SMYRC

Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC)

Dear Friends,

Although progress is being made toward LGBTQ equality, sexual and gender minority youth still face serious obstacles to success. Suicide is the leading cause of death among LGBTQ youth, who are four times as likely to attempt suicide and are twice as likely to use and abuse substances as their straight peers. At least ten percent of all youth in the juvenile justice and foster care systems are sexual or gender minority. And more than 40% of homeless and runaway youth in the Portland Metro area identify as LGBTQ.

SMYRC is the only drop-in resource center in Oregon devoted exclusively to supporting, prioritizing and nurturing a world in which LGBTQ youth can thrive. SMYRC provides free counseling, case management, leadership opportunities, recreation, community education and culturally relevant and accessible resources throughout Multnomah and Washington Counties. More than 1000 LGBTQ youth visit SMYRC each year. We know that at SMYRC, LGBTQ youth build community, make friends, embrace opportunities and learn to celebrate themselves and each other for who they are. Having access to these kinds of community supports dramatically reduces substance use and self-harming behaviors of youth participants.

Supporting sexual and gender minority youth in our communities has never been easier! SMYRC has been selected by Willamette Week for inclusion in the 2009 Give!Guide. The sixth annual Give!Guide is a holiday season fundraiser that serves as a unique vehicle for generating donations for Portland area non-profit organizations. Please support the LGBTQ youth in our communities by donating to SMYRC

• $25 allows us to serve family-style meals during drop-in all week;
• $100 provides one skill building workshop or peer-support session for ten youth;
• $200 keeps the drop in resource center open for one youth for an entire year!
• $300 pays for a three-hour community education workshop to help service providers better support and advocate for LGBTQ young people;
• $1000 helps us buy a new van!

Some of this year’s highlights:

• Last year alone SMYRC helped more than a thousand LGBTQ youth. Through individual and family counseling, leadership development, outreach and community advocacy, SMYRC has strengthened community, cultivated peer support, improved LGBTQ youth health, and fostered personal empowerment, hope and well-being.
• We moved! SMYRC has created a fabulous home in Northeast Portland, and we LOVE our new neighborhood!
• SMYRC’s Community Education Project built a partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide LGBTQ cultural competency trainings for foster parents and social workers, STATEWIDE!
• We’re working with the Pride Foundation & the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on a Queer Youth Capacity Building Initiative, strengthening community support and leadership opportunities for LGBTQ youth.
• Three SMYRC youth were honored by the Equity Foundation with Queer Youth Leadership awards in 2009!
• SMYRC was given the 2009 Gay Pride Award for Outstanding Community Service and the 2009 Meaningful Care Health Champion Award.

SMYRC would never survive without the support of generous individuals like you. We are so grateful for all the ways you have supported us through the years, and we need your help now more than ever.

Please contribute to SMYRC today!

To support SMYRC, please donate over a secure connection through Cascadia, on the Network For Good web site. Simply designate your gift for SMYRC. You can also find other ways to donate on the give section of our website.

Thank you for joining us in supporting SMYRC!

Best,

Favor Ellis
SMYRC Program Director