August 27, 2019 Summertime masQUEERade Ball In 1988 LYRIC was founded and held its first LYRIC Dance for LGBTQQ youth!
This past Saturday, August 17, 2019, our current summer interns from Summer in the City 2019 continued LYRIC's long-held tradition of hosting an annual dance for LGBTQQ youth. Youth interns lead the creation, planning and outreach for LYRIC's masQUEERade Ball! The night was filled with magic provided by queer tarot readings and enigmatic costumes and masks. To top it all off, a LYRIC youth DJ brought the jams to make the party the perfect evening to close this beautiful summer. To learn more about LYRIC Sequoia Leadership Institute's paid youth internships visit lyric.org/youth-internships or reach out to LYRIC's Program Manager Nina (she/her; they/them) atnina@lyric.org.
#LYRICthrowback LYRIC's First Dance: Halloween 1988 At LYRIC, it is important that LGBTQQ youth have the opportunity to be in safe spaces in which they can be themselves, connect with other LGBTQQ youth, and are granted the experience to simply have fun. By holding our Annual LYRIC Dance, we continue not only a tradition of three decades, but an ongoing opportunity for adult-youth co-creation, youth leadership and spaces curated by youth for youth! The first dance hosted by LYRIC was a Halloween party. Through youth-adult collaboration, LYRIC launched its inception with a celebration full of fabulous and spooky constumes, music and with another loved LYRICtradition: food!
Housing Rights are Human Rights! LYRIC's Coordinated Entry "LGBTQQ young people of color are vulnerable to discrimination in education, employment, housing, and involvement in the criminal justice system. Institutional racism contributes to pathways into homelessness for these young people, and it stymies their ability to exit." -National LGBTQ Task Force Youth Coordinated Entry is a San Francisco-wide system for helping youth find permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing in San Francisco. LYRIC serves as an Access Point for LGBTQQ youth experiencing homelessness by providing housing navigation services and advocacy throughout the Youth Coordinated Entry process. As San Francisco continues to be one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, it is monumental for community service providers to work together and offer support to LGBTQQ homeless and marginally housed transitional age youth (TAY) with resources including health, workforce development and housing resources. We are excited to work alongside community partners to offer a comprehensive path for TAY to find home here in San Francisco.
To learn more about LYRIC's Coordinated Entry, please contact Adam (he/him/his) at adam@lyric.org.
Fun at the Lavender House Playfully Creative There is always a reason to dress up at LYRIC! One of our staff community agreements is to hold ourserlves in our uniqueness with each other to be optimally playful and creative. At a staff going-away celebration this summer, we held an Addams Family Picnic. Dressed up in our own take of the unique and spooky family, LYRIC staff went all out to show their commitment towards each other in having fun!
From our Youth, Staff and Board at LYRIC we wish everyone a great end to their summer! 📷📷