Louisville Youth Group

Louisville Youth Group Inc. creates a brave space for LGBTQIA+ Youth and Allies that promotes personal and community growth through relationship building, leadership development, and social justice activism. LYG is dedicated to providing youth with skills and experiences designed to help them thrive as community leaders now and in the future. We write a counter-narrative to experiences of rejection and isolation.

Programming at Louisville Youth Group is rooted in the documented needs of LGBTQIA+ youth and endeavors:

• To Create Brave Space
• Provide a brave space for LGBTQIA+ and Ally youth in Kentuckiana and the surrounding areas to socialize and explore the full spectrum of their opportunities and potential.
• To Be Youth Centered
• Rooted in the needs and interests of our youth, and guided by their direction and feedback.
• To Instill Hope
• Empower youth to create goals and have agency over their lives and identity.
• To Be Community Minded
• Instill a sense of responsibility and respect for their world and fellow humankind.
• To Encourage Growth.
• Create a transformative community of brave discomfort, encouraging youth to expand their skills, perspective, and empathy.

Programming is categorized by primary goals:

• Increase Social/Emotional Intelligence
• Social and emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of our own and others' feelings – in-the-moment – and use that information to lead yourself and your peers. Social/Emotional Learning programs focus on helping youth gain the skills necessary for creating and navigating their communities.
• Mental Health First Aid Education
• Identifying and Communicating Needs and Disappointment
• Anxiety Management and Coping Techniques
• Sex and Healthy Relationships Education
• Conflict Management
• Telling Your Story/Our Story
• Coming Out
• Skills Discovery and Development
• Skills Discovery and Development is focused on providing youth with the practical tools needed to thrive in their daily lives.
• LGBTQIA+ Health, Access, and Care
• Health and Wellness Habits
• Meal Planning
• Financial Literacy
• Work Readiness
• Life After High School
• Entrepreneurship
• Leadership Development
• Encourage Activism and Outreach
• LYG recognizes a responsibility to improve the quality of our broader community to better serve our members. We strive to create civically minded and justice-oriented youth and young adults.
• Navigating Public Identity
• Healthcare Advocacy
• Bias, Equity and Intersectionality
• Art as Activism
• Community Service
• Policy Change and How It Happens
• Provide Support Services
• Integral to risk reduction is access to services and support to relieve stress caused by external responses to LGBTQIA+ identity.
• Yoga for body awareness/positivity, stress management
• Trans Education Programming
• Unstructured Social Hours
• HIV/STI Testing and Prevention
• Case Management
• Individual and Group Therapy
• Racial Trauma and Healing
• Generate a Creative Environment Rooted in Cultural Understanding
• To decrease social isolation, and encourage identity growth and understanding, LYG provides programming to connect you to LGBTQIA+ history and culture, and it’s importance in the broader context.
• Arts Engagement
• Queer History
• Queer Identity and Power
• Youth Art Engagements
• Vogue, Drag and Queer Performance
• Diversity and Equity Programming