“Here are some wise and empowering words offered by some of our favorite queer women in 2016 to give you hope for humanity in the new year.” Read the full article in The Huffington Post … [Read more...]

“We celebrate kindness by putting it into action! Every year for No-Name Calling Week, GLSEN provides students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to challenge bullying and name-calling in their communities. This No Name-Calling Week begins on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and ends on the Presidential Inauguration. It is an important opportunity to show allyship to LGBTQ students, particularly transgender and gender nonconforming (GNC) students, as well as LGBTQ students of color.” For more … [Read more...]

Saturday, May 13, 2017 5:30 PM Pájaro Valley High School, Watsonville We hope you'll save-the-date and join us in celebrating 20 years 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. QYLA is proud to be working with the Pájaro Valley High School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), one of the largest GSA's in Santa Cruz County, and the Pájaro Valley Unified School … [Read more...]

“Oakland Ghost Ship Fire Kills Artists, Queers, Weirdos, Dreamers and Dreams” This article provides an in depth look at the lives of several LGBTQ community members who lost their lives in this tragic fire and a discussion of the importance of spaces like ghost ship to our queer communities. Read the article in AutoStraddle “LGBTQ Community Mourns 'Family' Lost in Oakland Ghost Ship Fire” “The LGBTQ community has been especially impacted by the realization that many who attended the ill-fated event on Friday identified as queer or … [Read more...]

“But the group does more than talk. Seven Stones’ GSA is small but mighty. Like the students at Knoll, they believe in raising awareness and doing good. Earlier this month, the students took a field trip to the YWCA’s Encore Market, a store they had helped redesign with a focus on gender inclusivity.” Read all about the amazing things these GSA’s are doing within their schools and communities in theRegina-Leader Post … [Read more...]

Each year, Subjects to Change consists of approximately 15-20 students from across Santa Cruz County who meet at the MAH every Thursday afternoon to talk community, create stuff, & change—both themselves, as a group, and the community. Weekly meetings include team building exercises, occasional guest speakers, offsite work in the community, and planning social justice themed events. Application Deadline: Saturday, December 31st, 2016 Attached you can find an application SubjectstoChange Application, which can also be filled out … [Read more...]

The latest voicemail prompt in our series is “How do gender roles and stereotypes impact you or your family’s’ celebration of the holidays?” The series is meant to be anonymous so please just leave a message. No names or anything too personal to give away who you are. Your message may be posted online so please share only what you want. We ask that you please be mindful of keeping your message appropriate to all audience members. It’s not too late to submit your voicemail. To participate in the project, call: 510-987-8600. Visit Gender … [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...]

“Young people are often denied the opportunity to explore gender for themselves and instead are told about gender by the adults around them. Especially for non-binary students like me (students who don’t identify as either male or female), having the ability to explore our gender – and then having our gender affirmed by the adults in our lives – is so important to our wellbeing and success in school.” Read the full article at GLSEN … [Read more...]