STONEWALL YOUTH
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Mission Statement
Founded in 1991, Stonewall Youth is a youth-led organization that empowers LGBTQIA2S+ youth to speak for themselves, support each other, educate our communities, and work for social justice. We primarily serve youth ages 21 & under. We support LGBTQIA2S+ youth to gain a full spectrum of choices regarding their bodies, self-expression, relationships and legal rights. Our work is rooted in social justice and anti-oppression values. We address the root causes of oppression while providing access to services and activities that alleviate the stresses of marginalization and assist youth to survive and to build sustainable lives.
About This Cause
Stonewall Youth (SY) provides a dazzling array of programs: peer support groups; drop-in hours; ongoing art, music, and writing programs; advocacy and mentorship; safe and sober social events (such as dances and performances); an annual 4-day youth leadership development and organizational planning retreats; opportunities for youth to educate themselves and our community on issues that LGBTQIA2S+ youth face; professional development through staff positions, fellowships, internships, and Board membership; and much more! We are operated by a non-hierarchical youth-majority collective. Most of us are BIPOC and all of us identify somewhere on the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum. Four goals are interwoven throughout all our work: SUPPORTING LGBTQIA2S+ YOUTH TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE. Support groups, skill-building workshops, mentorships, referrals, advocacy, and other programs assist youth to obtain safety, food security, housing, education, employment, healthy relationships, health care, social services, and a full spectrum of choices regarding their bodies, self-expression, relationships, and legal rights. Youth lead and participate in a wide range of workshops, and leadership and activism training, activities, and opportunities. • EDUCATION AND EMPOWERMENT. Through participatory workshops and other programs, we learn together about many things: LGBTQIA2S+ issues, experiences, and history; life-skills; legal rights; diverse social justice movements, strategies and tactics; intersectional oppression, and collective liberation. We educate our communities through workshops and events. Youth and people of color lead our organization and are at the center of decision-making. We provide work experiences for youth to build skills and confidence, work for social justice, and increase access to college and future employment. Well-Paid LEADERSHIP and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT for youth through co-director positions, fellowships, internships, and Board membership. Youth lead Stonewall Youth, develop and implement programs within the organization, and lead advocacy and community organizing efforts in our communities. Youth build skills and confidence and increase access to college and future employment. SOCIAL AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE: We build the capacity for youth organizing and leadership by providing the training, resources, and support necessary for youth to develop and USE their leadership and power within Stonewall and to be effective advocates for social justice. Stonewall Youth is guided by these major frameworks: HARM REDUCTION- We acknowledge that some youth participants are going to engage in risky behavior like sex or drugs. Our job is not to take autonomy away from youth and make choices for them. Rather, we are here to provide resources that reduce overall harm in their lives (like gender affirming items or homelessness survival gear), safer sex education, and safer sex/safer use supplies (like condoms, dental dams, Naloxone [Narcan], and clean needles). CONFIDENTIALITY- Our youth-only drop-ins are a confidential space where participants can access our resources, discuss their personal struggles and successes, and be unapologetically themselves. Our staff is trained to never “out” participants. That’s why we don’t show faces in any pictures we post from drop-ins on our social media, only allow non-youth into our space during all-ages events such as community dinners, and never require youth participants to give us any information about themselves that they don’t want to share. POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT- We believe in Positive Youth Development, which is a body of research suggesting that youth who have support from caring adults and are given opportunities to build their confidence/skills will have an easier time surviving and thriving. YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIP- We see youth as capable leaders that can speak for themselves. Within the structure of Stonewall Youth as an organization, Youth-Adult Partnerships mean that youth staff are directly plugged into the needs of today’s youth and are able to bring fresh ideas to life. Non-youth staff provide experience and guidance when youth staff request it.