After School Gay Group
Hey everybody - i'm new! - my name is leah and i'm 21 and work for a GLBT counseling center doing outreach and advocacy and all that fabulous help for GLBT youth especially.
We're starting up an after school group for GLBT kids (generally around 14-22) at our local gay and lesbian community center, just a couple hours in the afternoon where we can go to have a safe space, meet other queer kids, and hang out for a little while.
Basically i wanted to ask you all - if there was something in your area would you go? What kinds of resources or activities would be cool to have? We were thinking like a queer library of books and movies for everyone to watch/read or take out, and some games like Apples to Apples and stuff but wanted to see what you all thought... ideas?
Thanks everyone!!
If you are not getting confirmation e-mails from Oasis to complete your membership, don't hesitate to e-mail jeff at oasismag dot com. Be sure to include your username.
Recent articles
Recent journal entries
Active forum topics
- The Curse of Reparative Therapy
- First Book: 'Keeping You A Secret' By Julie Anne Peters
- A Kids Reaction To A Gay Couple
- The Importance Of Giving Feedback
- Can you envisage an any more pointless existence?
- Advice?
- Will Portman - Son of Ohio's Senator Portman: His Column on Coming Out
- Can you imagine the vitriol unleashed by Republicans…
- coming out
- Islam and Homosexuality
Who's online
Online users
- Super Duck
- jacjessen90
In my community we have a
In my community we have a gay youth group of sorts we only meet once a week but i know me and everyone else who attends would love it if there was a place we could go more often.
~~~Fear is only a verb if you let it be.. don't you dare let go of my hand~~~
Awesome, thanks! We're
Awesome, thanks! We're starting at twice a week so i guess we'll see... what do you all do at your youth group? Do you have activities or anything or do you just hang out?
Mostly it's just check-in's
Mostly it's just check-in's as we call it. We talk about our week-highs and lows. This is mostly because GLBT are more likely to be depressed and stuff so they drive and solve some o the issues so it doesn't go so far. Once n awhile we watch movies, once a month we have a social night so we forget about problems like we do different things. Sometimes we play games.
~~~Fear is only a verb if you let it be.. don't you dare let go of my hand~~~
My college GSA usually has
My college GSA usually has some sort of business meeting — either a discussion of a topic, or we're planning for some event... but afterwards, people hang out and talk. And sometimes there are just pure social nights and people will sit around and play games. That's fun — a nice change from the structured meetings. :-)
I don't know if I'd have gone to an after-school group in high school, but there are a few reasons for that: I didn't know I was gay until I was a senior, and I don't drive so couldn't have gotten to any gay community center without explaining to my parents, who I am not out to yet.
Those are just practical problems, though. Getting to interact with other LGBT people my age helps me, a lot, and I'm all in favor of anyone starting a group for it.
(I know GSA in college is a little different from what you're talking about here, but I wish I could have had something like that last year, so I hope this post helps somehow or other.)
~~~ the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses ~ e e cummings ~~~
My college lgbt society
My college lgbt society usually meet up and watch a movie and then hang around for a while chatting about it and stuff in general.We also have some coming out workshops and things like that which are cool.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent-Eleanor Roosevelt
Sounds like OutRight
Sounds like OutRight Vermont. They're an LGBTTQ organization catering to 16-22 year olds.
They usually put on dances, like Queer Prom, a Halloween Dance, a Holiday Dance and a Drag dance. They have Friday night groups where everyone just goes to their offices and talks about stuffs and does things. They have bowling nights and movies nights as well, like twice a month. Then, on some Thursdays, they have a "Radically Queer Thursday". These are special activities. They also have an education and speaker's bureau.
Oh and they have free anonymous HIV testing.
games r good :P
apples to apples is the best game ever :P
i'm part of the gsa at my college so thats the group i go to and work with. You might think of having speakers and advertising that you are having a speaker come and talk about stuff.
