I am the volunteer manager at LGBTYS and I had the pleasure of visiting some of our Youth Groups in March.

My travels took me across the country to 7 different groups and a YC, and here is what I learned:

At GLOW, I saw a great exhibit and listened to the Young People answer questions from the Q&A.
At All Sorts of Spectrum, Dinosaurs and Biscuits are appropriate topics.
At Triangle, There is an amazing amount of history in Scotland, some funny (to my American ears) words, and I feel bad for anyone who was on my team.
At Standout, I learned about D&D and Consent from a Young Person led session and also a new word… GLIMMER for positive triggers.
At Vada, I started a debate on where the top of a street is (seems there is no right answer) and learned the fairy godmother from Shrek has some persuasive arguments for how the UK could be better. I am still not sure who would have won the election.. Princess Leia gave her a run for her money.
At Phoenix, I learned there is still no BOBA (apparently, what they have at the college is rubbish) and that Yu-Gi-Oh is not really a game, I understand, but a starter pack might help.
At Involved, I watched a flag for Trans Pride come together and had some great chats.
Lastly, I attended meetings at Parliament with our Trans Rights Youth Commission, and I was impressed with this group’s confidence and how they presented their collective thoughts to our elected officials.

These visits were really helpful for me to see that our groups run pretty much the same way they did when I was a volunteer and continue to provide a Safe Space for Young People to be themselves.

THANK YOU to our teams for doing what you do to make Young People feel safe, supported and making me feel so welcome!