I wanted to pass along this survey information...
Hello. My name is Deborah Miller and I am a Master's student at Ball State University. I am currently conducting a study on character strengths and well-being in gay men and lesbian women. If you are between the ages of 18 and 30, currently enrolled in a University course (undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral), and self-identify as gay or lesbian, I would like to invite you to participate in my study. The study involves a survey regarding your character strengths, well-being, and sexual identity development. It should take about 15-20 minutes to complete. There is little or no risk in participating in this study. You are free to withdraw your participation at any time. If you are interested in participating please follow the link below to the website and follow the directions there. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/surveylinkiu If you have any questions, you may contact me at djmiller2@bsu.edu , or you may contact my thesis chairperson, Dr. Jeong Han Kim, at jhkim@bsu.edu
No doubt that 2009 was an exciting year for NYAC. Last month I shared with you some of our successes (you can visit 2009.nyacyouth.org in case you missed them) and now I'd like to invite you to get involved with our resolutions for 2010 at the start of it all.
Capacity Building- Bringing donor's attention to the important role of organizations working with LGBTQ youth in our community, many of whom are struggling greatly during this economic downturn.
- Ongoing development of the NYAC Network to provide support, assistance, funding opportunities and public policy lobbying for organizations working with LGBTQ youth.
- Launch a youth developed social marketing campaign to educate Latina/o youth on the need to be tested for HIV while continuing our award winning campaign, You Know Different, developed by African American youth.
- Expand our free online trainings and resource library to support the work and development of organizations working with LGBTQ youth. Specifically how organizations can improve their empowerment of transgender and genderqueer youth.
- Continued development of our safe spaces training project to help improve the climate for LGBTQ youth in direct service organizations. In particular helping organizations more effectively engage with transgender and genderqueer youth.
- Support local and regional organization's efforts to combat the high rate of tobacco use among LGBTQ young adults through new data and strategies to use in pursuing funding for and implementing effective tobacco intervention programs.
- NYAC will continue to identify and bring attention to overlooked challenges facing LGBTQ youth daily. Such as increasing awareness and understanding of addressing unhealthy eating practices, including eating disorders, among LGBTQ youth.
Advocacy- Encourage the White House to create a federal task force on LGBTQ youth to develop and implement recommendations on increased government funding and capacity building support of projects that engage LGBTQ youth in their services. Special attention will be given to developing an interagency strategy to addressing the needs of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness and youth transitioning into the workforce.
- Passage of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to end legalized workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation in 29 states and based on gender identity in 38 states.
- Helping local organizations with preparing LGBTQ youth for the workplace in a challenging economy by pursuing federal funding, working to build partnerships with local Job Corps centers and helping young people succeed in higher education.
- Continued evolution of federal hate crimes law by including data collection on hate crimes committed against individuals experiencing homelessness to show the need to expand the law to include crimes committed against this repeatedly victimized community.
Youth Engagement- Increased involvement of LGBTQ youth in the leadership of LGBTQ organizations - including NYAC via our Youth Accountability Council.
- Educate our community on the importance of participating in the 2010 Census.
With your support, our efforts in making these resolutions a reality and improving the lives of LGBTQ youth will make significant strides this year. Please join me in investing $50, $35 or even $15 a month in NYAC's efforts.
Keep checking out this blog over the coming days to find out more about each one of these resolutions and how I believe it will help in our efforts working with queer youth to build them a better future.
Furthermore, I'd like to hear what your thoughts, ideas and resolutions for helping LGBTQ youth in 2010! Send us a tweet @NYACYouth or shoot me an email at: greg -at- nyacyouth.org
In Solidarity,
Gregory Varnum
Executive Director
PS. Please contact us if you'd be interested in hosting a local house party, community meeting or supporting NYAC's work in other ways.
The American Red Cross has created an LGBT-oriented Red Cross fund for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. For those of you who have the capacity to give, please consider donating to the fund at american.redcross.org/LGBT-pubIn addition to the American Red Cross fund, you may also consider the Rainbow World Fund. For more information about the fund and the immediate response to the crisis in Haiti, as long term efforts, please visit rainbowfund.org
Our friends at GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and The Trevor Project – three organizations that work with NYAC to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth – are among 100 finalists in Chase Community Giving (NYAC attempted - but was not selected), a campaign by Chase and Facebook to award $5 million to charities voted on by Facebook users.
In order to ensure that the organizations' lifesaving work receives as much support as possible, the only three LGBT-focused organizations among the 100 finalists are pleased to announce that they will pool resources and offer each other support in hopes that all three will be among the final six vote-getters. The top vote-getter receives $1 million. Five runners-up receive $100,000 each.
Voting begins Jan. 15 and runs until Jan. 22. Each Facebook user is eligible to vote for up to five charities.
GLSEN, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and The Trevor Project became eligible for the finals after finishing among the top 100 charities out of more than 500,000 in the first round of voting, held Nov. 15 through Dec. 12. Each of the 100 finalists received a $25,000 grant.
To learn more about Chase Community Giving, visit: apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/.
