Q Center
Two with ties to the Q Center honored at SU
April 17, 2008~Q Center Director Elizabethe Payne received the “Foundation Award” at the Syracuse University Rainbow Banquet. The award was established in 2003 to recognize individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, whose personal or professional lives have positively affected the LGBT community in a significant way. Individuals are recognized for their contributions and dedication to creating communities that are inclusive and supportive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Jamie King received the 2008 Foundation Award for Outstanding Youth Community Member at the Rainbow Banquet of Syracuse University’s LGBT Resource Center on April 17. Q Center Director, Dr. Elizabethe Payne, herself an honoree that night, introduced Jamie at the banquet.
“Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual youth often experience school as a hostile environment, but for Transyouth, the experience is compounded. Our 2008 Outstanding Youth Community Member defied the odds and demonstrated not only dedication to his own success, but to helping others through speaking out and making change in a culture that rarely wants to address the needs of transgender youth,” Dr. Payne said.
“As a high school student, he was forced to transfer from school to school, experiencing not only threats of physical violence from fellow students, but harassment from faculty and school staff as well. He took some of his schooling through the homebound program to reduce the harassment he experienced and to be able to concentrate on his studies. Through his own sheer determination, along with support from his mother and girlfriend, he successfully completed his high school education.
"Though he has now gone on to employment and higher education, he has not left high school behind. He continues to speak out about his own experiences as a transgender student and to advocate for safer schools for all LGBT youth. He has told his story to the Syracuse City School District and presented at city-wide teacher education forums, as well as many, many smaller education venues on the harassment of LGBT students. Taking his experience to Albany, he has lobbied for the Dignity for All Students Act and shared his story with legislators.
“He is an active member of the Q Center, educating LGB youth on the T experience, and was pivotal in the addition of the transyouth group to AIDS Community Resources. He serves as an advisor on transyouth issues to the Q Center Director, and is currently beginning a writing project that would allow him to share his experiences more broadly. He is, truly, a remarkable young man. It is my pleasure to introduce to you JAIME KING as the 2008 Outstanding Youth Community Member.”The Q Center in Syracuse
The Mission of The Q Center is to promote the health, safety and empowerment of LGBTQ young people and the children of LGBTQ parents.
We respect young people and take a holistic approach to supporting their growth and development through providing caring adult role models, information and education on living healthy lives, issues of equality, and tools for empowerment.
We further strive to end all forms of violence and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity through supporting legislation and educating the public. Through outreach to the broader community, parents, guardians, religious institutions and schools, we aim to make all spaces safer for LGBTQ youth, and children of LGBTQ families.
We work toward and have hope for a world where all youth are safe and valued, regardless of their sexual identification, HIV status, gender identity and expression, family structure, educational enrollment, disability, race or ethnicity.
The Q Center is an exciting and growing resource for LGBTQ young people and their allies ages 13 through 22. The Q Center is part of AIDS Community Resources’ Youth Safety Project, which has a mission to promote health, safety, and empowerment for high-risk young people.
Staffed by trained adult volunteer facilitators, the Center offers educational and social events, HIV education and testing, a state of the art Cyber Center with computer literacy classes, drop-in counseling, the “Express Yourself” Arts Program, and tutoring. The Q Center Library provides important resources for youth, and the teachers and parents of LGBTQ youth. Counseling services and referrals are also available through the Center. In the above photo, volunteers provide tutoring services during the after school program.
The Q Center has received funding from United Way, Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth, the Gifford Foundation, and the David Bohnett Foundation.
For more information, contact qcenter@aidscommunityresources.com
Youth Group Meeting Schedule:
LGBTQ Youth and Allies, ages 13-18, Tuesdays: 6:30-8:30
Steppin’Out, ages 19-22, Thursdays: 7:00-9:00
Transgender Youth, ages 14-24, 1st and 3rd Wednesdays: 5:00-6:30
Free pizza at group!
Mural Project
CREATING, PAINTING SAFER SPACES
The Q Center at AIDS Community Resources leapt from idea to a fait accompli within just a few months. A gift from a generous donor helped secure the space; talents of faithful volunteers reconstructed it; and 25 students, teens and artists applied the finishing brushstrokes. A beautiful mural illustrating ACR’s hope for acceptance and tolerance toward all graces one wall, with more artwork to follow.
In February 2006, mural designs, created by youth, were submitted from Central New York Gay Straight Alliances and LGBT groups. The sketches explored a variety of topics: invisibility, unity, gender variance and the right to a safe and supportive educational environment. Mark Wright of the Cultural Resources Council, Laura Reeder with Partners for Arts Education and Kate Woodle of Rosamond Gifford Zoo selected the winning design.
The Cultural Resources Council funded the Mural Project, making it possible for professional artist Kate Woodle to lead the enterprise. Through design workshops, sketch selection, paint purchase and application, Kate led the way. As the Rosamond Gifford Zoo artist in residence, Kate’s murals transform ordinary spaces into the landscapes of an African plain, the lush vegetation of a rainforest, and a rock nest for endangered birds. Social justice issues are critical to Kate, and she was delighted to guide transformation of our ordinary space into the new extraordinary LGBTQ youth center.
Twenty youth from Gay Straight Alliances and Acceptance Coalitions from five high schools: Cato Meridian, Baker, East Syracuse-Minoa, Manlius Pebble Hill and Henninger painted the mural during a recent weekend. The young people enjoyed painting the walls, making new friends, and planning future events at the Youth Center.
The mission of the Q Center and its programming is to provide LGBTQ young people with a safe and supportive environment and reduce the stigma often experienced by LGBTQ youth by empowering the youth and educating the community.
To find out about the Q Center, contact Elizabethe Payne at 800.475.2430.
"All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential." Harvey Milk
Back to TopRobert Johnson Story
Young and Confident in His Identity
"It takes tremendous courage to be one’s self with so many pressures to conform. For many, that courage isn’t realized during adolescence. Hiding behind our fears and the rules we are forced to adhere to until the contradiction between societal rules and our true selves become so powerful that change is inevitable. For Robert Johnson, the courage came early in his life. For a person of color identifying as gay, the world can be a pretty tough place. Survival in school and community for many is being able and willing to ‘fight’. Not Robert, he knows who he is, is proud of who he is and is able to stand up for himself and his friends with his confidence and by using the power of words."
Mary Doody