Services | Oakland LGBTQ Community Center

YOUTH SERVICES

Youth Services & Youth Club Registration

Youth support services are available to youth ages 13-25. Youth are allowed to drop-in and hang out in our Cafe at the Center weekly from12pm-8pm, as long as no other groups are meeting in the Café. Youth Club is for youth 13-17, and meets every Wednesday from 3pm-4pm (virtually) and 3pm-6pm when normal operations resume. The Center has a library and computer lab that youth can access as well. Youth can also drop-in for one on one counseling/care management sessions
with one of your youth wellness coordinators.
Young adults, 18-25, can request to meet with one of our wellness coordinators by calling 510-882-2286 Monday-Friday, 1pm-5pm.
Youth 13-17 can become a member of our youth club by completing the registration form at the bottom of this page.

Personal Growth and Leadership Development

Human development is a lifelong process of physical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional growth and change. In the early stages of life—from infancy to adulthood—enormous changes take place. Throughout the process, each person develops attitudes and values that guide choices, relationships, and understanding. Youth programming at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center seeks to nurture a pipeline of LGBTQIA youth leaders who will become youth advocates and mentors, using the skills they develop to support, encourage, and inspire the next generation of LGBTQIA youth leaders.

Racial Justice and Intersectionality

Young LGBTQIA/same gender loving/queer people are leading the movement toward just and safe communities for all. Youth programming at the Center works to support youth on the front lines, working for the rights of Black, Latino/a/x, Asian and Pacific Islander, Native American, Muslim, immigrant, and refugee LGBTQIA youth.

LGBTQ Health and Rights

Young people have the right to lead healthy lives and need access to primary medical care that includes sexual health and re-productive education that is inclusive, honest, complete, and accurate. The CDC predicts that 1 in 4 black gay, bi, same gender loving, queer and transgender individuals, and 1 and 4 Latino/a/x gay, bi, queer and transgender individuals, will become infected with HIV within their lifetimes if current trends continue. The Center’s Wellness First Initiative – has a goal of getting to zero HIV infections and reducing sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) in Alameda County by offering one on one and group counseling, testing, and care management services to connect youth with the necessary resources to address their needs in a wholistic way. Our work also includes ending discrimination against young people living with HIV and providing them with access to life-saving treatments and supportive services to help them live healthier lives.

Housing = Healthcare

In Oakland, it is estimated that 70% of the homeless population is African American, even though they make up 23% of the population. LGBTQ youth are estimated to represent 40% of all homeless youth.Our wellness coordinators work with LGBTQIA youth from this population to help them to find stable housing, housing subsidies, food assistance, vocational training, advanced education opportunities, employment opportunities, substance abuse counseling and mental health support.

Youth & Family or Guardian Support

Higher rates of family rejection during adolescence were significantly associated with poorer health outcomes for LGBTQ young adults.

LGBTQ young adults who reported higher levels of family rejection during adolescence were 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide, 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3.4 times more likely to report having engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse, compared with peers from families that reported no or low levels of family rejection. Parents and others seeking to learn more about how they can support their LGBTQ youth can contact our youth coordinators by completing the form below.