To learn more about GLSEN's Big Idea and to vote for GLSEN, visit: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1110553
To learn more about the Matthew Shepard Foundation's Big Idea and to vote for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, visit: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/781026
To learn more about The Trevor Project's Big Idea and to vote for The Trevor Project, visit: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/927529
The National LGBTQI Young Adult Tobacco Needs Assessment is in full swing and there is still time to distribute the survey to the young adults in your area! By participating in this crucial survey for LGBTQI young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, this research will be able to give light to tobacco issues in our community where little to no data has been captured before, like:
- National and regional comparisons of tobacco use and contributing factors in LGBTQI young adult communities.
- Data recognizing and specifying tobacco factors between Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex young adults (instead of lumping all identities into one category)
- One of the first surveys ever to collect Transgender and Intersex specific information concerning tobacco use on a national scale!
- The research, made available nationwide, will assist community organizations in developing more tailored and competent tobacco programs and help in seeking out grants and funding for more tobacco projects
But your ability to show that your region and the young adults that you serve are affected by these tobacco disparities depends on your involvement in the distribution of the survey! The first 50 partner organizations to register will receive incentives and technical assistance in distribution. Hurry - the survey period ends February 28, 2010!
 The National LGBT Tobacco Control Network is now accepting applications from tobacco control specialists for full and partial scholarships to attend the largest LGBTQ Conference in the US - the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change.The applications are due Monday, 12/21/09 by end of day, so hurry while you still have time! The National LGBT Tobacco Control Network is looking to send a few fellow advocates to participate in another great training, networking, and skill building opportunity. We are currently offering approximately 5 Scholarships to the Creating Change Conference.
What is Creating Change you might ask?
Creating Change is the one and only time each year that more than 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from every corner of the country converge to strategize, socialize and mobilize for LGBT equality. It features top-level trainings, workshops, networking sessions and action-planning with our movement’s best thinkers and brightest innovators — oh yeah, there’s also tons of opportunities for socializing, meeting up with old friends and making lots of new ones. For more conference details you can go to http://www.creatingchange.org/.
So, if you are working on, or advocating for LGBT tobacco issues, we want you to apply for a scholarship and join us this year at Creating Change!
Scholarships will cover: airfare, ground transport, conference registration and double occupancy hotel for three nights, & per diem reimbursement. 
In my home state of Michigan, a 10th grade Lansing student was recently harassed by a bus driver while walking off the bus. The student reported hearing this from the driver:
"When I got off the bus, I stood up and was about to get off the bus, she was like, now you can get your gay self off my bus. Well, she said get your gay tail off my bus."
Luckily, the parents of the student reported the matter to the Lansing School District and the driver has been placed on leave, pending the results of an investigation.
Lets hope the school district takes the appropriate action with this driver. Read the full details of the story here.
The wonderful folks at the Girl Scouts of America (have I mentioned lately how much I like them?) have released an updated version of a survey they conducted in 1989 on a variety of social issues. Among them - same-sex relationships. The survey shows that 59% of teenagers support same-sex relationships, compared to 31% in 1989. That's an impressive jump - way to go Generation Y!
The survey, Good Intentions: The Beliefs and Values of Teens and Tweens Today, also showed that youth today value diversity. Among 7th- to 12th-graders, nearly six in 10 (59 percent) say that being around people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important to them. This appears to be particularly important to girls (63 percent versus 55 percent of boys) and youth from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds. (This question was not asked in 1989.)
The study involved a nationwide survey of 3,263 girls and boys from the third through twelfth grades that queried them on issues ranging from ethics and diversity to civic involvement and peer pressure. The study was conducted with Harris Interactive (formerly Louis Harris Inc., the same firm that worked on the 1989 study.)
Click here to check out the findings...
Today we commemorate those impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. When you consider the global devastation caused by AIDS - it's not a stretch to say that HIV/AIDS in same way impacts all of us.
This year's theme is "Working Together". I think it's appropriate since we're in the midst of a national discussion on health and health care to discuss how we can work together to bring an end to this pandemic once and for all.
While we've come a long way in this struggle, it's sometimes hard to know that by looking at the numbers. And while the medicines have come a long way in improving the quality of life for those living with HIV/AIDS - don't kid yourself into thinking that's made this pandemic any less serious or deadly.
Here are some numbers for you...
- HALF of new HIV infections in the USA are among youth ages 13-24
- ONE IN FIVE of those living with HIV/AIDS do not even know it
- Men who have sex with men are FIFTY times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
That is why NYAC has remained committed to raising awareness of the need for young people to be tested and to promote safer sex practices. Our award winning You Know Different campaign continues into its sixth year of using social marketing to raise awareness and testing rates among African American youth. This year we've begun development of a new social marketing campaign that focuses on Latino/a youth. Our advocacy efforts to increase funding for services supporting LGBTQ youth, including those living with HIV/AIDS, and put an end to ineffective abstinence only sex education programs continues.
I hope that today you will join me, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, the NYAC staff and board in getting tested regularly to know your HIV status and continuing the ongoing fight against this deadly opponent.
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