Kaleidoscope Youth Center Stands in Solidarity with TransOhioColumbus - Kaleidoscope Youth Center Board of Directors announces solidarity with TransOhio in response to the statement made on October 21, 2019.
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In recent years, Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) has seen an increase in transgender and nonbinary youth attending programs in the Drop-In Center, community based programs, and in need of KYC’s case management and housing services. In 2018, nearly 49% of the young people served by KYC were transgender/nonbinary members of our community; and almost half of all youth were Black, or otherwise members of a community of color. To be in solidarity with TransOhio, is to be in solidarity with our youth.
The vision of KYC is for all youth and young adults to experience whole lives with acceptance, affirmation, and freedom from oppression. Our organizational culture is informed by the practices of intersectionality, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and trauma informed care. We approach our work through the lens of social justice and youth empowerment, and both recognize and challenge systems of power that perpetuate barriers and injustice in the lives of our young people.
The American Medical Association has identified violence against the transgender community as an “epidemic”. As we near the end of 2019, our community has seen over 20 Black trans women/nonbinary individual’s lives ended by violence. Moreover, GLSEN’s 2017 National School Climate Survey reports that transgender and nonbinary youth continue to face increasingly hostile school climates; noting that 75% of transgender youth feel unsafe at schools. Now more than ever it is imperative that we stand with and for our siblings - the most vulnerable and marginalized in our community - in creating a more inclusive, just, and safer world.
KYC looks forward to continued partnership and collaboration with TransOhio as we work together to expand resources, strengthen communities built upon safety and belonging, and to invest in the lives of our youth and young adults.
In Solidarity,
Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LISW-S, Executive Director
Kelly Francone, President
Stefanie A. Best, MA, Vice President
Leisan Smith, M. Ed, Secretary
Terry B. Hardaway II, CISA, Treasurer
Benjamin Jarosz, Advisor to the President
Carl Aveni, Esq
Zachary Grim
Rob Leis
Dr. Lauren McInroy, MSW, PhD
Michelle Umali
The vision of KYC is for all youth and young adults to experience whole lives with acceptance, affirmation, and freedom from oppression. Our organizational culture is informed by the practices of intersectionality, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and trauma informed care. We approach our work through the lens of social justice and youth empowerment, and both recognize and challenge systems of power that perpetuate barriers and injustice in the lives of our young people.
The American Medical Association has identified violence against the transgender community as an “epidemic”. As we near the end of 2019, our community has seen over 20 Black trans women/nonbinary individual’s lives ended by violence. Moreover, GLSEN’s 2017 National School Climate Survey reports that transgender and nonbinary youth continue to face increasingly hostile school climates; noting that 75% of transgender youth feel unsafe at schools. Now more than ever it is imperative that we stand with and for our siblings - the most vulnerable and marginalized in our community - in creating a more inclusive, just, and safer world.
KYC looks forward to continued partnership and collaboration with TransOhio as we work together to expand resources, strengthen communities built upon safety and belonging, and to invest in the lives of our youth and young adults.
In Solidarity,
Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LISW-S, Executive Director
Kelly Francone, President
Stefanie A. Best, MA, Vice President
Leisan Smith, M. Ed, Secretary
Terry B. Hardaway II, CISA, Treasurer
Benjamin Jarosz, Advisor to the President
Carl Aveni, Esq
Zachary Grim
Rob Leis
Dr. Lauren McInroy, MSW, PhD
Michelle Umali
Download the press release here:
| KYC Stands in Solidarity with TransOhio.pdf |
