The Queer Youth Task Force of Santa Cruz County is seeking to honor local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth and their allies at the 2018 Queer Youth Leadership Awards (QYLA)!   Eligible awardees are those who have shown outstanding: leadership, academic excellence, or community engagement as an LGBTQ youth under the age of 18, or as an ally to LGBTQ youth. Allies to LGBTQ youth may be a straight youth, or can also be a straight or LGBTQ adult. If you know an LGBTQ youth who has made an effort to improve the … [Read more...]

The Diversity Center's Youth Program is starting a new support group for gender expansive youth! Youth ages 12-18 from across the gender spectrum (including those questioning their own gender identity) are invited to share a supportive, community space with other gender expansive youth. Activities, dialogues, and events will be facilitated by the Diversity Center Youth Program's new Gender Expansive Facilitator: Jack Mayer. We hope to see you there! Email youth@diversitycenter.org or Call 831 - 425 - 5422 x104 for questions. … [Read more...]

The Queer Youth Task Force of Santa Cruz County is seeking to honor local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth and their allies at the 2018Queer Youth Leadership Awards (QYLA)! Eligible awardees are those who have shown outstanding leadership, academic excellence, or community engagement as an LGBTQ youth under the age of 18, or as an ally to LGBTQ youth. Allies to LGBTQ youth may be a straight youth, or can also be a straight or LGBTQ adult. If you know an LGBTQ youth who has made an effort to improve the lives … [Read more...]

“Virginia Elects Its First Openly Transgender State Lawmaker” - Huffington Post “Democrat Danica Roem defeated the Republican who wrote the anti-trans bathroom bill.” “College students share advice to bullied LGBTQ youth” - GLAAD “This Spirit Day, our GLAAD Campus Ambassadors were asked to share words of advice with LGBTQ youth who are experiencing bullying. Because LGBTQ youth disproportionately face bullying and harassment, many of our Campus Ambassadors have had their own personal experiences with bullying. Read their heartful words of … [Read more...]

Home For The Holidays - A Guide for Self Care for LGBTQ+ During the Holiday Season “Queer, trans, gender non-comforming folks, and queer people of color — as well as others who may have challenging relationships with their families — can feel a challenging ambivalence about going home during the breaks daunting task.  Here are a few tips for taking care of yourself!” Click Here to view the whole flyer created by UCSC’s Cantu Center Need a Break from the Family? Attend a Weekly Queer Youth Meet-Up Watsonville Queer Youth Meet-up - … [Read more...]

Saturday, May 12, 2018 5:30 PM Soquel High School, Soquel We hope you'll save-the-date and join us in celebrating 21 years (1998-2018) of honoring local queer youth, allies and organization's that have worked to make our community a safer place. Over the next year, we'll be sharing highlights of the last two decades as we prepare for a grand celebration. Youth Talent Search! Youth Emcee Auditions -- Winter 2018 Youth Talent (song, dance, music, etc) Auditions --Winter 2018 For more information, contact … [Read more...]

“What Is Spirit Day? The Anti-Bullying Event Encourages People To Stand Up For LGBTQ Youth” - Bustle “Inspired by Canada’s anti-bullying event Pink Shirt Day, McMillan encouraged her friends to raise awareness for the high rates of LGBTQ suicide by wearing purple. It wasn’t hard to get people interested in her cause. All she needed was a blog post, a few poster boards, and a willingness to ask people she knew to support and promote her campaign. And with that, Spirit Day was born. Now every year on the third Thursday in October, people around … [Read more...]

GSA Network is seeking workshops that include a broad range of topics that are relevant and exciting for LGBTQ & Ally middle school and high school youth at YES on November 18th! If you've presented a workshop at a local Summit or if you'd like to be a presenter for the first time, consider applying to lead a workshop! GSA Network strives to choose workshops and workshop presenters who reflect the diverse community of youth who attend YES. Info & … [Read more...]