COLAGE YOUTH LEADERSHIP & ACTION PROGRAM (YLAP) IN SAN FRANCISCO

YOUTH LEADERSHIP & ACTIVISM Speak OUT Program COLAGE Youth Leadership & Action Program (YLAP) in San Francisco Youth in Action Trainings Youth Membership on the COLAGE Board of Directors

The COLAGE Youth Leadership and Action Program (YLAP) is a 10-month program for youth ages 14-22 in the Bay Area that provides a safe space to build community, to gain new skills in activism and public speaking, and to work on action projects that raise awareness about LGBT families and advocate for their rights. Started in 2002 in response to a request from our Bay Area membership for more opportunities for youth leadership, YLAP has completed three successful visibility projects and provided workshops and panels to thousands of students, teachers, LGBT parents, and community members.

Check out some of the art and activism projects that YLAP has produced!

2003: That's SO Gay: Portraits of Youth with LGBT Parents

2003: Respect All Families Poster Series

2004: Focus on MY Family: A Queerspawn Anthology

During the 2003-4 year, the members of YLAP edited and published a literary collection by and about youth with LGBT parents. Featuring poetry, art, essays, fiction and photography by youth with LGBT parents, Focus on MY Family highlights diverse voices of COLAGE youth. And directly confronts the mean-spirited rhetoric of organizations such as Focus on the Family which attack and demean our families and experiences.

Editors' Statement: Focus on MY Family is an opportunity for those of us that actually know what it's like to have a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender parent to share our realities. Our experiences and family backgrounds may be different but our voices still deserve to be heard and recognized and we all wish that more people were aware and tolerant of our families. Our families, like straight families, encompass a wide spectrum of experiences including divorce, adoption, frustrations with parents, and great amounts of love. What is most important is that our parents love and take care of us just like other families. Use this anthology to learn about our families, to hear our voices and to open your minds!

COLAGE asks for a suggested donation of $5 per copy of Focus on MY Family: A Queerspawn Anthology. Each copy comes with a complete discussion and action guide that offers tips and tactics for using this collection to make change in your school, youth group, COLAGE Chapter and community. To order your anthology and discussion guide, contact Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director.

2005: In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with LGBT Parents

A 31-minute youth-produced documentary film by and about children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents! More on the In My Shoes web site >