Why Spaces Like This Matter

Recently, I had the opportunity to table for KYC at a community event. We had the usual visitors stop by: a former youth from the 2000s, a parent of a trans girl visiting from out of town and asking about programs in her area, and a kid who just wanted a sticker.
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But one young person in particular stayed with me. They appeared to be a seventh-grade student, dressed pretty generically masculine, wearing noise-canceling headphones. They stopped at the table, asked who we were, and quietly pocketed a “she/they” pronoun pin.
About 20 minutes later, they came back for our flyers. I handed them one for Genderscope, our discussion group for trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming youth, and we also talked about Art Club, Movie & Pizza Night, and our new youth survey process for first visits.
Another 20 minutes passed, and they returned again. “This word on the flyer – cisgender – what does that mean?”

A little while later, they came back holding the pin they’d taken earlier. “What label is for someone who wants these pronouns?”
We talked about how there are infinite combinations of pronouns and labels. Someone who is nonbinary might use they/them pronouns – but they don’t have to. There’s no one right way to exist. Toward the end of the night, they stopped by one last time just to ask: “Is this the kind of place where kids can wear whatever clothes they want?”
Yes. KYC is exactly that kind of place. A place where young people can wear what they want, use the name they want, and participate in the programs that make them feel seen and supported.
As we kick off Pride Month in a new building, so much remains the same: KYC is a space for exploration, friendship, and belonging. Sometimes the most important thing we can offer a young person is not an answer, but the freedom to ask the question in the first place. Every time a young person comes back to the table – curious, uncertain, hopeful – it’s a reminder of why spaces like this matter so deeply.

Amanda Erickson, Interim Executive Director