Gala's youth services are expanding to include safe social groups for LGBTQ-plus youth 

San Luis Obispo's kids belonging to the LGBTQ-plus community have more safe places to gather thanks to the Gala Pride and Diversity Center.

The nonprofit's youth services wing added a new weekly group for middle and high schoolers. Called the Trans Youth Group for kids ages 11 through 18 years old, they meet every Tuesday at Gala's headquarters from 6 to 8 p.m. On Thursdays, at the same time, the existing Q Youth Group for the same age range meets at the Gala office.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Gala
• FACILITATING COMMUNITY Gala's youth group facilitators will assist in managing its two new weekly spaces for trans and queer kids, along with the Rainbow Family Kids Event for younger children.

"Historically, it's always been one Thursday group a week for kids ages 11 through 18, and it's a social support group, which is something incredibly valuable, especially on the Central Coast where we're a little more of a rural area," said Janae Sargent, a co-director of youth services. "I've always seen that as a special and powerful service in our community, and it's not enough."

There's more in the works, too. Starting Jan. 10, parents of trans youth can engage in a Parent Support Group on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Talking to parents of LGBTQ-plus identifying kids in the community helped Sargent and her co-director Margaret Johnson address the needs of even younger people.

Gala will host a Rainbow Family Kids Event for kindergartners through fifth graders on Dec. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. It's meant for both kids and their families. The organization is on the lookout for more parent organizers, with the hope that it can be a regular gathering. They want to discuss activities and the nature of the meetups. Contact [email protected] for location information, and to sign up as a volunteer group facilitator.

"We got cold calls from people in the community saying, 'We see information about the groups that you're running for certain age groups, but we need something for younger kids,'" Johnson said.

As a result, the directors met with parents in October to talk about creating a youth group for kids in elementary school. From that brainstorm, they determined two primary needs.

"A casual social opportunity for kids aged 5 to 10 to just be themselves in a safe space with supportive allied adults," Johnson said. "We also identified a need for parents to have a support network and learn from each other. It felt really important for it to be local."

Sargent added that according to the parents who reached out to them, younger kids who identify as LGBTQ-plus need a space where they don't have to explain themselves.

"We have heard that younger kids when they're at school have to explain their pronouns to their friends and teachers, and that can be really difficult over and over again," Sargent said. "I cannot imagine having to navigate being a second-grader and explaining that all the time. It's just about being a lighthearted space where they don't have to walk in and worry about what's going to happen."

The safety of minors identifying as LGBTQ-plus has been a hotly debated topic in North County recently. Specifically, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District drew attention for a hate incident in 2021, a teacher training at the high school that stemmed from it, and a symbolic resolution the board passed about gender-specific titles.

"We've had kids come from Paso and say, 'When are you going to do something in Paso? We're desperate up there,'" Sargent said. "We see this growing need, and I think that's what prompted the Pride Center to put emphasis on youth groups."

Sargent called safe youth group spaces "life-saving." She added that when youth groups check in on kids about their low points, the common answer is that they were bullied, harassed, and on the receiving end of homophobia.

"If we can provide that social scene and you can question it—you don't have to decide at age 5 who you are forever ... it can change. But accepting it and letting it be, really can make a difference," Johnson said. "We might see less mental health issues as these kids grow into their teens, and more tolerance and understanding."

Fast fact

• SLO County Public Libraries will use a recent $23,000 award to set up a tool lending library for the Shandon Library. The money comes from the California Sustainable Libraries Grant. The county library will work with a local hardware store to outfit a tool collection for the rural, agriculture-based community of Shandon. The ion-lithium battery-powered gallery will include power table saws, wet/dry vacuums, hedge trimmers, wheelbarrows, gardening tools, and drills. The tool lending library will open in spring 2023, with two demo workshops in English and Spanish. For more information, visit library.ca.gov/services/to-libraries/sustainable. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at [email protected].