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The mission of The Santa Cruz County Task Force for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning (LGBTIQ) Youth -- aka Queer Youth Task Force/QYTF -- is to improve the quality of life for all LGBTIQ youth in Santa Cruz County, as well as children and siblings raised in homes where LGBTIQ people live.
The Task Force is comprised of individuals and organizations that work with, or are interested in helping, queer youth in Santa Cruz County. We exchange information about current services, assess unmet needs, strategize about new resources and improve current resources, collaborate county-wide about ways to improve services, and develop community response to issues that arise. Founded in 1997.
The Task Force is an affiliate of the Diversity Center.
We meet on the 3rd Monday of each month, except on holidays, at the Aptos Public Library conference room, 7695 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003.
Projects of the Task Force include:
- Safe Schools Project
- Queer Youth Leadership Awards
- Transgender Teen Project
- Queer Youth Task Force Meetings
Quote
Statement of Congressman Sam Farr (D) - Santa Cruz/Monterey on the floor of the House of Represenatives, Washington, D.C. on National Day of Silence, April 10, 2002:
"Mr. Speaker, today across the country thousands of students on our college campuses are silent. They are silent as a sign of solidarity with persons who -- because of sexual orientation and gender identification -- cannot speak for themselves. They are silent as a form of protest against a society that silences persons who are different, persons who do not meet main street's definition of "proper".
"They are silent but we here in Congress should not be.
"We should shout and raise our voices and call for an end to discrimination and prejudice against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons. We should affirm - loudly - that on this Day of Silence, America has the capacity and the heart to say all persons are just that: persons, and here in America all persons are deserving of fair treatment." |
