YO! We’re the Youth Organizing (YO) team at GSA Network.Miss Major speaks to youth at our June 2020 Lavender Graduation on Zoom
Since the pandemic hit, our team has connected with 300+ trans and queer youth in California organizing their own online GSA clubs and looking for community. We’ve adapted and innovated, thrown some lit Zoom meetings, distributed digital care packages, and celebrated our seniors with a virtual graduation with Stonewall veteran Miss Major.
Many GSA leaders are right there with us, innovating on how to best engage their members and classmates in this new normal. We heard stories of:
- The GSAs collecting testimonials and surveys on LGBTQ youth experience in the pandemic, meeting with principals to advocate for school policy changes to support trans youth, and building coalitions for racial justice in schools
- The GSA building their own community support network, building out pen pal programs, local contests, and online meetups with other local GSAs
- The GSA leaders in more rural parts of CA who organized their peers to join our virtual GSA meetings, eliminating previous hurdles like transportation access
- The many GSA clubs that were the only extracurricular that continued to meet after lockdown (even if clubs were not allowed to meet) and youth starting their schools' first GSAs in a pandemic!
This is how crucial GSAs are to our youth.
This school year, trans and queer students who looked to GSA clubs for safer spaces and community at school may be facing a whole year of distance learning and online fatigue. Many students report negative impacts on their mental health and wellness and are in unsupportive homes. Tech and internet access continues to be a huge challenge.
We’ve completely overhauled our programs to meet the moment. Our organizers are launching initiatives to 1) support and sustain the GSA movement and 2) engage youth leaders from all across the state in our Police Free Schools and Sex Ed Implementation campaigns.
Nov 2019: GSA Network in solidarity with Black Organizing Project's Police Free Schools campaign in Oakland
For many students, getting the right tech and stronger internet access will be the first step to accessing community. When you donate to our Back to School fundraiser, we can get youth connected and provide needed tech and tech support to engage youth from all over the state.
Thank you so much for your support. Onward! Power to the People!