Youth Programs

For an overview of IYG, its history and mission, go to About Us.

Activity and Program Center:

Hours:

• Wednesday: 3 – 9 PM
• Thursday: 3 – 9 PM
• Friday: 3 – midnight
  

IYG is located in a little white house on the southwest corner of 46th and Binford Boulevard.

Our activity center serves as a safe and confidential environment for LGBT youth to hang out and be themselves. The center is has a fully functional kitchen, plenty of lounge space, computers, a large activity room and a wonderful back yard with a well-used volleyball court.

We suggest that new youth first attend programs on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. There are structured activities on those evenings and it’s much easier to meet other youth and to get to feel comfortable. More youth drop by IYG on Friday evenings and it can be a bit daunting if a new youth is trying to connect. On Fridays we watch movies, play games (volleyball if it’s nice outside!), play on the computer, or just sit around and talk. We try to have food each night we are open. Anytime IYG is open there are at least 2 adults present to provide support and supervision.

Discussion and Support Groups

For more detailed information about our group times and places, see our activity schedule.

Sex, Dating, and Relationship Group meets weekly to discuss topics and to share information relevant in their lives regarding healthy relationships, dating, body image, and sex. This group provides a discreet and non-judgmental forum for youth to freely talk about important issues. A variety of topics are covered and special guest speakers are often invited.

Coming Out Support Group meets the second Thursday of every month and serves as a support and discussion group for IYG youth who are somewhere in the process of coming out. IYG Program Coordinator, Gary Nelson, MSW, LSW, facilitates our Coming Out Support Group (with occasional help from members of the community).

Transgender Group meets the fourth Thursday of every month and focuses on different topics concerning gender identity. Gender identity is a topic different from sexual orientation of which many young people are trying to come to terms with.

Mirror-Mirror Group is a therapeutic self discovery group facilitated by IYG volunteer Tina Darwin, MSW. This group takes place on the first and third Thursdays of every month.

Art Programs

Film Project

IYG: The Movie. The youth of IYG took on every aspect of planning and executing this exciting project. The undertaking was a yearlong process in which youth wrote the movie script, held casting auditions, operated the film shoot, and edited all footage. Additionally, IYG youth provided the entire cast! IYG: The Movie premiered at the Indy LGBT Film Festival in November, 2007. Underwriting for this project was through the Daun Fund. (See Film Project under the Youth tab.)

IYG: The Sequel. This is the 2009 project! You never know where the creative juices will take us! To help underwrite the cost of the next film project, you can stipulate that your donation is used through the Daun Fund.

Art Project

IYG youth are major contributors to the IYG Art Auction (along with both amateur and professional artists.) The Art Auction is one of IYG’s fundraising events and is held each March. Programming at IYG includes many art nights from January through March in preparation for the event. Youth art is both shown and exhibited at the Art Auction.

House Meetings

House Meetings (formerly referred to as Youth Council) are held on the first and third Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM. Future events and programs at IYG are decided upon and planned and decisions on house rules are made. This is where youth “make things happen” for IYG.

Prevention and Education Programs

IYG is funded by Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation and the Indiana AIDS Fund to provide various services, educational programs, and outreach to LGBT youth both at IYG and throughout the state.

HIV/STI prevention and education: IYG works collaboratively with area agencies such as the Bellflower Clinic and StepUP to bring the most up to date prevention education to our youth. Bellflower Clinic, a division of the Marion County Health Department, visits us on the first Friday of each month to offer free and confidential STI testing. StepUP visiting us on the first and third Fridays of each month to offer free confidential HIV testing to the youth. IYG is stocked with safer sex supplies and make them easily accessible to our youth, and have various presentations to educate the youth on sexual health.

Cyber Outreach: IYG is also home to an HIV Prevention Cyber Outreach Program where a former IYG youth is hired to conduct prevention interventions with people online, specifically MSM. Adequate and accurate information about to them and provide referrals for testing and other resources.

Student Leadership Academy (SLA)

The SLA is designed to motivate youth to become more actively involved in shaping their own destinies within their school, IYG, and the broader community. SLA provides youth the opportunity to develop a variety of skills including advocacy, leadership, programming, communication and service. SLA participants gain valuable skills enabling them to become a caring, resourceful, and visionary leader. The SLA program is grounded in theories of leadership development and gay identity development. It is designed to cultivate a well-rounded student leader through instruction, organizational involvement, and structured learning opportunities within IYG and in the community.

The next Student Leadership Academy will start in October, 2009. Applications will be accepted until September 9. Between 12 – 14 youth will be selected for this program which meets one Saturday per month from 10 am to 1 pm from October, 2009 through May, 2010. Applications can be obtained through the IYG staff.

GAP Group: In the summer of 2006, IYG instituted the Gay Adults Program (G.A.P.) for the purpose of providing a safe social alternative to the bars for IYG youth ages 20 – 24. Over the past year the GAP group has gone ice skating, to King’s Island Pride Night, Duckpin Bowling, to a Play at the Phoenix Theatre, and many other activities. Any young adult can participate in the GAP group—it is not limited to former IYG youth.

Counseling, Social Services, & Information and Referrals:

IYG provides individual time for one on one meetings with professional staff to IYG youth who need to talk. This is not a “therapeutic” counseling session, rather an opportunity for a youth to be able to talk, get things off of their chest, or work through problems or concerns. More in depth counseling and other services are available through referrals to other local youth services agencies by the IYG staff.

IYG Program staff conducts intakes with new youth on their third or fourth visit to the center in order to assess and address their social service and support needs.

Food Nights:

Volunteers bring dinner in for the youth most evenings that IYG is open. Individual volunteers or members of local community groups bring in a variety of goodies on a regular basis and a set frequency (from once a month to every week.) LGBT youth are much the same as any youth…almost always hungry!

Career Assessment and Educational Support

From time to time, IYG staff conducts Career Self-Assessments with youth to help them discover their interest areas and facilitate discussion on career matches. Support is also available for college selection and many opportunities for grants are reviewed with high school students. More informal help is also available to our youth. Our staff are all well educated and have a vast amount of experience in many areas of expertise. Feel free to ask questions at any time. Remember, we are here to help you as much as we can about anything we can!