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GLBT Partnership
Program Details
The mission of the
GLBT Partnership is to provide an on-going youth development and
support group for
youth aged 14-18 who identify as gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, those who are questioning their
sexual
orientation, and their allies. GLBT youth experience many
negative stressors including harassment,
abuse and rejections, a
lack of societal acceptance and recognition, and isolation.
Due to these factors, GLBT
youth miss more school, have poorer
grades, have to repeat a grade, drop out of school, are thrown
out off their
homes or run away from their homes.
Statistically, GLBT youth are also at a higher risk for suicide,
drugs and
alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and depression. A
safe, accepting gathering space for these young people where
they can be themselves and meet other youth with the same
experience truly can mean life or death, success or
failure, to
these youth. In the words of one GLBT Partnership youth
who now attends Columbia University in
New York City,
"The GLBT
Partnership has helped me in a thousand ways. It has
helped me realize my true potential as a
human being...if the GLBT Partnership changed my life in such a huge way, if it
changed me from a shy,
ashamed, and weak person into the active
person that I am today in not even a year's time. The idea
of all the
people who could be helped overwhelms me. There
would definitely be a large gap in my life, the lives of other
Fox Valley GLBT youth and the community as a whole if the GLBT
Partnership could no longer exist".
Since the Partnership's inception in 1997, the program has
served over 175 young people in the Fox Valley.
For its
first seven years, the GLBT Partnership was a program of the
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley,
and was directed by
Shannon Kenevan and Rebecca Beringer for five of those seven
years. Rebecca and
Shannon both left the Club to lead the
Harmony Cafe start-up. In 2004, the Boys and Girls Club
decided
o go in a different direction with their programming
and approached Harmony Cafe to take over the program.
Tuesday, September 7th, 2004, the Partnership began
meeting at Harmony Cafe and
has continued
to offer the same quality social/support program
with an aspect of youth leadership development.
System of
Support
The Partnership is fortunate enough to be part of a
statewide coalition GLBT youth programs,
Rainbow Over Wisconsin
(RAY). Ray is coordinated by Diverse and Resilient, whose
guidance provides
Ray groups with a model for providing
comprehensive programming. In the words of Diverse and
Resilient,
the purpose of the development of the Rainbow
Alliance for Youth is:
To address the
isolation and invisibility of sexual minority youth
To provide education about social justice and community
organizing
To empower youth people as caring, contributing, productive and
responsible citizens
To advocate for sexual minority youth in schools, social service
agencies, and communities.
To support young people as activities and change agents in their
community.
To read a report
on GLBT Youth in Wisconsin, click here:
http://www.diverseandresilient.org/youth/articles.asp?aid=34.
Links
Goodwill Industries
Diverse and Resilient
GLSEN-SCW
Gay Youth Wisconsin Teen Hotline (1-866-429-9688)
PFLAG-Fox Cities
Positive Voice
Action Wisconsin
Aids Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW)
Rainbow Gathering
Rainbow Over Wisconsin
Youth Page
GLBT
Partnership At-a-glance
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