” Akers said. “Unless you’re hiding under a rock, our current climate is not great for the LGBTQ community. There’s just a lot of hate and a lot of misunderstanding, and the way to combat that is through just being visible, having a strong community, educating people if you can, but yeah, just being there for one another.”
Akers said that BG Teen is a group designated for those in the Bowling Green, Kentucky LGBTQ+ community, who are between the ages of 12 to 18. They meet the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at First Christian Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky, though the organization is not based on religion.
Amy Colon makes dinner on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in the kitchen at her house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that while Quincy Colon is at SOKY Alliance’s BG Teen, she will do activities such as dishes, watch television and read. “If there’s an event, I’m there to help Crystal,” Amy Colon said. “Just an extra pair of adult eyes sometimes is all she needs.”
Quincy Colon feeds Toby Colon, Amy Colon’s cat, a nacho cheese tortilla chip on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at Amy Colon’s house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said she has owned the cat for a couple of years. “Because my baby is a surly teenager, I don’t get a lot of affection; it’s very controlled,” Amy Colon said. “The cat is friendlier in that respect.”
Quincy Colon reads a book in their bunk bed on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at their mother’s house in Bowling Green, Ky. Quincy Colon said that, in the future, they wish to be happy and surrounded by people who support them.
Amy Colon said that, after the 2024 election when Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States, she has been concerned for Quincy Colon’s future.
“The only way it can get worse is if we put them in pink pajamas in a concentration camp,” Amy Colon said. “It’s not going to be good for a while, and the only thing we can do is watch out for each other.”
Amy Colon uses her phone as she prepares to sleep on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at her house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that being a mother is her favorite thing. “I love being a mom,” Amy Colon said. “It’s scary when the test is positive, but you meet this little person and you’ve already bonded with them.”
Amy Colon, left, messes around with Quincy Colon as they eat cereal on Friday, March 28, 2025, at their house in Bowling Green, Ky. Amy Colon said that though she and Quincy Colon don’t always get along, they have fun together most of the time. “They are one of the best teenagers ever,” Amy Colon said.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse