First-of-its kind safe space will educate, promote community
Alameda’s LGBTQ+ youth are getting a new drop-in teen center where they can hang out and socialize in a safe space. The launch coincides with National Coming Out Day, Friday, October 11, and is the first of its kind in the city. It’s spearheaded by the Alameda Pride Foundation in collaboration with Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 3 office, Alameda Collaborative for Children, Youth, and their Families (ACCYF), and Alameda Recreation and Parks Department.
The teen center will be hosted at the Veterans Memorial Building once a month, in the familiar space where ARPD already offers an after-school center for local students. Middle schoolers and high schoolers will meet at different times, with staff on hand to supervise and lead activities. The goal is to create a safe, non-judgmental space for LGBTQ+ youth to make new friends, learn about Queer history and culture, and get access to information and peer support.
Having a place for Queer youth to gather and interact safely is very important to their well-being. LGBTQ+ teens can face many challenges, whether at home, at school, or in the community. Correspondingly, their rate of attempted suicide is as high as 12%. But being among other kids who are confronting the same issues creates a network of support and understanding that may not otherwise be available to these youths.
ACCYF was started in 1996 by Alameda County District 3 Supervisor Wilma Chan in cooperation with the Alameda Mayor and AUSD School Board. They agreed to collaborate to find better ways to serve, support, and include local children and youth. Chan died when she was struck by a car in November 2021. Successor Dave Brown advanced the program during the pandemic by making funding available to the community specifically targeted at youth in order to solicit feedback from young people themselves about their needs.
The organization is currently led by Supervisor Lena Tam, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, and Alameda Unified School Board President Jennifer Williams, and includes youths and representatives from the City of Alameda, AUSD, Supervisor Tam’s office, and many other organizations invested in Alameda youth.
ACCYF is broken up into four smaller work groups—website, Youth Advocacy Committee, safety, and mental health—that operate with support from All Good Living Foundation, Alameda Family Services, the City, and the County Board of Supervisors. The idea for the LGBTQ+ teen center grew out of discussions that started from the Youth Advocacy Committee and were brought to the larger group.
Alameda Pride founder Jeramie Andehueson started the Alameda Pride Foundation in part to fund this new center with proceeds generated by annual Pride celebrations. Andehueson said he wanted to make an impact on the community by bettering the lives of Alameda’s youth.
“Providing resources for the Queer youth, their families, and allies is so important in creating confidence and acceptance,” Andehuseson explained. “I didn’t have this where I grew up, so it sometimes felt lonely, which can lead to traumatic experiences with unwelcome consequences. With this new Center, we can provide support and resources to build self-esteem and comfort in being ‘different.’”
Alameda Pride Foundation board member Marcie Soslau Johnson added, “It was a natural overlap for Jeramie to do something for the youth community with Pride dollars. Youth [were] talking about how marginalized youth don’t have a voice or their own space. Everything’s coming together to serve this community.”
Soslau Johnson, who also serves as the City’s staff member supporting ACCYF, explained that the Pride organization worked collaboratively with the designated AUSD-assigned LGBTQ Round Table liaison, the Alameda Free Library, Alameda Recreation and Parks Department, the Oakland LGBTQ Center, and ACCYF-involved youth to solicit feedback from students in the district to better serve their needs.
Justin Long, director of Alameda’s Recreation and Parks Department, welcomes the center and feels that it is essential to acknowledge and support this long-underserved group in our community. “The new LGBTQ+ teen center is an important addition for youth in Alameda and ARPD is glad to be a partner with the Alameda Pride Foundation,” Long said. “The center will serve as a safe place for teens to connect and feel supported.”
Drop-in hours will be staffed by a member of the LGBTQ+ community who will be an employee of ARPD, although the position is funded by the Alameda Pride Foundation. ARPD also is contributing the use of the space at the Veterans Building. As the program grows, leaders hope to offer more services for attendees.
“The future of the center is dependent upon volunteers, funding, programming, and support from the community,” Andehueson said. “The feedback thus far has been amazing, so I am confident that we will go far. Today’s youth is the future of our tomorrow and we are the ones who need to create those resources for success. Please donate to the Alameda Pride Foundation to support the teen center.”
For more information about Alameda’s LGBTQ+ drop-in teen center, including dates, location, activities, and other information, please visit the Alameda Pride and ACCYF websites.
Editor’s note: Adam Gillitt is also serves as a board member for the Alameda Pride Foundation.
Adam Gillitt is the Publisher of the Alameda Post. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt.
