Welcome to the home page of Youth For A Change
Youth
for A Change History
Youth
for A Change was founded by Jen Marchbank and Sylvia Traphan
in March 2012 under the name Youth OUTreach.
In total around 30 youth have visited over the 2 plus
years and we now have a very active core of around 10 very
dedicated young people. The group meets each Monday night from
6 to 8.30pm to educate, discuss and plan our activities.
Although we are based in Surrey we work all over.
Who
we are
We
are a group of young lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and queer
youth (13-22) who want to make a difference in the lives of
youth. We are advocates, activists and educators. We come from
diverse backgrounds and experiences but we share a need to
make positive change and be active.
What
do we do?
We
educate ourselves and others through a variety of means
We
offer workshops to schools, learning centres and other youth
groups on topics such as: Homophobia and Transphobia (called
What’s in it for the Homophobe?); Gender Identities; Youth
Homelessness and Healthy Teen Relationships.
·
We educate ourselves about LGBTQ history through
documentaries, research and discussions
·
We network with other LGBTQ groups to further
our knowledge about their activities both locally and
internationally
·
We participate in the training of youth and
community workers
·
We attend Pride and other festivals to spread
the word about ourselves and the issues important to LGBTQ
youth
·
We train ourselves to be advocates, how to lobby
politicians, how to make requests of Council and School Board
·
We train the next generation of youth leaders,
we have two Peer Leaders (youth from the group now taking more
leadership)
·
We flash mob
·
We monitor School Board policy on
Anti-Homophobia and Transphobia
·
We participate in campaigns, such as Encourage
City Hall to Fly the Pride Flag
·
We do intergenerational work so that we learn
from our elders and can inform them about our lives
·
We do creative performances, express ourselves
through art, poetry and spoken word
·
We organize community events
·
Our members take leadership roles in other
organizations, such as Gay Straight Alliances in schools
amongst others
·
We go on field trips, often to Council Chambers
·
We lobby for gender neutral facilities
·
We support each other
·
We have lots of fun
G.L.B.T.Q. FRIENDLY ESTABLISHMENTS &
ORGANIZATIONS
Surrey, Whiterock & New
Westminster
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