ALSO Youth

Although progress has been made in protecting rights and securing wider acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community, that does not mean that discrimination and intolerance no longer exist.  Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender may still face physical, verbal,or emotional bullying within their communities and schools.  This can be seen every day in the news, especially with transgender individuals. The isolation resulting from COVID-19 has worsened the emotional health for these at-risk youth. ALSO Youth wants all LGBTQ+ youth to embrace who they are and to pursue their dreams – high school graduation, college matriculation, skills training, employment, relationships, children, etc.  Our goal is to make that path safer and easier for youth, using the fastest and most effective methods possible. For twenty-seven years, ALSO Youth as been providing advocacy and support to LGBTQ+ and allied youth, ages 13 through 21, in the Sarasota area.  For most of that time, ALSO Youth's services have been concentrated at a physical space in Sarasota. However, since the fall of 2015, we have been providing programming in Venice, FL, and in the fall of 2019, we added a satellite location in North Port, FL. During the COVID-19 crisis, we've faced additional challenges reaching out and supporting our youth as we've transitioned to online and social media platforms to deliver services and support.