**Far from a saint, not quite a sinner**
the greatest irony: There is no Peace without War
Hey everyone, thanks so much
Hey everyone, thanks so much for all your help!
(Apples to Apples RULES 1stTeeka, it was the first thing we bought!)
It sounds like our organization is a little like OutRight Vermont (Maas)... we're called Closing the Gap and we do around the same age group and some of the same sorts of things. We have a sort of sub-project called Queer Youth Connections that's a special event once a month (like an open mic night, bowling, this month we're doing a Valentine's Dance) and then we also just go to events and table, speak at schools, give out condoms and free counseling, that sort of stuff. Basically it's a new project to help improve the overall health of GLBT youth, who are at higher risk for drug abuse, depression, homelessness and all sorts of other rotten shit from all the homophobia and heterosexism afoot...
We're trying to have this new group be a little less formal and structured, we're doing it at out local gay and lesbian community center which already has youth nights on Friday with free HIV testing, speakers, workshops and stuff like that so that's sort of covered. Games and movies are awesome suggestions... trying to figure out now how to not have it just be sort of "dead time" 2x a week hanging out, but not have it be like a super rigid meeting style thing.
There are definitely problems with transportation and privacy that we have to deal with all the time, especially because a lot of the kids i know are in high school and may not be out yet because of safety or comfort. It's kind of a catch 22 because the places (schools and events and such) that are the most homophobic and hostile to our youth, are also obviously the least likely to let us come in and support them, provide our resources and so on. We try and handle it by doing a mix of in person local stuff with kids we know who are able to come to events or are out, and work on the internet and nationally so we can also reach out to and provide resources to anyone anywhere who needs it or may be closeted or unable to get help they need in person.
I love the work i am able to do helping my peers feel better and more supported, but it sucks that something like this even has to exist and we have to have such a tough time, you know?
Thank you all so much for helping me out, i appreciate all your suggestions!
fuzzy little stick on people!
lol so the health group at my school does that, they are big on the free condoms stuff which is really funny, but now the point of my comment. They gave out these little fuzzballs that they put eyes and sticky feet and little feeler thingyz on them and said they were your conscience. i thought they were cute in general and you could do something like that at your events. I put mine on my shoulder, but he disappeared...XD
**Far from a saint, not quite a sinner**
the greatest irony: There is no Peace without War
A youth group in the city
A youth group in the city near where I grew up had meetingy things, and the kids still seemed close and happy. Sometimes meetings are a good structure for nervous kids just coming out. It also provides an opportunity for kids to lead--the org had a lot of kids running workshops on all sorts of topics, and they had multiple workshops and opportunities a night. I never got too involved because it was far away and I was scared in high school and the kids were really close and a bit hard of a group to break into, but they seemed like they were having a lot of fun.
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. --Anais Nin
That's a great idea, Mouse,
That's a great idea, Mouse, thanks! Yeah, the nervous-in-high-school syndrome seems an epidemic, sadly, but understandably so... we're thinking about doing one of the "sessions" (can't think of a better word) at a general outreach center in our downtown area (we're having 2x weekly sessions) so it's easier for kids to get there without parental transportation - buses run all the time - and they don't have to go to a, well, explicitly gay place! Our gay and lesbian community center is wonderful but it is... gay. Rainbow upside down triangles on the doors and everything. At any rate, those kids, who regularly come to the GLCC and are out, would probably be great at running some workshops and i know they are always looking forward to them when we have them Friday (youth) nights.
Thanks again!
In my area there is a
In my area there is a program called True Colors. Its a very open, very accepting peer run conference. For a youth group it needs to feel safe and like they have some power.
Having information and support for all areas of the spectrum is good. Many times Trans people and bisexual people are left out or not represented as much. It is a horrible feeling to feel left out in a group that is supposed to accept you.
Movies are usually a good bet, have a vote. Especially funny ones DEBS or But I'm a Cheerleader are usually a good choice.