As some of you may already be aware, The Youth Project is currently going through a period of transition, restructuring, and visioning for the future. In order to make these important changes and navigate this transitional time with care and intentionality, we will not be offering educational workshops or internal programming for the months of October and November. Please check our website for updates on what services are being offered. Any inquiries can be directed to Kym Sweeny at temporary@youthproject.ns.ca.
We want to sincerely apologize for the abrupt nature of this break from programming. We understand that there is a significant lack of spaces in Nova Scotia that offer support to 2SLGBTQIAP+ youth, and want to recognize and be accountable to the impact that our temporary closure may have on the youth we serve and our community. Our hope is that after this restructuring period we will be able to better serve 2SLGBTQIAP+ youth across the province.
If you want to be involved in our process of restructuring, visioning, and change here are some of the next steps we will be taking with the community:
We will be holding an extraordinary general meeting on November 24thfrom 5:00 – 8:30pm at the Glitter Bean Café. This is an opportunity for the community to provide input on the next steps of the Youth Project. An agenda will be released on our website prior to the meeting.
There are currently three open positions on the Board of Directors that we hope to fill at the EGM. Applications can be found at https://youthproject.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/YP-BoD-Application-April-2018.pdf. We are particularly interested in increasing our representation of BIPOC and trans individuals on the board.
The survey will be an opportunity to provide feedback to the Board of Directors anonymously. The information obtained by the survey will help us to structure our future actions. A link to the survey can be found on our website and at bit.ly/YouthProjectSurvey.
While the process of restructuring can be an uncertain and stressful time, we firmly believe that this is what is needed in order to better serve our community. For youth wondering what this means in terms of programming, we have full intentions of offering all of our core programming (Camp, Drop In, Transformers, etc.) after the break, as well as dreaming of and creating exciting new programs and spaces.
We want to thank our community for being willing to hold us accountable in this process and to help us grow as an organization. We cannot do the work that is needed, create the spaces that our youth deserve, or imagine futures that hold space for all of us, if we are trying to do it alone. Thank you for your support and feedback.
Sending love and rainbows,
The Youth Project
We also wanted to include a listing of community resources that may feel supportive/ helpful during our temporary closure:
MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning– Gender and Sexuality Alliance (Fridays 4-6pm)
50 Queen Street
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
B2Y 1G1
http://macpheecentre.ca/courses/gsa-gender-sexuality-alliance-club/
South House Gender and Sexual Resource Centre
1443 Seymour St, Halifax, NS B3H 3M6
http://southhousehalifax.ca/
Laing House– Mental Health Peer Support for Youth
1225 Barrington, Halifax, NS B3J 1Y2
(902) 425-9018
http://www.lainghouse.org/
Phoenix Youth Centre/ Phoenix House – Youth Housing Shelter
Monday – Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
902.422.3105
5880 Spring Garden Rd., Suite 200, Halifax, B3K 1Z7
https://phoenixyouth.ca/
Trans LifeLine Canada
877-330-6366
https://www.translifeline.org/about
LGBT Youth Line
(call) 1-800-268-9688 or (text) 647-694-4275
http://www.youthline.ca/